VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - May 28, 2013) - Pretium Resources Inc. (TSX:PVG)(NYSE:PVG) ("Pretivm") is pleased to report that the first underground hole drilled as part of the Valley of the Kings bulk sample program intersected visible gold and confirms the projection of high-grade gold mineralized domains. ( See Table 1 below for assays. )
Selected highlights from hole VU-01 include:
- 21.57 grams of gold per tonne over 12.00 meters, including 388 grams of gold per tonne over 0.50 meters and 99.7 grams of gold per tonne over 0.50 meters;
- 8.38 grams of gold per tonne over 2.00 meters, including 31.10 grams of gold per tonne over 0.40 meters.
Pilot hole VU-01 was drilled horizontally through the center of the Valley of the Kings section 426600 cross-cut at the 1,345-meter level, and intersected the interpreted mineralized domains.
Valley of the Kings Bulk Sample Program
The Valley of the Kings Bulk Sample Program (the "Program") consists of two elements: the excavation of a 10,000-tonne bulk sample and a 15,000-meter underground drill program. The Program has been designed to test the full widths of two of the domains of mineralization used to estimate the November 2012 Valley of the Kings Mineral Resource. By testing the two domains of mineralization, the Program will confirm that the resource model is accurately projecting the range of the grade distribution in the 10-meter blocks that make up the Mineral Resource estimate within the bulk sample area. As a result, the Program will target the full range of the projected resource block grades which span from zero grams of gold per tonne to in excess of 60 grams of gold per tonne.
High-grade gold resources (5.0 grams of gold equivalent per tonne cut-off) for the Valley of the Kings now total 8.5 million ounces of gold in the Indicated Mineral Resource category (16.1 million tonnes grading 16.4 grams of gold per tonne) and 2.9 million ounces of gold in the Inferred Mineral Resource category (5.4 million tonnes grading 17.0 grams of gold per tonne).
Strathcona Mineral Services Ltd. of Toronto has been engaged as the independent Qualified Person to oversee and report on the Program.
Excavation of Bulk Sample
The 1,345-meter level, centered at the 426600 cross-section of the Valley of the Kings, was selected as the bulk sample location based on Strathcona's requirements that the bulk sample be excavated from an area representative of the (a) drillhole density that informs the Indicated Mineral Resource, (b) average grade of the Indicated Mineral Resource and the global resource for Valley of the Kings, (c) proportion of low-grade, high-grade and extreme grade populations in the overall Indicated Mineral Resource and (d) style of stockwork gold mineralization characteristic of the Valley of the Kings.
The 10,000-tonne bulk sample will be excavated from four cross-cuts (excavations perpendicular to the two domains of mineralization, spaced at 30-meter centers) and one lateral drift (an excavation extending along the strike length of one of the domains of mineralization). The excavation of the 10,000-tonne bulk sample is scheduled to begin in mid-June and be completed in August. The underground development necessary to support the excavation of the bulk sample is currently underway.
Sample Tower and Mineral Processing
The 10,000-tonne bulk sample will be excavated in approximately 100-tonne rounds. Each round will be crushed and run through a sample tower currently assembled on site. The sample tower has been designed and constructed to extract two 30-kilogram representative samples from each 100-tonne round processed by the sample tower. The representative samples extracted by the sample tower will be assayed, and the assay results will be reported by Strathcona in their report on the Program.
The remainder of the 10,000-tonne bulk sample will be shipped to a mill for processing. The mill will use a similar circuit, gravity and flotation, to extract gold and silver from the bulk sample as contemplated in the feasibility study for the Brucejack Project currently underway. The bulk sample remainder is expected to be milled in the third and fourth quarters of this year.
Bulk Sample Drilling
Approximately 15,000 meters of underground drilling in 190 holes will be completed as part of the Program. The drilling will define the portions of the two domains of mineralization being tested by the Program along 120 meters of strike length, and vertically for 60 meters above and 60 meters below the 1,345-meter level of the Valley of the Kings. The drilling will be completed on sections 7.5 meters apart along the 120 meters of strike length. Each section will be drilled from the north or south, with drill holes at 15-meter centers vertically at the margins of the mineralized domains. The supporting infrastructure will include an initial cross-cut through the Valley of the Kings along section 426600, and the north exploration drill drift. The drill program will run concurrently with the mining of the bulk sample.
For views of the bulk sample underground drilling program at the Valley of the Kings please visit the following link - http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/pvg528_F1-2.pdf .
Program Reporting
Assay results from underground drilling will be reported as they are received. Strathcona's report on the Program is expected later in the year after compilation of all data. The amount of gold and silver produced by the mill will be reported following the completion of the milling of the bulk sample.
| Table 1: Valley of the Kings Bulk Sample Drill Results, May 2013 (VU-01) (1,2,3) | ||||||||
| Hole No. | Collar Coords. | Dip/ Azimuth | From (meters) | To (meters) | Interval (meters) | Gold (g/t) | Silver (g/t) | |
| VU-01 | 6258007N 426599E | -0.3/180 | 32.00 | 44.00 | 12.00 | 21.57 | 17.50 | |
| incl | 42.75 | 43.25 | 0.50 | 388.00 | 279.00 | |||
| incl | 43.50 | 44.00 | 0.50 | 99.70 | 50.00 | |||
| 64.00 | 66.00 | 2.00 | 8.38 | 58.92 | ||||
| incl | 65.60 | 66.00 | 0.40 | 31.10 | 22.10 | |||
| (1) True thickness to be determined. | ||||||||
| (2) Unless otherwise indicated as uncut, all gold assays over 421 g/t were cut to 421 g/t. | ||||||||
| (3) All samples were submitted for preparation and analysis by ALS Chemex at its facilities in Terrace, B.C. All samples were analyzed using multi-digestion with ICP finish and fire assay with AA finish for gold. Samples over 100 ppm silver were reanalyzed using four acid digestion with an ore grade AA finish. Samples over 1,500 ppm silver were fire assayed with a gravimetric finish. Samples with over 10 ppm gold were fire assayed with a gravimetric finish. One in 20 samples was blank, one in 20 was a standard sample, and differing one in 20 samples was a field duplicate one-quarter split core assayed at ALS Chemex in Vancouver, B.C. | ||||||||
Kenneth C. McNaughton, M.A.Sc., P.Eng., Chief Exploration Officer, Pretium Resources Inc. is the Qualified Person (QP) responsible for the Brucejack Project exploration program.
About Pretivm
Pretivm is creating value through gold at its high-grade gold Brucejack Project, located in northern British Columbia. Brucejack hosts a major undeveloped high-grade gold resource and mineralization remains open along strike and at depth. A feasibility study for a high-grade underground mine in Brucejack's Valley of the Kings is underway and expected this quarter.
Forward-Looking Statements
This News Release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation. Forward-looking information may include, but is not limited to, risks related to our planned exploration and development activities, the adequacy of Pretivm's financial resources, the estimation of mineral resources, realization of mineral resource estimates, timing of development of Pretivm's Brucejack Project, costs and timing of future exploration, results of future exploration and drilling, production and processing estimates, capital and operating cost estimates, timelines and similar statements relating to the economic viability of the Brucejack Project, timing and receipt of approvals, consents and permits under applicable legislation, Pretivm's executive compensation approach and practice, and adequacy of financial resources. Wherever possible, words such as "plans", "expects", "projects", "assumes", "budget", "strategy", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "anticipates", "believes", "intends" and similar expressions or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative forms of any of these terms and similar expressions, have been used to identify forward-looking statements and information. Statements concerning mineral resource estimates may also be deemed to constitute forward-looking information to the extent that they involve estimates of the mineralization that will be encountered if the property is developed. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information, including, without limitation, those risks identified in Pretivm's prospectus supplement to the short form base shelf prospectus dated March 19, 2012 filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and in the United States through EDGAR at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov . Forward-looking information is based on the expectations and opinions of Pretivm's management on the date the statements are made. The assumptions used in the preparation of such statements, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise. We do not assume any obligation to update forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by applicable law. For the reasons set forth above, prospective investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
The TSX has neither approved nor disapproved of the information contained herein.
