Atna Commences Briggs Mine Exploration
Golden, CO -- Atna Resources Ltd.
("Atna") -- (TSX:ATN -- OTCBB:ATNAF) is pleased to announce the
commencement of a new exploration and definition drilling program on
targets at its Briggs Mine, in Inyo County, California. The program will
include 25,000 to 30,000 feet of reverse circulation rotary drilling.
Primary goals of the drilling program are:
.. Reserve expansion in the BSU, Argonaut and Main Briggs pits
where geologic interpretation indicates the potential to extend ore
reserves beyond currently engineered pit limits.
.. Critical in-fill drilling at the new North
Main Briggs pit designed to upgrade inferred mineral resource to proven
and probable reserves.
.. Expansion and delineation drilling in the
Deep Briggs resource zone beneath the current minable reserves.
James Hesketh, President and CEO, states, "The Briggs Mine sold
approximately 25,100 ounces of gold in 2010 generating revenues in excess
of US$30 million. With operations at Briggs approaching targets, it is
time to begin a program of reserve expansion. This drilling program has
the potential to add significant new reserve ounces, with a minimum goal
of replacing the ounces mined in the past year and an upside goal of
adding a number of additional years of mine life if the drilling program
is successful."
Expansion potential in the southern BSU pit is in an area where mining
operations encountered significant gold grades (>0.03 oz/ton gold)
along the currently planned ultimate pit boundary. The zone of mineral
interest occurs in where development drilling is sparse and the geologic
block model underestimated the actual grade of the ore mined. In the
Argonaut pit area, development drill holes are broadly spaced and did not
allow for a southerly extension of this zone. However, recent mining
indicates that the mineralized zone extends to the south beyond the
engineered pit limits in an area that produced grades in excess of 0.08
oz/ton gold in pit-wall sampling.
In the newly engineered North Main Briggs pit, a substantial block of
inferred mineral resources lies within and adjacent to the current pit
plan. This mineral resource may be convertible to proven and probable
reserves with additional drilling.
A large portion of this current program will focus on further delineating
and expanding mineralization behind the east wall of the Briggs Main pit
and in the Deep Briggs resource zone discovered in 2009. The Deep Briggs
mineralization is classified primarily as indicated and inferred mineral
resource based upon the currently available data. Drilling will consist
of both delineation and step-out drilling in this zone.
This press release was prepared under the supervision and review of
William Stanley, V.P. Exploration of Atna, a Licensed Geologist, and
Qualified Person with the ability and authority to verify the
authenticity and validity of information contained within this news
release.
For additional information on Atna Resources, please visit our website at
www.atna.com.
This press release contains certain "forward-looking
statements," as defined in the United States Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and within the
meaning of Canadian securities legislation related to drilling and
potential drilling results at the Briggs Mine. Forward-looking statements
are statements that are not historical fact. They are based on the
beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date
the statements are made and they involve a number of risks and
uncertainties. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such
statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events
could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The
Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking
statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other
factors, should change, except as required by applicable securities laws
and regulations. Factors that could cause future results to differ
materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include:
accidents and other risks associated with mining exploration and
development operations; the risk that the Company will encounter
unanticipated geological factors; and the other risk factors discussed in
greater detail in the Company's various filings on SEDAR (www.sedar.com)
with Canadian securities regulators and its filings with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's 2009 Form
20-F dated March 26, 2010.
Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors --- The United States Securities and
Exchange Commission permits U.S. mining companies, in their filings with
the SEC, to disclose only those mineral deposits that a company can
economically and legally extract or produce. We use certain terms in this
report, such as "measured," "indicated,"
"inferred," and "resources," that the SEC guidelines
strictly prohibit U.S. registered companies from including in their
filings with the SEC. Investors are urged to closely consider the
disclosure in our Form 20-F which may be obtained from Atna or found
online at www.sec.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Valerie Kimball, Investor Relations -- (303) 278-8464 or toll free (877)
692-8182
James Hesketh, President and CEO -- (303) 278-8464
www.atna.com
|