Recommencement Of Exploration Drilling At Jerritt Canyon  

VANCOUVER - Yukon-Nevada Gold Corp. has recommenced underground exploration drilling at its gold producing Jerritt Canyon property located 50 miles from Elko, Nevada.

Plans for a surface exploration drilling program are currently being finalized. This surface exploration program is focusing on the northern half of the property in previously disturbed areas and will include approximately 35,000 feet in over 30 drill holes. The surface exploration drill program is scheduled to start. The goals of the 2010 Jerritt Canyon drill programs include: Resource conversion/expansion adjacent to the existing Smith & Steer/SSX Mine underground infrastructure and thereby increasing the current life-of-mine duration of 4 years (at a projected steady-state 150,000 oz Au production per year) by an additional 3 to 4 years; Exploration along known resource trends distal to existing underground infrastructure (> 1,000 lateral feet) using wide-spaced drilling;  New resource discovery targeting the Hanson Creek IV unit in the Winters Creek and Ridge fault zone areas; and  Evaluation of areas of historic surface production in the Generator pit areas. The resource conversion drill holes will target Zones 4, 5, and 8 near the Smith Mine and the West Mahala resource located southeast of the existing SSX-Steer mine complex workings. Exploration drill holes will focus on expanding resources in the following areas: West Mahala, East Dash, and Coulee (Zones 1, 3, 4 and 8 at Smith Mine). The 2010 underground and surface drilling programs are designed to provide continuing production from the existing mines and continue to extend the longevity of Jerritt Canyon. Future exploration programs within the 119 square mile Jerritt Canyon property will be undertaken with the objective of discovering new gold mines. The current Smith mine plan has a scheduled life that extends at least into 2014. A 2.5-year mine design on the Steer-SSX underground mine complex is mostly completed. The company's address is 490, 688 West Hastings Street, Vancouver BC V6B 1P1, 604.688.9427, fax: 604.688.9426, email: [email protected].