American Sierra Reopens Access Discovery Day Project
RENO, NV - American Sierra Gold Corp. reported that exploration crews working on the Discovery Day gold property have located and re-opened the level 6 adit of the historical Gilta mine containing the high-grade Gold Run vein.
The Gilta mine, located on the north side of Bowerman Mountain, produced over 50,000 ounces of gold from ore out of the prolific Gold Run vein during operations from 1870-1904. Operations ceased only due to WWI. "The Gilta workings, which have not been accessed in over 30 years, hold the geologic key to the location of the southern extension of the Gold Run vein," commented Patrick Fagen, the project's mine manager.
Historical reports indicate that the Gold Run vein runs 1 to 8 feet in thickness with mill-recovered ore grades averaging 4.51 ounces of gold per ton (140 g/t Au). Previously mined ore shoots in the vein ranged from 25 ft to 96 ft wide (horizontal) and extended down-dip on the vein for up to 475 ft.
"This a significant step forward in our plan to define additional resource and block out mineable ore for near term production mining," commented Wayne Gruden, American Sierra's CEO. The company has contracted for a geological crew to begin work on the surveying and mapping of the vein to determine its strike projection to the south. Based on this new information the company plans to triple the size of its on-site work crew pending the mandatory pre-operational MSHA safety inspection.
In addition to the exploratory work performed in January, all major on-site equipment was tested, serviced and repaired as necessary in preparation for full-scale operations. "Most of the equipment necessary to run the mine and mill was in operational condition when purchased from the previous owners. Since the mine was idle for about two years, the equipment was in need of deferred maintenance and testing. We were pleased to find that with few exceptions the equipment for the entire operation is in operational condition and ready for use," observed Fagen. The maintenance program included a test run of the 100-ton per day mill, which proved to be fully functional.
The company is awaiting a pre-operational MSHA safety inspection required prior to commencing operations. Once the inspection is completed operations will commence immediately in the Discovery Day workings with the goal to access the extension of the Gold Run vein. "American Sierra plans to continue to explore and expand the extensive mineral resource on the property and, based on our geological data, put the mine into production at the earliest opportunity," added Gruden.
The company’s address is 8th floor, 200 S. Virginia,