Atna Makes First Gold Pour at Briggs Mine

 

GOLDEN, CO - Atna Resources Ltd. reported that it has made the first pour of approximately 300 ounces of gold in dore at the newly re-started Briggs Mine in Inyo County, California. Ore mining commenced at the site in January, crushing and the loading of ore onto the leach pad started in March, and solution delivery to the leach pad began in April. Facility construction at the mine is complete. The focus at the site is now to increase gold production to a target level of 40,000 ounces per year by the end of 2009. In addition, drilling is continuing to expand the reserve potential at the Briggs Main Deep zone within the existing permit boundary where new reserves may enable increasing the production rate or mine life.

"Our first gold pour is a major milestone in Atna's transition from an exploration company to a mid-tier gold producer. We are very pleased with the rapid re-start of the Briggs Mine. Our next step will be to transform Atna to a mid-tier gold production company with development of additional mines from our strong pipeline of three advanced development projects," states James Hesketh, President & CEO.

Atna's pipeline of gold projects includes the Reward Project, where we are nearing permit completion. We recently concluded a formal Joint Venture Agreement between Barrick Gold (70 percent) and Atna (30 percent) at the Pinson Gold Project in Nevada. Barrick continues to evaluate possibilities to develop the project. In addition, we expect to complete a Technical Report in the third quarter that will provide an NI43-101 compliant resource estimate at the Columbia gold project in Montana.

The company’s address is 14142 Denver West Parkway, Suite 250, Golden, CO 80401, 303-278-8464, fax: 303-279-3772.