Timberline to Initiate Preliminary Scoping Study

COEUR D'ALENE, ID - Timberline Resources Corporation reported plans to initiate a Preliminary Scoping Study at its Butte Highlands Gold Project in southwestern Montana.
Butte Highlands, Timberline's most advanced-stage project, was extensively drilled by Placer Dome, Battle Mountain, ASARCO, and Orvana Minerals in the 1980s and 1990s, and contains historic mineralization outlined by Orvana (not compliant with NI 43-101 or SEC Guide 7) exceeding 500,000 ounces of gold. Past drilling highlights include gold intercepts of 50 feet of 0.65 ounces per ton (oz/t), 31 feet of 1.06 oz/t, and 11.5 feet of 1.99 oz/t. The Butte Highlands project lies on patented ground with no underlying royalties and is 100-percent owned by Timberline.
Timberline CEO Randal Hardy stated, "Our Preliminary Scoping Study at Butte Highlands is expected to showcase the efficiency and potential of our vertically-integrated business model. We believe that few, if any, companies our size can approach our in-house capabilities to explore, permit, drill, develop, and mine."
The primary objective of the Preliminary Scoping Study is to assess opportunities for near-term underground production. A technical review of feasibility issues published by Orvana in 1997 identified no fatal flaws to mine development. The report noted that custom milling at existing nearby facilities was feasible and access to the deposit could be achieved with a decline. Although the construction of an onsite mill and tailings pond at Butte Highlands is not currently envisioned, the report indicated there are suitable sites for such facilities on the property.
Timberline V-P of Exploration Paul Dircksen stated, "We are eager to resume work at Butte Highlands, building upon several years of effort by prior operators involving millions of exploration dollars and nearly 100,000 feet of drilling. We believe that Butte Highlands has the potential for near-term development and production, and that other areas of the property offer promising targets for additional grass-roots exploration. We also believe that we have assembled a uniquely-qualified team at Timberline to move the project forward."
The work program to support the Study will begin with a 17-hole, 28,000-foot drill program conducted from the surface, coincident with permitting an exploration decline to access mineralization and to establish drill stations for an anticipated second-phase core drill program from underground. Drilling at Butte Highlands will focus on bringing the historic estimates to NI 43-101 and SEC Guide 7 standards while seeking to expand it with step-out holes along strike and down-dip. The exploration decline will be designed to support production in the event that project feasibility is established.
The Preliminary Scoping Study and exploration program will be led by Paul Dircksen. Initial surface drilling may be contracted outside the Company, but future underground drilling is expected to be performed by Kettle Drilling. All permitting efforts at the project will be led by Klepfer Mining Services. The exploration decline, once permitted, will be driven by Small Mine Development.
The Butte Highlands Project is located 15 miles south of Butte, Montana within a favorable geologic domain that has hosted several multi-million ounce gold deposits including Butte, Golden Sunlight, Montana Tunnels, and Virginia City. Furthermore, the project straddles the Continental Divide and is central to one of the most historically productive placer districts in the state. We believe that the lode occurrences at Butte Highlands are a primary source for local placer gold.
Gold mineralization at Butte Highlands is hosted primarily in lower Paleozoic Wolsey shale with higher-grade mineralization occurring within the sediments proximal to diorite sills and dikes. Between 1988 and 1996, prior operators demonstrated the presence of a wide and continuous mineralized zone by drilling 46 core holes (36,835 feet) and 132 reverse-circulation holes (61,338 feet) within the district. The vast majority of this drilling was conducted in the Nevin Hill area which is included in the Timberline property.
The company's address is 101 E. Lakeside, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814, 208.664.4859, fax 208.664.4860, email: [email protected].