Reserves Increased At Jerritt Canyon Mine
VANCOUVER - Yukon-Nevada Gold Corp. reported that proven and probable reserves at its 100% owned Jerritt Canyon operating gold mine in Elko County, Nevada, estimated at year-end 2007, have increased to 717,300 ounces of gold at a grade of 0.227 ounces of gold per ton (opt) or 7.78 grams of gold per tonne (gpt). These reserves are within a newly estimated measured and indicated resource of 1,961,000 ounces of gold at a grade of 0.239 opt (8.19 gpt). The inferred resource at Jerritt Canyon in addition to this is 520,000 ounces of gold at a grade of 0.224 opt (7.68 gpt).
Jerritt Canyon's proven and probable reserves at year-end 2006 were 485,700 ounces of gold. These were depleted by approximately 114,700 ounces as a result of mining during 2007. The current reserve therefore represents an addition of 346,300 ounces.
Yukon-Nevada Gold's President and Chief Executive Officer, Graham C. Dickson, commented, "We are extremely happy that the Jerritt Canyon team has essentially doubled (net of depletion) the mineable reserve. This represents a significant accomplishment in the six months since completion of the merger with Queenstake, which allowed resumption of an aggressive exploration program on the property. This increase in reserve is testimony to the dedication and competence of the Jerritt Canyon operations and exploration staff that through their success in lowering operating costs and discovering new ounces made this significant achievement possible. We fully expect exploration success to continue and for Jerritt Canyon to continue its tradition of over 25 years of replacing and adding to reserves through exploration success"
The 2007 year-end reserve estimate was calculated using a gold price of $580 per ounce, reflecting a three-year average gold price. Two factors led to the significant increase to reserve: exploration success which added approximately 225,000 ounces to measured and indicated resource, and decreases in operating costs at Jerritt Canyon which matched with the increased gold price relative to the 2006 year-end estimate allowed a lowering of cut-off grade used in the estimate. The Smith / Mahala Mine exhibited the most significant increase in reserve compared to a year earlier, followed by the SSX Mine and Starvation Canyon deposit.
The company's address is 490-688 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 1P1, 604.688.9427, fax: 604.688.9426, email: [email protected].