VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, June 12, 2014 – West Kirkland Mining Inc. (WKM:TSXV) has fast-tracked bulk sampling of its recently acquired Three Hills deposit to confirm gold recoveries from run-of-mine material predicted in historic studies. West Kirkland completed the sampling six weeks after acquiring the Three Hills and Hasbrouck deposits. The 12 ton sample was extracted by ripping rather than by drilling and blasting. Column tests are being performed by Kappes Cassiday & Associates and initial results are expected within 30 to 60 days.
“Confirming that we can achieve good recoveries at Three Hills with run-of-mine material, rather than the previously modeled 1.5 inch crush, will improve permitting and financial modeling in the ongoing Prefeasibility Study,” said Sandy McVey, West Kirkland’s COO. “The current study envisages Three Hills to be mined first and then Hasbrouck."
Photos of the sample collection at Three Hills can be viewed by visiting the company’s Web site at www.wkmining.com or through this link http://wkmining.com/projects/gallery1/ .
The Hasbrouck Project consists of two all-oxide deposits, Hasbrouck and Three Hills, both with at-surface and near-surface mineralization, minimal pre-strip and low overall stripping ratios. Both deposits are well-drilled with over 600 bore holes. Metallurgy is well understood at Hasbrouck and Three Hills; 12 tons of samples and over 100 column tests have been performed, predicting 60% recovery at Hasbrouck and 80% recovery at 1.5 inch crush at Three Hills by heap leaching with moderate cyanide and lime consumption.
Permitting
The Company has completed the transfer of permits from the previous owner of the Hasbrouck Project to West Kirkland. In the coming days the Company will submit its exploration drill plans for permitting, typically granted 15-30 days after submission.
Exploration
West Kirkland has just completed a gravity survey at the Three Hills Property, designed to identify structures that could host extensions of the Three Hills deposit along strike and down dip. A down dip structure of the Three Hills deposit was drilled by previous owners in 2012, and yielded an intercept of 66 meters of 3.3 grams per tonne gold. True width cannot be determined from the information available. This structure will be the focus of upcoming exploration work on the Three Hills property; additional targets that may be parallel structures have been identified for drilling.
At the Hasbrouck deposit a review of the geophysical database has identified potential strike extensions of the Hasbrouck deposit and structures that may host separate satellite deposits. These targets will be tested by drilling in the summer of 2014.
Hasbrouck Project Resources
Hasbrouck and Three Hills Deposits Resource Statement (February 21, 2014)
HASBROUCK & THREE HILLS (0.005 opt AuEq Cutoff) |
Category |
Tons |
Gold |
Silver |
AuEq |
Gold |
Silver |
AuEq |
|
(000 tons) |
opt |
opt |
opt |
(000 oz) |
(000 oz) |
(000 oz) |
Measured |
15,777 |
0.015 |
0.286 |
0.020 |
231 |
4,509 |
310 |
Indicated |
62,415 |
0.012 |
0.219 |
0.016 |
731 |
13,640 |
970 |
|
Measured & Indicated |
78,192 |
0.012 |
0.232 |
0.016 |
962 |
18,149 |
1,279 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Inferred |
69,923 |
0.008 |
0.159 |
0.011 |
566 |
11,136 |
761 |
|
AuEq calculated AuEq= Au + (Ag/57.14) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Notes:
- CIM definitions are followed for classification of Mineral Resources
- Mineral Resources are estimated using a gold price of US$1,200 per ounce and a silver price of US$21 per ounce
- Totals may not represent the sum of the parts due to rounding.
- The Mineral Resources have been prepared by Scott E. Wilson in conformity with CIM “Estimation of Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserves Best Practices” guidelines and are reported in accordance with the Canadian Securities Administrators NI43-101. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that all or any part of the mineral resource will be converted into mineral reserve.
Following the announcement of the Hasbrouck Project acquisition agreement in January, 2014, West Kirkland announced a mineral resource estimate increase of approximately 10%, which incorporated the results of subsequent drilling completed since the most recent mineral resource estimate disclosed in 2012 by the property vendor (see news release dated February 24, 2014) and the completion of a technical report dated February 21, 2014 titled “Technical Report for the Hasbrouck Project Esmeralda County, Nevada, USA, West Kirkland Mining Inc.” (the “Technical Report”) authored by Scott E. Wilson, C.P.G., which has been filed under the Company’s profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
West Kirkland has initiated a prefeasibility study on the Hasbrouck Project and has commenced its exploration program as outlined in its news release dated June 3, 2014
Qualified Persons
Michael G. Allen, Vice President of Exploration for West Kirkland, and a non-independent Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, has reviewed the information contained in this news release and has verified the data.
*Mr. Scott E. Wilson, AIPG Certified Professional Geologist, is WKM’s Independent Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101. Mr. Wilson has reviewed and verified the data disclosed in this news release to be in conformity with generally accepted CIM “Estimation of Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserves Best Practices” guidelines and in accordance with NI 43-101.
Quality Assurance/Quality Control
West Kirkland Mining utilizes a well-documented system of inserting blanks and standards into the assay stream and has a strict chain of custody. Assays are completed at independent labs, which also have internal quality assurance and quality control mechanisms.
About West Kirkland Mining Inc.
West Kirkland was formed in 2010 to focus on gold exploration along major geological trends in North America. The Company has consolidated significant mineral rights positions within the known gold trends of Nevada and Utah, including the recently acquired the Hasbrouck and Three Hills properties in southwestern Nevada. The founders and Board members of West Kirkland have successful experience in gold discovery, mine development and mine operations in Nevada and other gold producing jurisdictions in North America.
For more information, contact:
West Kirkland Mining Inc.
R. Michael Jones or Knox Henderson at (604) 685-8311
Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains forward-looking information or forward-looking statements (collectively "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: “believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “estimate”, “postulate” and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. Forward-looking information in this news release includes, without limitation, the completion of the Prefeasibility Study, the project approach of the Prefeasibility Study and exploration and all information under the heading “Prefeasibility Study Detail”, including the Prefeasibility Study budget. Although West Kirkland believes that such timing and expenses as set out in this press release are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations and estimates will prove to be correct. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking information provided by the Company is not a guarantee of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking information as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, the state of the financial markets for the Company's equity securities, the state of the market for gold or other minerals that may be produced generally, variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located, the Company's ability to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required for its activities, to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies and other risks associated with the exploration and development of mineral properties. The reader is referred to the Company's public filings for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects which may be accessed through the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors Regarding the Use of Mining Terms
This press release has been prepared in accordance with the securities laws in effect in Canada, which differ from the requirements of U.S. securities laws. Unless otherwise indicated, all resource and reserve estimates included in this press release have been prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”) and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. NI 43-101 is a rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators which establishes standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of scientific and technical information concerning mineral projects. Canadian standards, including NI 43-101, differ significantly from the requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and resource and reserve information contained therein may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by U.S. companies. In particular, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the term “resource” does not equate to the term “reserves”. Under U.S. standards, mineralization may not be classified as a “reserve” unless the determination has been made that the mineralization could be economically and legally produced or extracted at the time the reserve determination is made. The SEC’s disclosure standards normally do not permit the inclusion of information concerning “measured mineral resources”, “indicated mineral resources” or “inferred mineral resources” or other descriptions of the amount of mineralization in mineral deposits that do not constitute “reserves” by U.S. standards in documents filed with the SEC. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of mineral deposits in these categories will ever be converted into reserves. U.S. investors should also understand that “inferred mineral resources” have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an “inferred mineral resource” will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimated “inferred mineral resources” may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility studies except in rare cases. Investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an “inferred mineral resource” exists or is economically or legally mineable. Disclosure of “contained ounces” in a resource is permitted disclosure under Canadian regulations; however, the SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute “reserves” by SEC standards as in-place tonnage and grade without reference to unit measures. The requirements of NI 43-101 for identification of “reserves” are also not the same as those of the SEC, and reserves reported by the Company in compliance with NI 43-101 may not qualify as “reserves” under SEC standards. In addition, under SEC standards, a company may only be identified as “development” stage if it has established “reserves” by SEC standards and is engaged in the preparation of such reserves for extraction. Accordingly, information concerning mineral deposits set forth in this press release may not be comparable with information made public by companies that report in accordance with U.S. standards.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.