Fire River Gold announces $10 million brokered private placement
/NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO
FAU: TSX.V
The Company will pay the Agent a cash commission equal to 6% of the gross proceeds from the sale of the Units. In addition, the agents will receive broker warrants equal to 7% of the number of Units sold under the private placement, with each broker warrant being exercisable at any time for one Unit of the Company at the issue price of the private placement for a period of 18 months following the closing. Closing of the private placement is scheduled to take place on or about
All securities issued in connection with the private placement will be subject to a regulatory hold period of four months plus one day.
The funds from the private placement will be used for the exploration and development of the Nixon Fork Gold Mine in Alaska, and for general corporate purposes.
This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to sell any of the securities in the
About Fire River Gold Corp.
Fire River Gold Corp. completed its IPO at the end of
Nixon Fork Gold Mine:
- Near Term Gold-Copper-Silver Producer - Fully Constructed 200+ tpd Mill - Turn-key Mining-Milling Operation - Mine Fully Permitted and Bonded - Significant Exploration Upside
On
MCR controls the Nixon Fork Gold mine in Alaska, a former high-grade producing gold mine, which has produced between 1994 - 1999 approximately 145,000 ounces of gold at a grade of 42 grams per ton (1.48 ounce per ton) with copper and silver credits.
Nixon Fork Gold Mine Production History
Nevada Goldfields Inc. (NGI) operated the high-grade underground gold mine from 1995-1999, recovering 137,749 ounces of gold and 2.1 million pounds of copper, with additional silver credits. The average production grade was 42 grams per tonne (gpt) of gold, with an average production cost of US$266 per ounce. The mine was closed in 1999 due to declining gold prices. NGI's profitable operation at Nixon funded the parent company Real del Monte's development projects in
St Andrew Goldfields Ltd (SAS) leased the mineral rights in 2003. From 2004 through 2008 approximately US$54 million was expended on upgrades to the processing facilities and mine infrastructure and new equipment. During 2007 - 2008, 9,381 meters of reserve-resource definition drilling was conducted, but an updated reserve-resource estimate was not completed. Limited production in 2007 resulted in recovery of 6,775 ounces of gold and 78,644 pounds of copper. The mine facility and camp was placed on care and maintenance from the fall of 2008 until March, 2009.
SAS commissioned Roscoe-Postle Associates of
Facilities at the Nixon Fork Gold Mine include a 200 tpd floatation plant with a gravity gold separation circuit, a sulphide floatation circuit. In 2008, a CIL gold leaching circuit was purchased and approximately 60% installed. The mine also includes a fleet of mining vehicles, a self-contained power plant, maintenance facilities, drilling equipment, an 85 person camp, office facilities and a 1.5km long landing strip.
Mining and processing operations at Nixon Fork are fully permitted and bonded.
Mill Tailings Evaluation
The mill tailings from previous operations are being evaluated in consideration of reprocessing for recovery of the contained gold. SAS completed a study in 2004 which considered gold recovery in a CIL circuit, which they purchased and partially installed in 2007. Nevada Goldfields, the first operator of the Nixon Fork Mine produced an average head grade of approximately 43 grams per tonne and averaged 83% gold recovery. FAU has completed 21 drill-holes in the tailings area and has submitted 142 samples for assay and metallurgical work in an effort to confirm the results obtained by SAS. FAU expects to have results during the first quarter of 2010 and at that point will be able to make a production decision.
Exploration Upside Nixon Fork
As the last two operators of the project focused most of their financial efforts on underground development, the mine infrastructure, equipment, permitting and bonding, only a limited amount of their budget was spent on the exploration upside on the Nixon Fork project. However, several exploration targets have been identified and FAU's Management plans to focus on these and other areas throughout the claim block with the objective of outlining new resources during the 2010 exploration program.
Upon completion of the aforementioned
2009 Work Program
In
Furthermore, the program focused on re-evaluating the previous geologic interpretation. The old drill-core is currently being re-logged in order to better define the relationship of mineralization to the associated igneous rocks, alteration patterns, and faulting.
Through this evaluation new drilling targets are being defined for the 2010 drilling program. Evaluation of the tailings reprocessing project is underway as well. The purpose of this program is to confirm previous sampling results and metallurgy. Two rounds of drilling have been completed by FAU in the tailings impound area and the results are currently being confirmed and reviewed.
For further information, please refer to FAU's news releases dated and
- NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource - 14 targets are identified - 2009 program in progress - Excellent infrastructure, road access to property, 12 miles from major highway and railroad, power nearby
In an effort to continue to add to the Company's overall gold ounce bank and development schedule, on
History
The
The project is an advanced stage gold-copper-silver system with approximately 20,100 meters of drilling, extensive trenching, soil sampling grids, multiple geophysical surveys, and metallurgical samples collected from core and the underground workings in the main Breccia zone.
The project hosts several mineralization styles including an igneous rock hosted breccia pipe, several replacement zones of mineralization in calcareous rocks, and mineralization hosted in volcanoclastic rocks. The Breccia target is the most advanced and hosts the mineral resource and the 2009 exploration program will evaluate the possible extension on this mineralization. The Breccia is being evaluated as a possible open pit target. At least fourteen targets are identified within the 8000 hectare property and all have limited exploration work completed to date.
A technical report prepared by
Exploration Update
In
Draken Property
FAU has completed an initial Phase I work program consisting of surface exploration program, detailed rock sampling, mapping, rock chip sampling and metallic sieve analysis on selected samples and is continuing to move forward with the Phase I exploration on its 100% owned Draken Project. FAU expects to received and report the results of the 2009 exploration program in the first quarter of 2010.
Please refer to www.firerivergold.com for further information on the Draken Property.
Kansas Creek Property
Management is currently re-evaluating the data on the Kansas Creek Property with the objective of outlining a Phase I exploration program for the Spring 2010. For further information on the Kansas Creek Property, please refer to FAU's news release dated
On behalf of the Board of Directors, I look forward to keeping you updated with our corporate developments.
(signed) Harry Barr President & C.E.O.
Neither 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 accuracy of this release. We seek safe harbour.
Disclaimer: This news release may contain certain "forward-looking statements". All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations are disclosed in the Company's documents filed from time to time with the British Columbia Securities Commission and available at www.sedar.com or filed with the Canadian National Stock Exchange. Any forward-looking statements are not guarantees of the Company's future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, developments, and business decisions to differ materially from those contemplated by any forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
For further information: Tel: (604) 685-1870, Fax: (604) 685-8045, Email: [email protected] or visit www.firerivrgold.com; 2303 West 41st Avenue, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, V6M 2A3
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