| Mon 10 Mar 2008, 14:29 | | GBG - Great Basin - Receives important South Afric |
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GBG
GBG
GBG - Great Basin - Receives important South African mining regulatory
approvals
GREAT BASIN GOLD LIMITED
(INCORPORATED IN CANADA AND REGISTERED AS AN EXTERNAL COMPANY IN SOUTH AFRICA)
(REGISTRATION NO. 2006/021304/10)
SHARE CODE: GBG ISIN NUMBER: CA3901241057
("GREAT BASIN" OR "THE COMPANY")
GREAT BASIN GOLD RECEIVES IMPORTANT SOUTH AFRICAN MINING REGULATORY APPROVALS
March 10, 2008, Vancouver, BC - Great Basin Gold Ltd. (TSX: GBG; AMEX: GBN;
JSE: GBG) ("Great Basin Gold") announces that the South African Department of
Minerals and Energy (`DME`) has approved an amended environmental management
plan (`EMP`) for the sinking of the vertical shaft at its Burnstone
development project.
The amended EMP addresses the environmental management in respect to:
1. The original bulk sampling activities;
2. The sinking of a second outlet in the form of a vertical shaft that will
be used for safety only until the mining right application, submitted in
September 2007, has been successfully processed and granted;
and
3. The crushing of waste rock from the development of the prospecting
decline and the second outlet.
In addition, the DME granted written approval for the taking of a bulk sample
in terms of Section 20 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act,
2002 (`MPDRA`), thereby substituting the current old order approval that was
granted in terms of the Minerals Act, 1991. The Section 20 approval completes
the requirements to proceed with the first phase of the Burnstone development
project and has been included in the application for a mining right.
The processing and granting of an application for a mining right by the DME
generally takes approximately 12 months to conclude.
President and CEO Ferdi Dippenaar said: "We welcome the approvals of the EMP
and the Section 20 application. The process has been indicative of the good
interactive relationship between Great Basin Gold and the DME, and emphasizes
expectations for the Burnstone development project to be transformed into a
fully fledged mining operation. A significant added benefit from the timing of
the approval is that Great Basin Gold will expand our Corporate Social
Investment initiative, creating 60 outside employment opportunities. An
economic empowerment company, Inzanathi (Pty) Ltd, which was established in
2007, will process crushed rock from the development, provide crushed to the
Burnstone project and commercially dispose of the surplus as well as other
manufactured, value added products to the community and region where
infrastructure improvements are currently underway."
Ferdi DippenaarPresident and CEO
For additional details on Great Basin Gold and its gold properties, please
visit the Company`s website at www.grtbasin.com or contact Investor Services:
Tsholo Serunye in South Africa 27 (0) 11 301-1800
Melanee Henderson in North America 1 800 667-2114
Barbara Cano at Breakstone Group in the USA 646) 452-2334
No regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained
in this news release.
Cautionary and Forward Looking Statement Information
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking
statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of
historical facts, that address possible future commercial production, reserve
potential, exploration drilling results, development, feasibility or
exploitation activities and events or developments that Great Basin Gold
expects to occur are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes
the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on
reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future
performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from
those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include
market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, and continued
availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or
business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not
guarantees of future performance and those actual results or developments may
differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.
Feasibility work has been done to confirm the mine design, mining methods and
processing methods assumed in the Feasibility Study, construction and
operation of a mine depends on securing environmental and other permits on a
timely basis. For more information on the Company, Investors should review the
Company`s annual Form 20-F filing with the United States Securities Commission
and its home jurisdiction filings that are available at www.sedar.com.
Date: 10/03/2008 14:29:44 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
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