| Wed 19 Jan 2011, 17:49 | | GBG - Great Basin - Great Basin Provides Q4 2010 Production Update |
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GBG
GBG
GBG - Great Basin - Great Basin Provides Q4 2010 Production Update
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 PROVIDES Q4 2010 PRODUCTION UPDATE
January, 19, 2011, Vancouver, BC - Great Basin Gold Ltd. ("Great Basin" or the
"Company"), (TSX: GBG; NYSE Amex: GBG; JSE: GBG) reports on the progress of
exploration, development and production activitiesat its Hollister trial mining
operation in Nevada, USA and its Burnstone Mine in South Africa.
Hollister Gold Project
The Nevada operations reported an increase in production related, mainly, to
higher tonnages from trial mining and improved operational performance of the
Esmeralda mill, resulting in approximately 31,000 gold equivalent ounces (Au eqv
oz) being sold during Q4 2010. This is a substantial increase over the 11,000 Au
eqv oz sold in Q3 2010. Cash costs were also lower at approximately US$680/oz, a
20% quarter-on-quarter improvement. Additionally, 3,500 ounces were delivered
to the refinery; these will be recognized as revenue in Q1 2011.
At the Hollister Project, initial trial mining in the newly discovered Blanket
Zone yielded 500 tons at a grade of 15 Au eqv oz/ton (510 g/t), containing an
estimated 7,500 Au eqv oz. A short 15-foot section of the 180-foot length of the
high grade stope has been trial mined for 50 feet vertically to establish the
vertical extent of the Blanket Zone in this area. Activities are focused on
opening up the stope to determine the southern and northern limits and to
establish a platform to trial mine the total payable zone, including the high
grade centre and the surrounding lower grade halo (est. 0.6-1 oz/ton).
Delineation drilling of the zone immediately adjacent to the 3000 N 1 E stope
has already commenced.
The Company continues to work with the Federal Mine Safety and Health
Administration (MSHA) through their established process to ensure that Hollister
will remain a safe and productive mine over the long term. The MSHA inspections
have not adversely affected the productivity of the operation.
Burnstone Gold Mine
At the Burnstone Mine, the capital expenditure program has generally been
completed with the vertical and ventilation shafts commissioned. The mine has
commenced with production build-up. Development continues with 5,747 meters of
on-reef development completed to the end of December 2010. The focus of current
work is to increase the rate of stoping panel development and Long Hole Stoping;
both are progressing well.
The metallurgical plant was successfully commissioned and commenced milling low
grade development ore by mid-October2010; 65,534 tonnes of low grade ore had
been treated by end of December 2010. The Company was not in the position to
declare commercial production prior to the Christmas break in December. During
the first 17 days of January 2011,51,653 tonnes of production material was
treated, which is in line with the planned build up for the metallurgical plant.
A total of 2,186 ounces of gold has been recovered, including 9kg (289 oz) by
gravity, 34 kg (1,093 oz) loaded onto carbon and 25 kg (804 oz) in residue. Due
to the lower grade of the development ore being processed by the mill, an
average recovery of 86% was achieved but is expected to increase to 95% when
higher grade material is processed. It is expected that commercial production
will be reached by end January 2011.
At January 17, 2011,there were 156,000 tonnes on the ore stockpile at Burnstone.
Exploration and Development Drilling
Exploration and evaluation drilling has continued at both the Burnstone and
Hollister operations. At Burnstone, drilling is currently being conducted from
surface and underground to provide infill evaluation and structural data on
future mining blocks. Block evaluation is being advanced by detailed underground
channel sampling of on-reef mine development exposures.
In Nevada, underground exploration and evaluation drilling is focusing on the
high grade Blanket Zone, Velvet and Southeast Gwenivere targets.The Blanket
Zones are characterized by disseminated gold mineralization that occurs in
volcanic rocks that overlie the older meta sedimentary rocks that host the main
epithermal vein systems. Recent mine development has exposed a mineralized zones
that extends 180 feet (60 meters) and with an in situ grade of 22 oz/ton Au,
fully diluted over 3.5 feet (1.2 meters). Currently, a 33-hole, 16,000-foot
(4,864- meter) drilling program is underway at the Blanket Zone. The second in a
fan of drill holes was completed January 16, 2011. This objective of the
program is to enable grade shell modelling and assessment of the vertical
continuity of the mineralization associated with the Clementine #13-19 and
Gwenivere #5-9 epithermal veins.
Two long, low angle boreholes are planned to test the targets in the Velvet area
and the intervening ground located up to 3,000 feet north of the current mine
infrastructure. To January 16, hole HDB 433 in this area had progressed to 2,500
feet. It has intersected a number of zones of clay and silica veining, and
broader zones of silicification and brecciation. Initial assays are pending.
A number of intersections have been received for exploration boreholes testing
the SE Gwenivere target. HDB-423 encountered three significant gold intercepts
from the Southeastern Gwenivere Vein System. The first is 0.1 feet (0.03 m)
quartz veinlet at 23.1-23.9 feet (7.0-7.3 m). This veinlet is a healed vein
breccia with clasts of argillite and milky quartz clasts that rarely contain
visible gold up to 5 mm thick. This veinlet had a grade of 15.90 opt (545.0 g/t)
Au and 5.8 opt (200 g/t) Ag.
A second was intercepted from 28.6-35 feet (8.7-10.6 m) and included a 6.4 feet
(1.9 m) zone of moderate quartz stockwork, with veinlets in this zone up to 0.07
feet (0.02 m) thick. This zone had a composite grade of 0.696 opt (23.86 g/t) Au
and 0.3 opt (12.9 g/t) Ag.
The last significant intercept was a 13.0 feet (4.0 m) zone of weakly healed
breccia encountered from 40-53 feet (12.2-16.2 m). This breccia cuts minor
spiderweb quartz stockwork in moderately silicified argillite and quartzite and
is weakly healed by white clay. This 13.0 feet (4.0 m) zone had a composite
grade of 2.766 opt (94.82 g/t) Au and 1.3 opt (45 g/t) Ag.
There was only one notable gold intercept in HDB-424 at 24-28.2 feet (7.3-8.6
m). This 4.2 feet (1.3 m) intercept contained moderately silicified argillite
with minor white clay along few fractures and graded 0.776 opt (26.61 g/t) Au
and 0.5 opt (17.8 g/t) Ag.
Ferdi Dippenaar, President and CEO, commented: "After nearly four and a half
years, the Burnstone mine is up and running. Our short term focus is on
underground development which will provide for a progressive build up in
production over the year. 2011 will be our first full year of production.
At our Hollister project, production from trial mining has increased in line
with our plan from 275 tons per day to an average of 325 tons per day. The
exciting new Blanket Zone and Southeast Gwenivere discoveries are currently
under active exploration, and the information being gathered will assist in
determining the extent and value of these new zones. Both zones are located near
to existing infrastructure, which would facilitate rapid development."
Phil Bentley, Pr.Sci.Nat. (SACNAS) Vice President for Geology and Exploration
for the Company and a qualified person, and Johan Oelofse, PrEng, FSAIMM, Chief
Operating Officer for the Company and a qualified person, have reviewed this
news release on behalf of Great Basin.
Great Basin is a mining company engaged in the exploration and development of
gold properties. The Company is currently focused on bringing two mines into
production in the world`s two richest gold regions. The Hollister gold project
is located on the Carlin Trend in Nevada, USA and the Burnstone gold mine, is
located in the Witwatersrand goldfield of South Africa.
Gold equivalent here and elsewhere in this document was calculated using a gold
price of US$1,000 per ounce and a silver price of US$15 per ounce
23-D modeling of the gold grades as derived from a combination of sampling of
diamond drilling and mining development that creates a shape or "shell"
depicting the interpreted extent of economic mineralization.
Ferdi Dippenaar
President and CEO
Samples collected from Hollister trial mining are delivered to the First Gold
Laboratory in Lovelock, Nevada for analysis. The pulps of these samples are now
being sent to Inspectorate America Corporation in Sparks, Nevada for checking.
At First Gold, vein samples are analyzed by standard fire assay procedures. For
standard fire assay, vein sample preparation consists of drying and jaw-crushing
the entire sample to 90% passing 10-mesh, taking a 300 g sub-sample using a
Jones splitter, and then pulverizing the 300 g sub-sample to 90% passing 150-
mesh using a large capacity ring and puck pulverizer. A 30 g charge is fire
assayed. All metal determinations are by gravimetric finish.
For additional details on Great Basin and its gold properties, please visit the
Company`s website at www.grtbasin.com or contact Investor Services at:
Tsholo Serunye in South Africa +27 (0) 11 301 1800
Michael Curlook in North America +1 (888) 633 9332
Barbara Cano at Breakstone Group in the USA +1 (646) 452 2334
No regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained in
this news release.
This document contains "forward-looking statements" that were based on Great
Basin`s expectations, estimates and projections as of the dates as of which
those statements were made. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be
identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "outlook",
"anticipate", "project", "target", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intend",
"should" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are subject to
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the
Company`s actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be
materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. These include but are not limited to:
* uncertainties and costs related to the Company`s exploration and
development activities, such as those associated with determining whether
mineral resources or reserves exist on a property;
* uncertainties related to feasibility studies that provide estimates of
expected or anticipated costs, expenditures and economic returns from a
mining project; uncertainties related to expected production rates, timing
of production and the cash and total costs of production and milling;
* uncertainties related to the ability to obtain necessary licenses, permits,
electricity, surface rights and title for development projects;
* operating and technical difficulties in connection with mining development
activities;
* uncertainties related to the accuracy of our mineral reserve and mineral
resource estimates and our estimates of future production and future cash
and total costs of production, and the geotechnical or hydrogeological
nature of ore deposits, and diminishing quantities or grades of mineral
reserves;
* uncertainties related to unexpected judicial or regulatory proceedings;
* changes in, and the effects of, the laws, regulations and government
policies affecting our mining operations, particularly laws, regulations
and policies relating to
mine expansions, environmental protection and associated compliance costs
arising from exploration, mine development, mine operations and mine
closures;
* expected effective future tax rates in jurisdictions in which our
operations are located;
* the protection of the health and safety of mine workers; and
* mineral rights ownership in countries where our mineral deposits are
located, including the effect of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources
Development Act (South Africa);
* changes in general economic conditions, the financial markets and in the
demand and market price for gold, silver and other minerals and
commodities, such as diesel fuel, coal, petroleum coke, steel, concrete,
electricity and other forms of energy, mining equipment, and fluctuations
in exchange rates, particularly with respect to the value of the U.S.
dollar, Canadian dollar and South African rand;
* unusual or unexpected formation, cave-ins, flooding, pressures, and
precious metals losses (and the risk of inadequate insurance or inability
to obtain insurance to cover these risks);
* changes in accounting policies and methods we use to report our financial
condition, including uncertainties associated with critical accounting
assumptions and estimates;
* environmental issues and liabilities associated with mining including
processing and stock piling ore;
* geopolitical uncertainty and political and economic instability in
countries which we operate; and
* labour strikes, work stoppages, or other interruptions to, or difficulties
in, the employment of labour in markets in which we operate mines, or
environmental hazards, industrial accidents or other events or occurrences,
including third party interference that interrupt the production of
minerals in our mines.
For further information on Great Basin Gold, investors should review the
Company`s annual Form 40-F filing with the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission www.sec.com and home jurisdiction filings that are available at
www.sedar.com.
Johannesburg
Wednesday, 19 January 2011
Sponsor
Nedbank Capital
Date: 19/01/2011 17:49:58 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
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