| Tue 28 Nov 2006, 16:15 | | Great Basin - Granting of final prospecting right |
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GBG
GBG
Great Basin - Granting of final prospecting right for its Burnstone Gold
Project in South Africa
Great Basin Gold Limited
(Incorporated in Canada and registered as an External Company in South Africa)
(External Company Registration No. 2006/021304/10)
Share Code: GBG
ISIN Number: CA3901241057
("Great Basin" or "the company")
GREAT BASIN GOLD ANNOUNCES THE GRANTING OF FINAL PROSPECTING RIGHT FOR ITS
BURNSTONE GOLD PROJECT IN SOUTH AFRICA
November 28, 2006 Vancouver BC - Great Basin Gold Ltd. ("Great Basin Gold" or
the "Company") announces that the Department of Minerals and Energy has
granted its wholly owned subsidiary, Southgold Exploration (Proprietary)
Limited ("Southgold") the final prospecting right required for its Burnstone
Project area.
This right is an `old order prospecting right" that was granted to Great Basin
Gold under the terms of the provisions of the Minerals Act, 1981. It has now
been converted into a prospecting right in terms of the Mineral and Petroleum
Resources Development Act, 2002 (the "MPRDA").
The whole of the planned mining area of the Burnstone Gold Project, as set out
in the Burnstone Feasibility Study, has now been so converted. Under the
feasibility study which was completed and published in May 2006, the Burnstone
Gold Project has an expected mine life of 14 years, producing an average of
214,000 oz/annum. An exploration programme is currently underway with the
objective of increasing the mineral reserve by some 30% which, in turn, could
see the Burnstone Mine achieving a higher rate of production over an extended
mine life.
Great Basin Gold commenced with the construction of a decline on July 7, 2006.
As at November 27, 2006 the decline had been advanced to 290 meters. Stage One
of the development program that encompasses construction of the decline and
taking a bulk sample will be completed in approximately 15 months time.
The MPRDA provides that the holder of a prospecting right has an exclusive
right to apply for and to be granted a mining right in respect to mineral and
prospecting areas. Great Basin Gold intends to complete the administrative
process by applying for a mining right, consisting of a consolidation of the
prospecting rights that comprise the total area of the Burnstone Gold Project,
as outlined in the Feasibility Study. The estimated time for processing a
mining right is approximately one year. The objective is to complete this
process during the time that the bulk sampling is being completed, in order to
make a seamless transition to the proposed mining operations.
Great Basin Gold has two advanced stage gold projects in two of the world"s
best gold environments. In addition to its Burnstone Gold Project in South
Africa"s Witwatersrand Goldfield, the Company holds a 100% interest in the
Hollister Property on the Carlin Trend in Nevada, USA. Hecla Mining Company
is earning a 50% interest in the Hollister Development Block Project, a
portion of the Hollister property, by carrying out an underground exploration
and development program designed to provide the necessary data for completion
of a feasibility study for the project in the second quarter of 2007.
For more information on Great Basin Gold and its projects, please visit the
Company"s website at www.greatbasingold.com or call Investor Services at 604-
684-6365 or within North America at 1-800-667-2114.
Ferdi Dippenaar
President and CEO
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 ("the
Company") 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. For
more information on the Company, Investors should review the Company"s annual
Form 20-F filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and
its home jurisdiction filings that are available at www.sedar.com.
28 November 2006
Sponsor: J.P.Morgan Equities Limited
Date: 28/11/2006 04:15:03 PM Produced by the JSE SENS Department
