West Kirkland's Three Hills Mine to Be Permitted Under an Environmental Assessment
Prefeasibility on Three Hills and Hasbrouck Surface Gold Deposits to be Finalized
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - May 8, 2015) - West Kirkland Mining Inc. (TSX VENTURE:WKM) ("West Kirkland") is pleased to announce that the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has decided to review the company's Three Hills Mine Plan of Operations under an Environmental Assessment (EA). Achieving a permit to construct a mine under an EA typically takes less than a year.
The BLM confirmed this decision in writing on May 7, 2015 following the recent National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) kick-off meeting held in Tonopah, Nevada. This decision allows the mine plan and timeline for the Three Hills and Hasbrouck gold deposits to be finalized in the prefeasibility study being produced by independent engineers Mine Development Associates (MDA). The prefeasibility study will model the timeline for the permitting and development of the Three Hills mine first. While Three Hills is producing, a separate permitting and development program for the larger Hasbrouck mine will be planned.
Three Hills qualified under an EA because of its small footprint of less than a square mile and the absence of "significant impacts" as determined by the BLM. An EA is a significantly faster and less costly process than an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). West Kirkland plans to operate the Three Hills mine for at least two years, allowing time to permit and build the Hasbrouck mine. Hasbrouck's capital costs are projected to be significantly funded by cash flow from Three Hills.
Permitting work at Hasbrouck under an EIS may begin as early as Q3, 2015. West Kirkland expects to announce the result of a prefeasibility study of the Hasbrouck Project, encompassing the operation of both mines, to be produced by MDA, in May 2015.
The EA process will identify environmental impacts, if any, that the project might have on the environment, together with appropriate mitigation measures. Once the EA is complete, a Finding of No Significant Impact and a Decision Record can be issued by the BLM, effectively permitting the project to proceed to construction.
Current At-Surface Resources
The Hasbrouck Project has a mineral resource of 70.9 million tonnes (Mt) grading 0.42 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 7.96 g/t silver for 1.28 million gold equivalent ounces at 0.56 g/t AuEq in the Measured and Indicated categories; and 63.4 Mt grading 0.28 g/t gold and 5.46 g/t silver for 0.76 million ounces at 0.37 g/t AuEq in the Inferred category (Scott E. Wilson, Technical Report dated February 21, 2014 filed on www.sedar.com*).
About the Hasbrouck Project
Located near Tonopah, Nevada, the Hasbrouck Project consists of two oxidized gold-silver deposits eight kilometers from each other, Three Hills and Hasbrouck. West Kirkland has a 75% controlling interest in the project and a large mineral rights position near Tonopah, Nevada. West Kirkland has the option to make an offer for the remaining 25% interest.
Qualified Persons
*Resource estimates were disclosed in a Technical Report dated February 21, 2014 titled "Technical Report for the Hasbrouck Project Esmeralda County, Nevada, USA, West Kirkland Mining Inc." authored by Scott E. Wilson, C.P.G., and filed under the Company profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. 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 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.
Sandy McVey, Chief Operating Officer for West Kirkland, and a non-independent Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, has reviewed the information other than resources contained in this news release and has verified the information as correct.
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 Hasbrouck and Three Hills properties in southern Nevada. The founders, management and Board members of West Kirkland have successful and extensive experience in gold discovery, mine development and mine operations in Nevada, and other gold producing jurisdictions in North America and globally.
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 prefeasibility 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.