Hasaga Project Delivers Positive Red Lake Winter Drill Results

(Including 1.04 g/t Au across 193.0 metres core length in HLD060)

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THUNDER BAY, ON, June 8, 2016 /CNW/ - Premier Gold Mines Ltd. (TSX-PG) is pleased to provide remaining assays from the winter surface drilling program on the Company's 100%-owned Hasaga Project in the Red Lake gold mining district of Northwestern Ontario. Drilling has continued to extend and in-fill near surface mineralization in key target areas.

The Hasaga Property is Premier's largest exploration program being conducted in Canada in 2016. The 50,000 metre drilling campaign and $7 million overall project budget comes on the heels of more than 60,000 metres of drilling that was conducted in 2015.

Highlights from the final batch of reported assays include the following:   

• HLD055 intersected 0.94 g/t Au across 113.2m beginning at 2.8m, including 1.26 g/t Au across 52.0m beginning at 4.0m.
  
  
• HLD057 intersected 1.15 g/t Au across 70.0m beginning a 236.0m.
  
  
• HLD059 intersected 1.15 g/t Au across 86.0m beginning at 276.0m.
  
  
• HLD060 intersected 1.04 g/t Au across 193.0m beginning at 26.0m, including 4.56 g/t Au across 12.0m
  
  
• HLD065 intersected 76.3 g/t Au across 1.0m in a newly discovered high grade structure between the Gold Shore and Central Zones
  
  
• HMP116 intersected 1.81 g/t Au across 16.0m in the H2 Zone beginning at 276.0m downhole in step out drilling 400m on to the recently purchased Buffalo ground

All abbreviations used in this press release are available by following this link (click here).

The Hasaga Property is host to the past-producing Hasaga, Buffalo and Gold Shore Mines and is being evaluated for both its lower grade, open-pit mineable potential as well as higher grade mineralization that may occur at depth (See Figure 1). Premier regards the Hasaga Property as having exploration potential similar to the company's Hardrock Project, where a multi-million ounce gold resource exists at the site of a past-producing underground mine. Open pit mining has not made a significant contribution to the Red Lake area's past production. Premier believes this is an opportunity that has largely been overlooked.

Table 1 provides a comprehensive summary of highlight results from additional holes drilled at the Central Zone. Table 2 provides highlights of the Hasaga Zone area.

Figure 2 also highlights the location of some of the Central Zone high grade results which vary in length from less than one metre to up to eight metres. Typically, these intercepts are between one and two metres. The highest grade material is closely associated with an increased frequency of quartz veinlets that often contains small amounts of visible gold.

The remainder of the 2016 exploration program will include a mix of infill and step-out drilling, bulldozer stripping, mapping and channel sampling on relevant outcrop exposures, limited wedge drilling to test the continuity of recently identified high-grade gold mineralization, and additional step-out drilling along strike on the new property area. A comprehensive litho-structural model will be utilized to support an initial mineral resource estimate later in the year. A metallurgical profiling and test program is continuing and Premier anticipates reporting on results of this program during the second half of the year.

"We are very pleased to continue to intersect wide well-mineralized sections on the project as we step out onto the new ground towards Buffalo" commented Stephen McGibbon, Premier's Executive Vice-President on the Company's C-Suite Blog (http://www.premiergoldmines.com/news/c-suite-blog). "The second half of the 2016 drill program, which commenced on June 1^st, will further focus on demonstrating continuity as well as extensions of the known mineral horizons.

Central Zone

The intercepts listed for HLD055 through HLD068 (See Figures 1 & 2) represent new results from the infill drill program within the Central Zone that was undertaken to demonstrate continuity of mineralization. The Central Zone is characterized by widespread persistent mineralization associated with silicification, weakly disseminated sulphides and variably distributed quartz veinlets within the Dome Stock that begins at surface and remains open at depth. The additional drilling conducted at this target has validated results reported in earlier campaigns and helped provide better understanding of the internal variability of higher grade material and its continuity.

Table 1:  Highlight results from recent drilling at the Central Zone target

Hasaga Zone

The drilling results presented in Table 2 continue to outline a strong trend of mineralization that occurs proximal to the regional unconformity that separates Balmer-aged rocks from those of the Confederation assemblage. This unconformity is recognized throughout the Red Lake camp as an important marker for areas having higher prospectivity and potential for discovery of important mineralization. The unconformity extends southwest to the Madsen Mine area and beyond. The drilling within the Hasaga porphyry also suggests the potential for higher grade, quartz vein- hosted mineralization proximal to the northern porphyry contact where earlier intercepts of up to 145.13 g/t Au across 2.0 metres have been returned.

Drilling has now traced the Hasaga Porphyry Zone west some 400 metres onto the lands acquired in 2015 and remains open along strike. The overall trend of mineralization that has been outlined along the Hasaga Zone now extends some 1.5 kilometres from the workings of the past-producing Hasaga Mine and remains open along strike and at depth. The summer drilling campaign, which began on June 1, 2016 will continue to target Hasaga Zone mineralization southwest toward the past-producing Buffalo Mine.

Table 2:  Highlight results from recent drilling at the Hasaga Porphyry target

Table 3 summarizes a selection of higher grade assays that have been returned from drilling at the Hasaga Project during the past year. 

Premier has prioritized further evaluation of many of these results to ensure they are appropriately represented in any future mineral resource estimate.  Orebodies in Archean greenstone districts are often highly sensitive to the influence that outlier data can have on a mineral resource estimate. In addition, insufficient density of drilling currently exists to fully understand the character of these higher grade intercepts in terms of continuity and geometry. Those drilled at the Hasaga Zone appear to occur along a more persistent trend in some areas, often situated within a porphyry rock unit beginning at surface versus results at the Central Zone that may be more locally constrained.     

Table 3:  High grade interval results from Hasaga Project

Stephen McGibbon, P. Geo., is the Qualified Person for the information contained in this press release and is a Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101. Assay results are from core samples sent to either Accurassay Laboratories or Activation Labs, both accredited mineral analysis laboratories in Thunder Bay, Ontario, for preparation and analysis utilizing both fire assay and screen metallic methods. 

Premier Gold Mines Ltd. is one of North America's leading exploration and development companies with a pipeline of high-quality gold projects in safe, accessible and proven mining jurisdictions of Canada and the United States. The Company is developing the South Arturo Mine in Nevada through a 40/60 partnership with Barrick Gold Corp. and expects to produce over 150,000 ounces of gold production to its credit, over the next two years. The Company is also developing its Hardrock deposit in Northern Ontario through a 50/50 partnership with Centerra Gold Inc. Premier is well-financed with approximately $46 million in cash and investments and expects to end the year with over $100 million.

This Press Release contains certain information that may constitute "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements about the completion of the Financing, strategic plans, including future operations, future work programs, capital expenditures, discovery and production of minerals, price of gold and currency exchange rates, timing of geological reports and corporate and technical objectives. Forward-looking information is necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including the risks inherent to the mining industry, adverse economic and market developments and the risks identified in Premier's annual information form under the heading "Risk Factors". There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. All forward-looking information contained in this press release is given as of the date hereof and is based upon the opinions and estimates of management and information available to management as at the date hereof. Premier disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

SOURCE Premier Gold Mines Ltd.