Bravada Indentifies Additional Shallow Mineralization at Wind Mountain, Nevada
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 08/02/11 -- Bravada Gold Corporation (TSX VENTURE: BVA)(FRANKFURT: BRT) ('The Company') is pleased to report that it has identified and partially delineated with drilling a second new zone of near-surface mineralization, the North Hill Target, at its wholly owned Wind Mountain Low-sulfidation Gold/Silver project. The drilling is part of a planned 70-hole ( 6,000m) drilling program designed to in-fill portions of the existing resource and to identify additional shallow, oxide resource, which could significantly enhance the economics of the Wind Mountain property by reducing operation costs per tonne and increase mine life, while only marginally adding to capital costs. Encouraging assays were reported earlier in the program from the new South End Target, located approximately 800m south of the existing resource (see attached map and NR-10-11 dated July 25, 2011).
Strongly oxidized mineralization starts essentially at surface at the North Hill Target, which is located approximately 500m north of the existing Wind Mountain resource; the target is one of the anomalies identified by the Company's soil geochemical survey conducted this past winter north of the existing Wind Mountain resource. Six holes were completed for a total of 212m, with the strongest intercept being 16.8m averaging 0.619g/t Au and 17.9g/t Ag (0.875g/t Au-eq @ 70Ag:1Au) beginning at surface. Additional permitting will be necessary to allow follow-up drilling at the North Hill Target and the North Breeze Pit Target, which was also identified by a strong gold anomaly in soils (See attached map).
The South Wind Pit Target is located approximately 200m south of the existing Wind Pit. Additional holes are underway between this target and the existing resource. Shallow, oxidized gold/silver mineralization in this area may allow the Wind Pit to be extended into this under-drilled area.
2011 Wind Mountain Drill Intercepts
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Inter-
Orienta- T.D. From To val Au Ag Au-eq
Hole # tion (m) (m) (m) (m) (g/t) (g/t) (70:1) Comments
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North Hill Target
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WM11-038 -70, 127 61.0 13.7 16.8 3.0 0.206 10.1 0.350
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WM11-039 -50, 270 22.9 0.0 6.1 6.1 0.619 17.9 0.875
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18.3 21.3 3.0 0.185 11.6 0.350 No sample
------------------------------------------------------------- 10.7-18.3m
WM11-040 -70, 270 24.4 0.0 16.8 16.8 0.294 12.5 0.472 Hole lost,
samples to
------------------------------------------------------------- 16.8m only
WM11-041 -70, 042 61.0 7.6 27.4 19.8 0.184 15.3 0.403
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WM11-042 -70, 049 30.5 NSV
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WM11-043 -70, 260 12.2 1.5 6.1 4.6 0.441 9.4 0.576 Lost samples
6.1-9.1
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South Wind Pit Target
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WM11-044 -70, 068 91.4 12 18 6 0.399 22.6 0.721
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37 41 5 0.275 5.8 0.359
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52 58 6 0.302 9.2 0.432
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WM11-045 -70, 070 70.1 NSV
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WM11-046 -50, 070 70.1 NSV
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WM11-047 -70, 070 106.7 40 43 3 0.291 6.0 0.377
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0.223 13.8 0.420
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WM11-048 -50, 070 97.5 53 59 6 0.444 8.6 0.566
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87 91 5 0.234 14.3 0.439
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WM11-049 -70, 070 82.3 6 11 5 0.077 19.7 0.358
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47 56 9 0.405 7.8 0.516
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WM11-050 -50, 070 73.1 50 59 9 0.325 7.1 0.426
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Intercepts calculated 0.2g/t Au &/or 10g/t Ag combined, intervals of
0.3g/t Au-eq reported. Nothing above or below intercept included if less
than 0.3 Au-eq & no barren intervals greater than 6m included internally
True thicknesses are estimated to be 70-90% for the hole in the South Wind
Pit and North Hill Target
A ratio of 70Ag:1Au is used to reflect expected lower recoveries of Ag
relative to Au, although detailed metallurgy has not been completed
To view accompanying map, visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/MapBVA0802.jpg
About Wind Mountain
The project is located approximately 160km northeast of Reno and has good road access and a power line to the property. AMAX Gold/Kinross Gold recovered nearly 300,000 ounces of gold and over 1,700,000 ounces of silver between 1989 and 1999 from the Wind Mountain and Breeze open pit heap leach operations (based on Kinross Gold files). Rio Fortuna Exploration (US) Inc., a wholly owned US subsidiary of Bravada Gold Corporation, acquired 100% of the property via an earn-in agreement with Agnico-Eagle (USA) Limited, a subsidiary of Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited, who retains a 2% NSR royalty interest, of which 1% can be purchased for $1,000,000 any time prior to production. In May 2010, Rio Fortuna received and filed on SEDAR a Technical Report for the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) conducted by Mine Development Associates (MDA) of Reno. The study assumed open-pit mining using conventional trucks, shovels, run-of-mine leaching and utilized a base case gold price of US$850 per ounce with a credit for silver at a price of $14.50 per ounce. The base case economic model(1) in US dollars indicates:
Resource inside pits = 26.9 million short tons @ 0.012 oz Au/t, with 0.007 oz Au/t cutoff (approx. 90% Measured Indicated, approx. 10% Inferred)
Gold Ounces mined = 320,000
Gold Ounces produced = 198,000
Waste: Ore Strip ratio = 0.7:1
Capital = Initial capital of $41.8 million with $4.4 million sustaining capital
Mine Life = 4 years active mining with 2 additional years of residual leaching and rinsing of leach pads
Life-of-mine cash cost per Au ounce = $497 after a silver credit of $86 per ounce of gold is applied
Total Pre-Tax cost per Au ounce = $719 after a silver credit of $86 per ounce of gold is applied
IRR = 15%
Pre-tax NVP @ 5% = $13.2 million
(1) Note that Canadian NI 43-101 guidelines define a PEA as follows: 'A preliminary economic assessment is preliminary in nature and it includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied that would enable them to be classified as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the preliminary assessment will be realized.'
Sensitivity studies by MDA indicated that gold and silver prices 20% higher in the same modeled pit ($1,020/oz Au and $17.40/oz Ag) will increase the IRR to 38% and the NPV@5% to $43.7 million. Gold and silver prices that are 10% lower ($765/oz Au and $13.05/oz Ag) result in the model becoming uneconomic at an NPV@5%. Sensitivities of the model to capital and operating costs are also provided by MDA.
Mine Development Associates, Ore Reserves Engineering ('O.R.E.') and Debra Struhsacker, Environmental Permitting and Government Relations Consultant, compiled the technical report. Thomas Dyer, P.E. is a Senior Engineer for MDA and is responsible for sections of the technical report involving mine designs and the economic evaluation; Alan C. Noble, P.E. is the Principal Engineer of O.R.E. and is responsible for sections of the technical report involving resource modeling and information taken from the 2007 Technical Report completed entitled 'Technical Report on the Wind Mountain Gold Project'; and Debra Struhsacker is responsible for the section of the technical report involving environmental issues. These are the Qualified Persons of the technical report for the purpose of Canadian NI 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Economic Analyses of Mineral Projects.
About Bravada Gold Corporation
Bravada Gold Corporation is a member of the Manex Resource Group of companies with an exploration office in Reno, Nevada from which it is exploring its extensive (22 properties covering over 20,000 hectares) Carlin-type and low-sulfidation-type gold holdings strategically located within numerous productive gold trends in Nevada. The Company has several projects available for joint venture with qualified groups.
Joseph Anthony Kizis, Jr. (P.Geo.) is the Qualified Person responsible for reviewing the technical results in this release.
On behalf of the Board of Directors of Bravada Gold Corporation
Joseph A. Kizis Jr., Director, President, Bravada Gold Corporation
For further information, please visit Bravada Gold Corporation's websites at bravadagold.com.
This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. These statements are based on a number of assumptions, including, but not limited to, assumptions regarding general economic conditions, interest rates, commodity markets, regulatory and governmental approvals for the company's projects, and the availability of financing for the company's development projects on reasonable terms. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, the timing and receipt of government and regulatory approvals, and continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. Bravada Gold Corporation does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable law.
Neither 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.
Contacts:
Bravada Gold Corporation
Liana Shahinian
604.641.2773 or toll free: 1.888.456.1112
liana@mnxltd.com
www.bravadagold.com