Atna Announces Significant Increase in Gold Resource at Pinson

GOLDEN, Colo., Feb. 6, 2012 /CNW/ - Atna Resources Ltd. ('Atna' or the 'Company')

        --  All Pinson Mining Company's drill results generated between
            2006 and 2008.
        --  Open pit drill information not previously incorporated in NI
            43-101 Technical Studies.
        --  All prior data relating to the high grade underground
            mineralization at Pinson.

This study adds a significant open pit mineral resource to the already extensive high-grade underground mineral resource previously reported for Pinson. Total resource by underground and open pit scenarios are as follows:

                Resource Summary (imperial)     Resource Summary (metric)

                Tons                Contained   Tonnes
                          oz/ton Au                       g/t Au
    Underground (x 1,000)           Ounces Gold (x 1,000)

    Measured    1,619.1   0.355     575,000     1,468.8   12.18

    Indicated   1,300.7   0.383     498,000     1,180.0   13.13

    M & I-Total 2,919.8   0.368     1,073,000   2,648.8   12.60

    Inferred    2,236.2   0.378     845,900     2,028.6   12.97



    Open Pit    Resource Summary (imperial)     Resource Summary (metric)

    Measured    21,158.9  0.035     732,000     19,195.0  1.19

    Indicated   4,307.4   0.058     249,600     3,907.6   1.04

    M & I-Total 25,466.3  0.039     981,700     23,102.6  1.32

    Inferred    824.4     0.034     28,300      747.9     1.18

    Imperial cut-off = 0.20 oz/ton Au Underground & 0.01 oz/ton Au Open
    Pit

    Metric cut-off = 6.34 g/tonne Au Underground, 0.34 g/tonne Au Open
    Pit

    Rounding may cause columns to not add or multiply precisely

Further detail of the mineral resource estimates are listed by zone and cutoff grade in the appended tables.

'This study demonstrates previously known high-grade underground mineral potential at Pinson and adds a significant open-pit mineral resource. We believe Pinson continues to have further exploration opportunity and are excited by the prospect of Pinson becoming Atna's major gold producer,' states James Hesketh, President & CEO.

Atna plans to start commercial underground mine production in the fourth quarter 2012. Underground mine design work is presently underway utilizing the resource model developed in this study. The contract miner at Pinson is currently driving a secondary access and Atna anticipates the mining of bulk metallurgical samples over the next quarter. Atna will begin feasibility study work to develop the open pit potential at Pinson in the coming months as underground production ramps up.

Combined measured and indicated resources estimates for the high grade underground zones were largely unchanged from prior estimates released by Atna in 2007, although inferred resources were reduced. This was due to factors that included the use of more conservative interpolation parameters based on a larger data set, the inclusion of additional data which changed geologic interpretations in local areas, and interaction with open-pit resource estimation.

To estimate the mineral resource; geologic, structural and mineral domains were constructed using available geologic data. This information was modeled using geostatistical methods to estimate gold grades and develop a three-dimensional block model. Structure and stratigraphy of the Pinson area was defined by combining subsurface data with surface geology to create three dimensional structural and stratigraphic models. Each of the CX Fault, CX-West Fault, Range Front Fault, Adams Peak Shear Zone, Otto Stope, Linehole North Fault, SOS Fault, SOS Dike, SOS Cross Fault and two CX Fault Splays, and the South and Mag pit areas were individually modeled. The Block model was divided into five statistically related zones to accommodate statistical search parameters appropriate for individual mineral styles. These were reported as the Mag and South pit zones, the Ogee/CX-West, Range Front and CX zones.

In order to define open-pit versus underground resources, the Mag and South pit resource zones were defined utilizing a pit optimizing tool, pit slopes of 45 degrees and costs based on Briggs Mine actual costs that assume heap leach gold recovery. Gold recovery was guided by previous heap leach operating experience at Pinson, where gold recovery was defined by the ratio of cyanide soluble gold assay to total gold assay.

Pinson is presently permitted for underground mining under a small miner's permit. Applications will be made in the near future to administratively amend this permit to allow full scale underground operations. High-grade ore mined at Pinson will be transported to nearby third party plants for processing. Additional permitting, which may require the completion of an environmental impact study, will be required to support open pit mining and heap leach recovery operations at Pinson. Pinson historically produced almost one million ounces of gold through open pit mining and heap leach and oxide mill recovery.

The resource estimate was prepared for Atna by Gustavson Associates, LLC of Colorado, a leading global mining consulting firm consisting of geologists and engineers, under the supervision of Donald E. Hulse, P.E. a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101.

This press release was prepared under the supervision and review of William Stanley, V.P. Exploration of Atna, a Registered Member of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, a Licensed Geologist and Qualified Person, as defined in NI 43-101, who has verified the authenticity and validity of the technical information contained within this news release.

For additional information on Atna Resources and the Pinson Mine, please visit our website at www.atna.com.

This press release contains certain 'forward-looking statements,' as defined in the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation relating to potential mineral resource, reserve or production at the Pinson Mine. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical fact. They are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made and they involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change, unless required by law. Factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include: gold deposit modeling, development and future production at the Pinson Mine, the Company might encounter problems such as the significant depreciation of metals prices; accidents and other risks associated with mine development and production operations; the risk that the Company will encounter unanticipated geological factors; the Company's need for and ability to obtain additional financing; the possibility that the Company may not be able to secure permitting and other governmental clearances necessary to carry out the Company's exploration and development programs; and the other risk factors discussed in greater detail in the Company's various filings on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) with Canadian securities regulators and its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's 2010 Form 20-F dated March 23, 2011.

Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors --- The United States Securities and Exchange Commission permits U.S. mining companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only those mineral deposits that a company can economically and legally extract or produce. We use certain terms in this report, such as 'measured,' 'indicated,' 'inferred,' and 'resources,' that the SEC guidelines strictly prohibit U.S. registered companies from including in their filings with the SEC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:

James Hesketh, President and CEO - (303) 278-8464

Valerie Kimball, Investor Relations - toll free (877) 692-8182

www.atna.com

    Underground Mineral Resources (Imperial)

    Cutoff  Measured                Indicated                 Measured + Indicated      Inferred

    Gold    Tons      Gold  Ounces  Tons      Gold    Ounces  Tons      Gold  Ounces    Tons      Gold  Ounces

    opt               opt   Au                opt     Au                opt   Au                  opt   Au

    0.100   3,037,200 0.257 781,700 2,516,000 0.266   668,400 5,553,300 0.261 1,450,100 4,204,900 0.269 1,129,500

    0.150   2,244,000 0.304 683,100 1,719,700 0.332   570,900 3,963,700 0.316 1,254,000 3,013,500 0.326 982,800

    0.200   1,619,100 0.355 575,000 1,300,700 0.383   498,000 2,919,800 0.368 1,073,000 2,236,200 0.378 845,900

    0.250   1,171,900 0.405 474,900 934,300   0.444   415,000 2,106,200 0.423 889,900   1,722,800 0.424 730,600

    0.300   828,700   0.459 380,700 606,600   0.534   324,000 1,435,300 0.491 704,700   1,253,500 0.480 601,200

    0.500   206,100   0.715 147,300 291,500   0.701   204,200 497,600   0.706 351,600   481,600   0.617 297,100

    Underground Mineral Resources (Metric)

    Cutoff Measured                Indicated                 Measured + Indicated       Inferred

    Gold   Tonnes    Gold  Ounces  Tonnes      Gold  Ounces  Tonnes     Gold  Ounces    Tonnes    Gold  Ounces

    g/t              g/t   Au                  g/t   Au                 g/t   Au                  g/t   Au

    3.43   2,755,300 8.82  781,700 2,282,500   9.11  668,400 5,037,800  8.95  1,450,100 3,814,600 9.21  1,129,500

    5.14   2,035,700 10.44 683,100 1,560,100   11.38 570,900 3,595,800  10.85 1,254,000 2,733,800 11.18 982,800

    6.86   1,468,800 12.18 575,000 1,180,000   13.13 498,000 2,648,800  12.60 1,073,000 2,028,600 12.97 845,900

    8.57   1,063,100 13.89 474,900 847,500     15.23 415,000 1,910,700  14.49 889,900   1,562,900 14.54 730,600

    10.29  751,800   15.75 380,700 550,300     18.31 324,000 1,302,100  16.83 704,700   1,137,100 16.44 601,200

    17.14  187,000   24.51 147,300 264,500     24.02 204,200 451,400    24.22 351,600   436,900   21.15 297,100

    Underground Mineral Resource by Area, 0.20 oz/ton Au cut-off (Imperial)

                 Measured                   Indicated                 Measured + Indicated                Inferred

    Zone         Tons      Gold  Contained  Tons      Gold  Contained Tons      Gold  Contained Tons      Gold     Contained

                           opt   ounces Au            opt   ounces Au           opt   ounces Au           opt      ounces Au

    Ogee/CX-West 398,000   0.405 161,100    385,700   0.402 155,200   783,700   0.404 316,300   433,700   0.324    140,400

    Range Front  459,700   0.325 149,300    363,500   0.345 125,400   823,100   0.334 274,700   447,200   0.319    142,800

    Adams Peak   415,100   0.341 141,600    129,200   0.287 37,100    544,300   0.328 178,700   79,100    0.292    23,100

    Otto Stope   29,700    0.523 15,500     122,800   0.400 49,100    152,400   0.424 64,600    290,500   0.361    105,000

    Linehole
    North        2,200     0.245 500        121,200   0.633 76,700    123,400   0.626 77,200    760,400   0.489    372,000

    CX Fault &
    splays       314,400   0.340 107,000    178,500   0.306 54,600    492,900   0.328 161,600   225,400   0.278    62,600

    Summary      1,619,100 0.355 575,000    1,300,700 0.383 498,000   2,919,800 0.368 1,073,000 2,236,200 0.378    845,900



    Underground Mineral Resource by Area, 6.86 g/t Au cut-off (Metric)

                 Measured                   Indicated                 Measured + Indicated      Inferred

    Zone         Tonnes     Gold  Contained Tonnes    Gold  Contained Tonnes    Gold  Contained Tonnes    Gold     Contained

                            g/t   ounces Au           g/t   ounces Au           g/t   ounces Au           g/t      ounces Au

    Ogee/CX-West 361,100    13.88 161,100   349,900   13.79 155,200   711,000   13.84 316,300   393,400   11.10    140,400

    Range Front  417,000    11.13 149,300   329,700   11.83 125,400   746,700   11.44 274,700   405,700   10.95    142,800

    Adams Peak   376,600    11.69 141,600   117,200   9.84  37,100    493,800   11.25 178,700   71,700    10.02    23,100

    Otto Stope   26,900     17.93 15,500    111,400   13.72 49,100    138,300   14.54 64,600    263,500   12.39    105,000

    Linehole
    North        2,000      8.40  500       109,900   21.70 76,700    111,900   21.46 77,200    689,800   16.77    372,000

    CX Fault &
    splays       285,200    11.67 107,000   161,900   10.48 54,600    447,200   11.24 161,600   204,500   9.52     62,600

    Summary      1,468,800  12.18 575,000   1,180,000 13.13 498,000   2,648,800 12.60 1,073,000 2,028,600 12.97    845,900

    Open Pit Mineral Resources
    (Imperial)

    Cutoff            Measured                     Indicated                      Measured +                Inferred
                                                                                  Indicated

    Gold   Tons       Gold     Contained Tons      Gold      Contained Tons       Gold  Contained Tons      Gold     Contained

    opt               opt      ounces Au           opt       ounces Au            opt   ounces Au           opt      ounces Au

    0.005  26,291,100 0.029    770,700   5,123,000 0.050     255,600   31,414,100 0.033 1,026,300 1,035,200 0.029    29,900

    0.010  21,158,900 0.035    732,000   4,307,400 0.058     249,600   25,466,300 0.039 981,700   824,400   0.034    28,300

    0.015  16,999,400 0.040    681,000   3,652,700 0.066     241,500   20,652,100 0.045 922,600   659,000   0.040    26,200

    0.020  13,988,700 0.045    628,500   3,198,500 0.073     233,800   17,187,300 0.050 862,200   531,600   0.045    24,100

    0.025  11,474,200 0.050    572,200   2,837,000 0.080     225,700   14,311,200 0.056 797,900   426,800   0.051    21,700

    0.030  9,338,900  0.055    513,500   2,495,100 0.087     216,200   11,834,000 0.062 729,700   356,800   0.055    19,800



    Open Pit Mineral Resources (Metric)

    Cutoff Measured                      Indicated                     Measured + Indicated       Inferred

    Gold   Tonnes     Gold     Contained Tonnes    Gold      Contained Tonnes     Gold  Contained Tonnes    Gold     Contained

    g/t               g/t      ounces Au           g/t       ounces Au            g/t   ounces Au           g/t      ounces Au

    0.17   23,850,900 1.01     770,700   4,647,500 1.71      255,600   28,498,400 1.12  1,026,300 939,100   0.99     29,900

    0.34   19,195,000 1.19     732,000   3,907,600 1.99      249,600   23,102,600 1.32  981,700   747,900   1.18     28,300

    0.51   15,421,600 1.37     681,000   3,313,700 2.27      241,500   18,735,300 1.53  922,600   597,800   1.37     26,200

    0.69   12,690,300 1.54     628,500   2,901,700 2.51      233,800   15,592,000 1.72  862,200   482,200   1.55     24,100

    0.86   10,409,200 1.71     572,200   2,573,600 2.73      225,700   12,982,900 1.91  797,900   387,200   1.74     21,700

    1.03   8,472,100  1.89     513,500   2,263,500 2.97      216,200   10,735,600 2.11  729,700   323,700   1.90     19,800

    Open Pit Mineral Resource by Area, 0.010 oz/ton Au cut-off (Imperial)

            Measured                   Indicated                 Measured + Indicated       Inferred

    Zone    Tons       Gold  Contained Tons      Gold  Contained Tons       Gold  Contained Tons    Gold  Contained

                       opt   ounces Au           opt   ounces Au            opt   ounces Au         opt   ounces Au

    Mag Pit 20,631,000 0.034 711,100   2,703,800 0.074 200,900   23,334,800 0.039 912,000   533,000 0.038 20,300

    South
    Zone    527,900    0.040 21,000    1,603,600 0.030 48,800    2,131,500  0.033 69,700    291,400 0.028 8,000

    Summary 21,158,900 0.035 732,000   4,307,400 0.058 249,600   25,466,300 0.039 981,700   824,400 0.034 28,300



    Open Pit Mineral Resource by Area, 0.34 g/t Au cut-off (Metric)

            Measured                   Indicated                 Measured + Indicated       Inferred

    Zone    Tonnes     Gold  Contained Tonnes    Gold  Contained Tonnes     Gold  Contained Tonnes  Gold  Contained

                       g/t   ounces Au           g/t   ounces Au            g/t   ounces Au         g/t   ounces Au

    Mag Pit 18,716,100 1.18  711,100   2,452,900 2.55  200,900   21,169,000 1.34  912,000   483,500 1.31  20,300

    South
    Zone    478,900    1.36  21,000    1,454,800 1.04  48,800    1,933,600  1.12  69,700    264,400 0.94  8,000

    Summary 19,195,000 1.19  732,000   3,907,600 1.99  249,600   23,102,600 1.32  981,700   747,900 1.18  28,300

SOURCE Atna Resources Ltd.

Atna Resources Ltd.

CONTACT: http://www.atna.com