Thunder Mountain Gold Updates Progress at South Mountain Mine
Thunder Mountain Gold Inc. (TSX-V: THM; OTCQB: THMG) (the Company), is pleased to provide an update for its South Mountain Project Joint Venture called Owyhee Gold Trust, in Owyhee County, Idaho.
South Mountain Project Developments Include:
- Underground mine development continues at an excellent pace, with the underground development focusing on enlargement of the main Sonneman level to 12 feet by 12 feet to accommodate future production. Mining in the drift has advanced 1,350 feet from the portal, and the first significant historic ore zone, the Laxey zone, was encountered in May at about the 900 foot mark. Planned underground drilling will commence once the Sonneman has been developed another 600 feet toward the DMEA zone, estimated for mid-September. The initial underground detailed drilling will target the down dip extension of this zone.
- KB Drilling from Reno Nevada was mobilized on July 22nd and HQ core drilling from the surface commenced on the historic Texas ore zone with the goal of further defining and extending the polymetallic resource between the Texas Shaft at the surface and the Laxey level. The focus of the surface core drilling is expansion of the existing resource base, both in the historic Texas Ore Zone, and down dip on the other historic ore zones. The first hole TX13-1 was completed to a depth of 445 feet and encountered several mineralized sections within the hole, including a significant massive sulfide zone with abundant mineralization. The core sampling is proceeding and will be sent to ALS CHEMEX in Reno, Nevada for analysis.
- Approximately 15 tons of polymetallic massive sulfide was custom crushed, and shipped to FL Schmidt in Midvale, Utah for metallurgical testing and mill design work. FL Schmidt of Midvale has been engaged to provide bulk testing at their laboratory, including metallurgical optimization for metals recovery, process development, flow-sheet layout and plant design. Mine and Mill Engineering of West Jordan, Utah have been retained to provide mill engineering and design services for the South Mountain Mill design.
- The purchase of 360 acres of private ranch land was completed in July, which will accommodate the mill site and associated tailing and water storage facilities. The mill site is approximately 6 miles from the mine, providing an optimal location for mill processing. A Phase I geotechnical study of the mill site subsurface conditions has been completed by STRATA Inc. in Boise Idaho. STRATA will be engaged to complete a Phase II study commencing in August. The mill building, along with long-lead time mill components such as rod and ball mills have been ordered.
- Aerial photography and photogrammetry based on LIDAR have also been completed for the project area.
- Meetings have been held with Idaho Power in an effort to initiate and upgrade the existing power distribution to accommodate mining and milling at the Project which would require a minimum upgrade of approximately 19 miles of power line to three-phase 69 KVa. A cost and environmental analysis is also being conducted for the use of larger diesel generators in the event that an agreement with Idaho Power is not reached.
Qualified Person – Edward D. Fields is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 responsible for the technical data reported in this news release.
About The South Mountain Mine
The South Mountain project is located in southwest Owyhee County, Idaho approximately 70 air miles southwest of Boise, Idaho, and is 20 miles southeast of Jordan Valley, Oregon.
The South Mountain Mine was purchased by Thunder Mountain Gold in 2007. In November 2012, the Company formed a joint venture (JV) called the Owyhee Gold Trust, LLC, (“OGT”) to develop the mine. The South Mountain Mine land package consists of approximately 1,200 acres of mostly private land – both patented mining claims and leased ranch land. In 2010, the Company completed a NI 43-101 Technical Report that incorporated all the new drill and sampling data with the historic data. The NI 43-101 can be reviewed on the Company`s website at www.thundermountaingold.com, or on www.SEDAR.com.
The South Mountain Mine was first mined in the late 1800s, and intermittently through the 1950s, with underground production from numerous historic ore zones with reported grades of 15% zinc (50% in certain zones), 10 opt silver, 0.10 opt gold, 2.0% copper, and 2.0% lead. A new large low-grade gold target has been discovered by the Company that is considered part of a larger system responsible for both this and the historic high grade polymetallic ore shoots. An feasibility study was conducted on the project in the mid 1980`s that was positive, and this data is used as historic data today.
About Thunder Mountain Gold, Inc.
Thunder Mountain Gold, a junior gold exploration company founded in 1935, owns interests in several U.S. precious metals projects. The Company’s principal assets are The South Mountain Project – Owyhee Gold Trust Joint Venture, located on private land in southern Idaho, just north of the Nevada border, and their Trout Creek Project – a grass roots gold target in the Eureka-Battle Mountain trend of central Nevada, currently under Joint Exploration Agreement with Newmont Mining Corp. For more information on Thunder Mountain, please visit the Company’s website at www.Thundermountaingold.com.
U.S. Securities Act of 1933
This press release does not constitute an offer of any securities for sale or a solicitation of an offer to purchase any securities.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on the beliefs of management and reflect the Company's current expectations. The forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions, which could change materially in the future. By their nature, forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors include the risk that the Company may not fully advance the South Mountain Project contemplated in this press release. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is provided as of the date of this press release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required in accordance with applicable laws.
Cautionary Note to Investors
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) permits mining companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only those mineral deposits that a company can economically and legally extract or produce.
For further information, please contact:
Thunder Mountain Gold Inc.
Eric Jones, President and C.E.O.
Email: eric@thundermountaingold.com
Phone: (208) 658-1037
Jim Collord, Vice President and C.O.O.
Email: jim@thundermountaingold.com
Contact
Thunder Mountain Gold Inc.
Eric Jones, 208-658-1037
President and C.E.O.
eric@thundermountaingold.com
or
Jim Collord
Vice President and C.O.O.
jim@thundermountaingold.com
