VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- West Kirkland Mining Inc. (WKM:TSXV) (“West Kirkland” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the Nevada State Engineer’s approval for an inter-basin transfer of water from basin 137A where the Three Hills Mine is located to basin 142 where the Hasbrouck Mine is located. Approval for piping water from the Three Hills Mine, where the Company leases a water right, to the Hasbrouck Mine eight km to the south effectively finalizes the Company’s water supply plans for the project as a whole. A Plan of Operations for the Hasbrouck Mine has been accepted as complete by the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”), which is in addition to the federal and state permits already on hand for construction and operation of the Three Hills Mine.
Water
Water supply to the Three Hills Mine is already planned and permitted to come from a well to be installed there under a water right leased from Liberty Moly, LLC (see News Release dated February 21, 2017). The Company took the measure of leasing a water right from Liberty Moly, LLC in 2017 as no new water rights are being issued in basin 137A as it is over-appropriated. Basin 142 where the Hasbrouck Mine is located is also over-appropriated. West Kirkland has filed an application for a water right in Basin 142, which will be held in abeyance until one or more existing water rights are extinguished. Thus, obtaining permission to transfer water from the Three Hills Mine to the Hasbrouck Mine is a logical and efficient method to source water for the Hasbrouck Mine. The State Engineer’s approval for inter-basin transfer satisfies one of the few remaining prerequisites for mine construction and operation of the Hasbrouck Mine.
Plan of Operations at Hasbrouck Mine
While all key permits for the Three Hills Mine construction and operations were secured in 2016, the Company continues work on permitting the open pit Hasbrouck Mine and is focusing on obtaining all necessary permits for mine construction and operation. Permitting for the Hasbrouck Mine was started in 2017 and is on track to obtain federal permits in Q4 2019. The Company’s Plan of Operations for the Hasbrouck Mine was accepted by the BLM in March 2018. The Company anticipates permitting at Hasbrouck Mine to essentially follow the same path as at Three Hills Mine, which proved to be straight-forward with federal permits obtained seven months after submission of a Plan of Operations. Specialist for all critical permitting areas are engaged and preparing the required reports. The Company plans to apply for key state permits, which are subject to less uncertainty and take less time than federal permits, as the federal permitting process advances.
About the Hasbrouck Gold Project
The Hasbrouck Gold Project consists of two all-oxide gold-silver deposits eight km apart, near the Town of Tonopah in southern Nevada. The Preliminary Feasibility Study supports that both deposits can be open-pit mined with 1:1 stripping ratios, minimal pre-stripping, and 76% heap-leach gold recovery. There are no known technical, environmental, economic, or social obstacles preventing immediate construction at the northern deposit (Three Hills Mine) and finalizing permit acquisition is the only outstanding item for construction at the southern deposit (Hasbrouck Mine). Permitting Hasbrouck Mine was started in 2017 and is now well-advanced with federal permits targeted in Q4 2019.
The Hasbrouck Gold Project contains Proven & Probable Reserves of 784,000 gold equivalent oz (45,270,000 tons at 0.017 Au oz/t for 762,000 contained Au oz; 0.233 Ag oz/t for 10,569,000 contained Ag ounces) (Technical Report and Updated Preliminary Feasibility Study for The Hasbrouck and Three Hills Gold-Silver Project, Esmeralda County, Nevada, USA, Report Date: September 14, 2016 prepared by Thomas L. Dyer, P.E. and Paul Tietz, C.P.G. of Mine Development Associates (MDA)). Waterton Precious Metals Fund II Cayman, LP holds a 25% interest in the Hasbrouck Gold Project and is participating in project expenditures. The first pit is fully permitted and permitting the second pit is ongoing.
About West Kirkland Mining Inc.
West Kirkland is focused on acquiring and advancing near-construction gold projects in safe jurisdictions, and owns a 75% interest in, and a 1.1% net smelter return royalty over, the Hasbrouck Gold Project in Tonopah, Nevada.
The Company has secured an option on a district scale land position for future exploration. At this time, the Company will focus its efforts on completing full permitting for its gold reserves.
On behalf of West Kirkland Mining Inc.
“R. Michael Jones”
Chief Executive Officer
For further information, please see the Company’s website at www.wkmining.com or contact us by email at info@wkmining.com.
Investor Relations:
R. Michael Jones
(604) 685 8311 / rmj@platinumgroupmetals.net
Authors and Qualified Persons Statement
Sandy McVey, P.Eng., Chief Operating Officer for West Kirkland, and a non-independent Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”), has reviewed the technical information contained in this news release and has verified the relevant data. Quality Control and Assay information is as previously disclosed in the Company’s technical reports.
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, discussion of regulatory processes and permitting; planned construction activities and the timing thereof and other statements that are not historical facts. Information about details contained in the prefeasibility study are also forward-looking statements in that they reflect a prediction of the mineralization that would be encountered, and the results of mining it, if a mineral deposit were developed and mined. Although West Kirkland believes that such information as set out in this press release is 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, significant increases in any of the machinery, equipment or supplies required to develop and operate a mine, a significant change in the availability or cost of the labor force required to operate a mine, a significant increases in the cost of transportation for the Company’s products, 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 resources and reserve estimates reported by the Company in relation to the 2016 Updated Pre-feasibility Study have been prepared in accordance with 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”) Industry Guide 7, and resource or reserve information contained herein may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by U.S. companies. In particular, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, “resources” and “reserves” established under NI 43-101 standards may not qualify as “resources” and “reserves” under U.S. standards. 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. In addition, under U.S. standards, a “Final” or “Bankable” feasibility study is required to report reserves, the three-year historical average price is used in any reserve or cash flow analysis to designate reserves and the primary environmental analysis or report must be filed with the appropriate governmental authority. 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. 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.
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