VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 07/05/12 -- High Desert Gold Corporation ("HDG" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: HDG)(OTCQX: HDGCF) announces the results from the first six holes drilled in Utah. Eighteen drill holes have been completed in the Company's approximately 50 drill-hole program for 2012 at the Gold Springs Project that straddles the Utah/Nevada border. Sixteen drill holes have been completed in Utah and two in Nevada where the reverse circulation drill is currently located. The 2012 drill program is designed to expand the previously reported resource in known drilled areas and to identify new gold areas which will be subject to potential resource expansion drilling at a later date.
Highlights from the first six holes include the following:
26 metres of 1 g/t gold Eq within 81 metres of 0.61 g/t gold Eq
and
35 metres of 1.01 g/t gold Eq within 63 metres of 0.71 g/t gold Eq
and
29 metres of 1.01 g/t gold Eq within 65 metres of 0.6 g/t gold Eq
This last intercept is in a new mineralized area and includes a high grade
interval of 1.5 metres of 8.9 g/t Gold Eq
These results together with the gold and silver grades are shown in the tables that follow. (The true width of these intercepts is not known; however, it is estimated to be between 70% and 100% of the widths listed).
Gold Springs is a 60/40 Joint Venture with Pilot Gold Inc. in which HDG holds a 60% interest and is the operator of the Joint Venture.
Ralph Fitch, President of the Company, stated, "These are the first six holes from the 2012 program and confirm our prediction that we would find new gold mineralization in undrilled areas below outcropping gold mineralization. We also predicted that we would likely intersect some of the high grade material that was mined historically such as the mineralization from the Shark's Mouth area described above which includes a 1.5 meter interval of 8.9 g/t Gold Eq or 0.29 ounces of gold per tonne. Shark's Mouth is approximately half a kilometre south of the Jumbo Resource area and is the first of a string of zones that we are drilling in Utah, all of which may coalesce into a single semi-continuous zone within the 8 km long high resistivity feature we call the Jumbo Extension. Our next two areas to report in the next press release will be the Shark's Belly and Etna zones, both in Utah, which are approximately one and a half and two and a half kilometres south of Jumbo, respectively, both lying within the Jumbo Extension. The strong results reported in this press release bode well for further resource development on the Project."
The Company is presently drilling hole 19 in the program on the Silica Hill target, an area in Nevada which includes a 100-g/t gold outcrop as reported in a recent release.
The first 3 holes reported below, were drilled within the Jumbo resource area in Utah and were designed to check whether drill hole orientation was important in determining grade at the Jumbo Extension and to expand the resource. J-12-001, drilled to the SW successfully intersected important veins clearly increasing the grade in this part of the deposit relative to previous drilling which was EW. This hole also intersected a strong approximately 3 metre wide vein similar to the material historically mined underground. All mineralized zones are interpreted to extend to the surface or subcrop below a thin veneer of colluvium.
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RC m m m g/t g/t g/t
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Av
Drill Hole from to cum Av Au Av Ag AuEq(i)
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J-12-001 45.7 71.6 25.9 0.63 20.9 1.00
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Within an envelope of mineralization
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J-12-001 45.7 126.5 80.8 0.38 13.1 0.61
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This zone includes higher grade vein material
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J-12-001 53.3 56.4 3.0 1.93 51.2 2.82
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(i) Gold Equivalent is calculated using a price of $1,600/oz for gold and $28/oz for silver and have not been adjusted for metallurgical recoveries. This Gold Equivalent calculation has been used in reporting results shown in the tables in this press release.
The second hole J-1-002 drilled to the NW appears to have missed the strong NNW trending vein component and reported weaker mineralization of 58 metres of 0.3 g/t gold Eq. The third hole, drilled three hundred and eighty metres further south intersected strong mineralization and a second vein averaging 3.75 g/t gold Eq.
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RC m m m g/t g/t g/t
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Av
Drill Hole from to cum Av Au Av Ag AuEq(i)
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J-12-003 12.2 47.2 35.1 0.61 22.3 1.01
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Within an envelope of mineralization
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J-12-003 10.7 73.2 62.5 0.45 14.7 0.71
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This zone includes higher grade vein material
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J-12-003 27.4 32.0 4.6 1.77 113.3 3.75
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Later in the program further holes will be drilled in this resource area with these and other holes used as a guide. The purpose will be to expand the resource both horizontally and to depth.
The second set of holes reported in this press release come from an area approximately four hundred metres south of J-12-003 which is known as the Sharks Mouth Target (SM). This is a completely new area of mineralization identified by the Company through geology, geochemistry and the airborne ZTEM Survey. The Company expects that future drilling may show that this mineralization is semi-continuous with the Jumbo Resource Area.
These are the first 3 holes drilled in the Sharks Mouth area, therefore may be considered scouting holes looking for where the mineralization is best developed. The second hole intersected strong new mineralization and is likely to become part of a new resource area as drilling continues. SM-12-002 intersected strong mineralization and strong vein material averaging 8.9 g/t Gold Eq over 1.5 meters.
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RC m m m g/t g/t g/t
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Av
Drill Hole from to cum Av Au Av Ag AuEq(i)
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SM-12-002 18.3 47.2 29.0 0.77 13.9 1.01
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Within an envelope of mineralization
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SM-12-002 0.0 65.5 65.5 0.42 10.3 0.60
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This zone includes higher grade vein material
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SM-12-002 38.1 39.6 1.5 8.01 49.7 8.88
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Holes 1 and 3 intersected broad zones of anomalous gold varying from 50-125 metres of 0.2 to 0.5 g/t gold Eq helping outline the area the Company needs to continue to explore through further drilling later in the 2012 program.
To date, 18 holes have been completed, 16 in Utah and 2 in Nevada. Utah holes included Jumbo, Sharks Mouth and Sharks Belly, together with Etna. In Nevada holes so far have included the area of the 100 gt gold outcrop. The next holes to be drilled in Nevada will include ones located in Tin-Can, Pope, Fluorite and the Grey Eagle, prior to further resource drilling.
As previously reported, see HDG PR 12-10, May 2, 2012, the Company has received approvals for additional drill hole locations for two Notices of Intent ("NOI") submitted to the Nevada Bureau of Land Management ("BLM") earlier this month. With this approval HDG now has 28 hole locations approved in Nevada, including the most recently approved 21 drill holes. A detailed map of the target areas in both Utah and Nevada can be found on the Company's website at http://www.highdesertgoldcorp.com/GS%20Geo%20with%20Target%20Areas%20Jan2011.pdf.
The Gold Springs drill program this year is designed to drill potential extensions to the previously issued inferred resource of 9.4 million tonnes grading 0.57 g/t gold and 12.9 g/t silver for a total of 173,000 oz. of gold and 3.88 M oz. of silver. This equates to 233,000 ounces AuEq(ii) grading 0.77 g/t (see HDG PR11-18, December 22, 2011). Drilling will also test the additional high priority targets within Nevada and Utah.
New Sampling Results
Recent surface sampling in the area of the Shark's Belly in Utah and Pope in Nevada include some very encouraging outcrop samples of greater than 1 g/t gold mineralization. Drill results from the Shark's Belly should be available in the next press release and Pope will be drilled later in the program.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sample-ID Prospect Sample Type Au g/t Ag g/t ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14753 Shark's Belly hand specimen 2.018 73.00 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14755 Shark's Belly hand specimen 2.266 1.84 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14785 Shark's Belly hand specimen 3.042 5.68 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14786 Shark's Belly hand specimen 0.836 32.40 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14787 Shark's Belly 3 m chip sample 2.513 1.68 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14790 Shark's Belly hand specimen 0.883 0.87 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14792 Shark's Belly hand specimen 1.257 2.45 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 144961 Pope 10 cm vein 2.428 41.04 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 144962 Pope 3 cm vein 3.09 29.11 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 144964 Pope 2 cm vein 26.807 73.30 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 144965 Pope 15 cm vein 30.081 121.8 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Geological mapping and geochemical sampling programs are also underway and are designed to better define and understand the many gold targets generated on the project thus far. In addition, HDG will be initiating work on its 100% controlled Pinyon Project located near Gold Springs. It is planned that this project will be ready to drill by the end of the summer season.
The Qualified Person on the Gold Springs property is Randall Moore, Executive Vice President of Exploration of High Desert Gold Corporation and he has reviewed and approved the content of this press release.
Assays were performed in Reno, Nevada by Inspectorate Laboratories, an ISO 9001:2000 Certified laboratory. Gold was analyzed by fire assay of a 30 gram sample with an ICP finish. All other elements were analyzed by the 50-4A-UT method.
The following table lists all the drill hole results reported ni this release:
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m m m g/t g/t g/t
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Av
RC Drill Hole from to cum Av Au Av Ag AuEq(i)
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J-12-001 29.0 169.2 140.2 0.29 9.1 0.45
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J-12-001 45.7 126.5 80.8 0.38 13.1 0.61
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J-12-001 45.7 71.6 25.9 0.63 20.9 1.00
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J-12-001 53.3 56.4 3.0 1.93 51.2 2.82
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J-12-002 24.4 82.3 57.9 0.21 5.5 0.31
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J-12-002 59.4 70.1 10.7 0.41 10.8 0.60
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J-12-003 0.0 89.9 89.9 0.36 11.2 0.55
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J-12-003 10.7 73.2 62.5 0.45 14.7 0.71
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J-12-003 12.2 47.2 35.1 0.61 22.3 1.01
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J-12-003 27.4 36.6 9.1 0.98 66.7 2.15
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J-12-003 27.4 32.0 4.6 1.77 113.3 3.75
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SM-12-001 0.0 125.0 125.0 0.15 3.9 0.22
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SM-12-001 19.8 48.8 29.0 0.24 4.0 0.31
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SM-12-002 0.0 65.5 65.5 0.42 10.3 0.60
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SM-12-002 18.3 47.2 29.0 0.77 13.9 1.01
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SM-12-002 38.1 39.6 1.5 8.01 49.7 8.88
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SM-12-003 30.5 80.8 50.3 0.25 11.6 0.45
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SM-12-003 56.4 73.2 16.8 0.40 17.7 0.71
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ABOUT HIGH DESERT GOLD
The Company is a mineral exploration company that acquires and explores mineral properties, primarily gold, copper and silver, in North America. The principal property held by HDG is a 60% interest in the Gold Springs gold project situated along the border between Utah and Nevada. The Company also holds direct interests in a number of other properties including the San Antonio project in Sonora, Mexico, the Gold Lake property in New Mexico, the Artillery Peak property in Arizona and the Kinkaid and Pinyon properties in Nevada. The Company also has a 34.2% interest in the Canasta Dorada property in Sonora, Mexico, through its equity interest in Highvista Gold Inc. There has been insufficient exploration to define a property-wide mineral resource at Gold Springs and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the additional targets at Gold Springs being delineated as a mineral resource.
Certain statements contained herein constitute "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements look into the future and provide an opinion as to the effect of certain events and trends on the business. Forward-looking statements may include words such as "may", "target", "likely", "next", "further", "planned", "will", "future", "expects" and similar expressions. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the continued advancement of the Gold Springs property. These forward- looking statements are based on current expectations and entail various risks and uncertainties. Actual results may materially differ from expectations, if known and unknown risks or uncertainties affect our business, or if our estimates or assumptions prove inaccurate. Factors that could cause results or events to differ materially from current expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, include, but are not limited to, the effect of capital market conditions and other factors on capital availability; availability of sufficient financing to fund planned or further required work in a timely manner and on acceptable terms; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined and other risks more fully described in the Company's Management Discussion & Analysis of Financial Position and Results of Operations, which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Except as required by law, HDG assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or any other reason.
This news release uses the term 'inferred resources' which is recognized and required by Canadian regulations (under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects), however, such term is not a defined term under SEC Industry Guide 7 and is not normally permitted to be used in reports and registration statements filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the 'inferred resources' will be upgraded or converted into 'indicated resources' or 'reserves' as defined under NI 43-101. In addition, 'inferred resources' have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and economic and legal feasibility. Under Canadian rules, estimates of inferred resources may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility studies, or economic studies except for preliminary economic assessment as defined under NI 43-101. Investors are cautioned not to assume that part or all of an inferred resource exists, or is economically or legally mineable.
(ii) Gold equivalent (AuEq) calculations reflect gross metal content using metal prices of $1,020.00/oz gold (Au), and $15.80/oz silver (Ag), and have not been adjusted for metallurgical recoveries. This Gold Equivalent calculation was used when reporting the initial resource at Gold Springs that was reported in December 2012.
Neither the 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:
High Desert Gold Corporation
Richard Doran
Executive Vice President
(303) 584-0608
(303) 758-2063 (FAX)
www.highdesertgoldcorp.com
