VANCOUVER,
Oct. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -
Western Pacific Resources Corp. (TSXV: WRP) is pleased to
announce the initiation of an economic evaluation of the historic
heap leach pad at its Mineral Gulch Project, located in
Cassia County, Idaho.
"The historic gold recovery from using heap
leach at the Black Pine Mine was approximately 63% but Pegasus
Mining was using 'run-of-mine' and as a consequence did not crush
the ore. Noranda performed grind-test recoveries on the Property in
the late 80's which returned a recovery rate of 88% using the
conventional heap leach process. Western Pacific intends to
evaluate if the existing leach pad could be reprocessed to recover
gold that was not obtained during the previous work. Doing so would
fast track Mineral Gulch to production," stated CEO Warwick Smith.
The above information was obtained from historic data and is not
NI 43-101 compliant. Although Western Pacific has not
verified this data, management believes it is from a credible
source.
Information from Pegasus Mining's 1997 annual
report indicates that they produced approximately 522,000 ounces of
gold from 1992 to 1997 from uncrushed, run-of-mine ores at a 63%
recovery rate. Based on production records from the historic mine
and known head grades and metallurgical recoveries, management
believes that the existing heaps represent a conceptual, leachable
target of between 14 million tons at 0.5g/t to 16 million tons at
0.4g/t for a potential of between 190,000 and 200,000 contained
ounces - assuming that metallurgical recovery work indicates
economic viability. The fact that the heap has been inactive for 15
years should aid in the oxidation and liberation of gold. The
start-up capital for Pegasus to achieve commercial production in
1991 was $20 million. Western Pacific
will be employing an independent mining engineering company to
further refine these numbers and to assist with the project
feasibility.
Readers are cautioned that more work needs to
be completed by Western Pacific to verify the tonnage and grade
potential in the heap - estimates of tonnage and grade were based
on historic production records provided by Pegasus's 1997 annual
report.
The reprocessing of existing tailings and heaps
is currently being done in Nevada
by Gryphon Gold Corporation at the Borealis mine in Western Nevada. The previous Borealis pads
were hauled to a new heap leach pad, and pregnant and barren ponds
and new haul roads were constructed. (Gryphon Gold News Release
June 9, 2011).
If drilling and engineering studies are positive
an initial program entailing sampling of the heap and auger
drilling could be implemented fairly quickly. This would be
followed by crush and recovery tests. A drilling program is in the
planning stage and permitting has started. Money exists to complete
the above work and it is contemplated to start in early 2013.
Mineral Gulch
Mineral Gulch is located in Cassia County, Idaho, along the southeast edge
of the Black Pine Mountains, approximately 128 km southeast of
Burley, Idaho. Western
Pacific Resources Corp. controls 100% of the Project.
The Project encompasses the historic Black Pine
Mining District and surrounding exploration ground. Western Pacific
previously acquired the historical proprietary data for the
property from Newmont Mining Corporation.
Sporadic small-scale gold and base-metal mining
occurred in the area as early as 1915. Noranda conducted
exploration programs at Black Pine between 1984 and 1990.
Pegasus Mining entered into a joint venture with Noranda in 1990
and became the majority owner and operator of the Project between
1992 and 1998. The Black Pine Property produced over 500,000
ounces of gold at an average head grade of 1.5 grams from several
small open pits. Historic exploration and mining efforts were
generally focused on near-surface, oxidized ore bodies.
About Western Pacific
Western Pacific is a gold explorer focused on
acquiring advanced-stage projects in the Western United States, and has the right
combination of exploration and financial professionals to succeed
in making a world class gold discovery. For more information,
please visit our website at www.westernpacificresources.com.
Qualified Person
Clancy Wendt,
M.Sc., a registered geologist in Arizona and British
Columbia and a member of SME, SEG FAusIMM(CP) and PDAC, is
Western Pacific's Qualified Person for the purposes of National
Instrument 43-101. Mr. Wendt has prepared or supervised the
preparation of the disclosure of the scientific and technical
information contained in this news release.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Warwick Smith, Chief Executive Officer
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the
Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy
or accuracy of this news release.
This news release contains forward-looking
information, which involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties
and other factors that may cause actual events to differ materially
from current expectation. Important factors - including the
availability of funds, the results of financing and exploration
activities, the interpretation of drilling results and other
geological data, risks associated with the estimation of mineral
resources and the geology, grade and continuity of mineral
deposits, project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses
-- that could cause actual results to differ materially from the
Company's expectations are disclosed in the Company's documents
filed from time to time on SEDAR (see www.sedar.com). Readers
are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date of this press
release. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation,
except to the extent required by law, to update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
SOURCE Western Pacific Resources Corp.