CALGARY, Alberta, July 16, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- GoldSpring, Inc. (OTCBB:GSPG) operates its Plum Mining, Billie The Kid gold and silver cyanide heap leach project located just outside Virginia City, NV and today announces the establishment of its wholly owned subsidiary, Peace River Energy, Inc. for the purpose of staging asset acquisitions for a potential Co-Gen power facility in the Peace River/Clear Hills area in north western Alberta. The Company currently controls in excess of 800 sq. mi. of permitted iron ore mineral. The proposed power facility would be designed to serve the iron reduction facility currently under pre-feasibility study by the Company's wholly owned subsidiary, Clear Hills Iron, Ltd.
The initial acquisition for Peace River Energy, Inc. will be a shallow coal deposit, under evaluation, of around 200 million tons that overlies the Company's iron deposit. This apparent shallow overburden may contain economic values for the overall project and substantially reduce the cost of iron production. The coal is graded as Lignite A, which is not a metallurgical grade coal that would be suitable for iron production without enhancement, but rather is suitable as fuel for a Co-Gen power facility that would provide power to the iron operation. The other fuels being evaluated for use in the Co-Gen plant are wood fiber waste and natural gas, both available in the area. Natural gas may also be used in the iron reduction process. There is an existing power need in the area and viability evaluation is underway.
Peace River Energy is also evaluating several oil and gas opportunities in the Clear Hills area with an eye to establishing its own reserves. Petral Robertson of Calgary and Houston, TX is consulting with the Companies to determine the best future strategy for this resource. Both Peace River Energy, Inc. and Clear Hills Iron, Ltd will headquarter in Suite 3000, Petro Canada Center, West Tower, 150-6th Ave. S.W., Calgary, Alberta T2P 3Y7 Tel: 403.263.3110.
Plum Mining is steadily producing both gold and silver which is successfully being recovered through the new Merrill Crowe system. The ratio of gold to silver in recovered dore is approximately 20% gold and 80% silver, or 4 to 1. This occurs due to the relative concentrations of gold and silver in the pregnant solution and is exactly as expected. Recoveries are running 98-99% of metal in solution. Total metal recovery will only be determined at the time of completion of the heap leaching and is expected to be in the mid 80% range. There are regular shipments to Johnson Matthey Refinery, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Further information regarding closing of the Timm Mother Lode Mine, other pending acquisitions, the AMEX listing and other business will be forthcoming as soon as available for publication.
Statements contained in this press release, which are not historical facts, are forward looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based largely on the Company's expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties beyond the company's control, including but not limited to economic, competitive and other factors affecting the Company's operations, management team effectiveness, expansion strategies, available financing, market prices and recovery costs, government regulations involving the Company, facts and events not known at the time of this release, and other factors discussed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements