KELLOGG, Idaho, June 28, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- New Jersey Mining Company (OTCBB:NJMC) announces that it has commenced a mining operation at the Golden Chest mine near Murray, Idaho. A raise is being driven on the Katie-Dora vein and has advanced 12 meters to date. Gold ore is being shipped to the New Jersey mill in Kellogg, Idaho for processing, and a shipment of concentrate will be delivered to Barrick Gold's Goldstrike mine in early July.
Mining plans call for sublevel I-drifts to be established from the raise at eight-meter intervals along the dip of the vein. These I-drifts will be driven on the vein and will provide drill access for longhole stoping. I-drifts will be driven on the vein until the vein pinches out and no longer meets the cutoff grade across a minimum mining width of 1.5 meters. Mining of the first I-drift sublevel will start later this week. The second I-drift will be extended to the northeast to explore the Katie-Dora vein along strike.
Approximately 600 tonnes have been processed by the New Jersey mill since operations restarted in late May. Ore from the raise at the Golden Chest has been fed to the mill along with a low-grade stockpile combined with New Jersey open pit ore.
The decision by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to allow the Company to begin a mining operation at the Silver Strand mine was appealed by an environmental group. Now the local office of the USFS must submit a response to the appeal along with the project record to a regional review board in Missoula, Mont. A decision to either deny the appeal or remand the plan to the local USFS office for more analysis is expected to be made by mid-July.
A meeting was held this week between Company management and officials from the USFS regarding the permitting of a exploration drilling operation at the Silver Button silver prospect near Clark Fork, Idaho. The purpose of the meeting was to explain the Company's Plan of Operations to USFS officials and also to visit the site.
New Jersey Mining Company is involved in exploring for and developing gold, silver and base metal ore resources in the Coeur d'Alene Mining District of northern Idaho. The Company has a portfolio of mineral properties in the Coeur d'Alene Mining District including the New Jersey mine, the Silver Strand mine, the Golden Chest mine, the CAMP project, the Scotch Thistle project, and the Silver Button project.
This release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Federal Securities Laws. Such statements are based on assumptions that the Company believes are reasonable but which are subject to a wide range of uncertainties and business risks. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those anticipated are discussed in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 10-KSB for the year ended December 31, 2004.
Further information about New Jersey Mining Company can be reviewed on the Web site of the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov or on the company's Web site at www.newjerseymining.com.