KELLOGG, Idaho, July 20, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- New Jersey Mining Company (OTCBB:NJMC) is pleased to announce that assays from recent sampling of the Niagara copper-silver deposit near Murray, Idaho reveal up to 0.671 grams per tonne (gpt) gold. Chip sampling was completed in the historical Cliff adit which is located near the center of the known copper-silver deposit. The presence of gold in the Niagara deposit would significantly improve the economics of a mining operation.
Two chip samples were taken by the Company's geologist in the Cliff adit and are summarized in the table below:
Chip Length
Sample (meters) Gold (gpt) Silver (gpt) Copper (%)
------ ----------- ---------- ------------ ----------
NA07R-10 0.5 0.671 107 0.96%
NA07R-11 1.4 0.521 52.2 0.78%
Samples were assayed by ALS Chemex of Sparks, NV. Also, research of historical records found that a chip sample in the same adit was taken by ASARCO in 1956 and assayed 3.4 gpt gold. Other historical assays also indicate that gold is present in the deposit.
In January of 2007, the New Jersey Mining Company completed a resource estimate of the Niagara deposit resulting in an indicated and inferred resource total of 14.2 million tonnes grading 20 gpt silver and 0.46% copper. This estimate was based on eight diamond drillholes and seven outcrop trenches completed by Earth Resources Company in the 1970s. The historical diamond drillhole logs of Earth Resources indicate analysis was completed for copper and silver, but not for gold. To date, the Company has been unable to determine if the core from this earlier drilling was saved.
Clearly more drilling will be necessary to determine the gold distribution in the Niagara deposit. A plan of operations has been submitted to the U.S. Forest Service for drilling more holes in the Niagara deposit and approval of the plan is expected to occur late this summer. Preliminary pit design, now being done as part of a feasibility study of building a new flotation mill in the Murray district, indicates that more drilling of the Niagara deposit is needed and that parts of the deposit are amenable to open pit mining. Additional revenue from gold would significantly increase the size of the potential open pit.
The Murray Peak fault, which bounds the Niagara deposit on the west, is viewed as a feeder of mineralizing solutions for both copper-silver and gold, but the gold event may have occurred at a later time. Ground magnetic surveys have been completed over and around the Niagara deposit and a very strong magnetic anomaly has been detected near the Murray Peak fault. Favorable stratigraphy intersecting the Murray Peak fault has been mineralized. It is expected that favorable host rocks lying beneath the Niagara deposit may also be mineralized, a condition which is common in the Montana Revett-type copper-silver deposits.
Company President Fred Brackebusch commented: "The economic potential of the Niagara deposit could be greatly enhanced by the presence of gold mineralization in the known mineralized beds. Additional resources could be located in lower favorable beds and also in the Murray Peak fault zone."
New Jersey Mining Company is involved in exploring for and developing gold, silver and base metal 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 Niagara copper-silver deposit, the Golden Chest mine, the New Jersey mine, the Silver Strand mine, and several promising exploration prospects.
Cautionary Note to Investors -- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission permits mining companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only those mineral deposits that the company can economically and legally extract. We use certain terms in this news release, such as "resource" and "reserve," that the SEC guidelines strictly prohibit us from including in our filings with the SEC. Investors are urged to consider the disclosure in our Form 10-KSB and Form 10-QSB. Copies of these filings can be viewed at the SEC's website www.sec.gov.
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, 2006.
Further information about New Jersey Mining Company and its properties can be found at the company's website at www.newjerseymining.com or reviewed on the website of the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov.