KELLOGG, Idaho, Dec. 5, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- New Jersey Mining Company (OTCBB:NJMC) recently completed the staking of 102 new unpatented claims in the East Fork Eagle Creek drainage just north of Murray, Idaho. NJMC now holds 172 claims for a total of approximately 3,300 acres within the East Fork Eagle drainage. Within the claimed area are three promising gold prospects with major tonnage potential: the Golden Reward, Gold Butte, and Mineral Ridge. The Company's Niagara copper-silver deposit is also within the claimed area. It has a drill indicated and inferred resource of 14.2 million tonnes grading 20 grams per tonne (gpt) silver and 0.47% copper.
The three gold prospects are structural zones related to alkaline magmatism. The geochemistry of the gold mineralization is typified by low base metal content, gold and silver telluride minerals, molybdenum, and potassic alteration.
Golden Reward Zone Extended
Soil sampling assays have recently been received which indicate the Golden Reward zone extends at least another 160 meters to the northeast. This new soil line shows an anomalous zone about 110 meters wide that averages 0.287 gpt gold. Soil sampling to date has outlined an area that is up to 240 meters wide by 400 meters long with average gold-in-soil assay of 0.184 gpt gold. A second mineralized zone 170 meters wide was discovered by soil sampling east of the main zone on the Golden Reward claim block as well as several smaller gold-in-soil anomalies. A Plan of Operations has been submitted and a drilling permit is anticipated by mid-2008.
Gold Butte and Mineral Ridge
The Gold Butte prospect is located about five kilometers southeast of the Golden Reward and consists of a 75 meter wide zone that can be traced on the surface for 300 meters on strike. It has been prospected by seven adits driven prior to 1920. There was some minor production in the 1980s. Permits are in hand to start drilling as soon as conditions permit which is likely near June 2008.
The Mineral Ridge prospect consists of two zones identified by soil sampling by NJMC and reverse circulation drilling by a previous operator. Soil sampling completed by the previous operator, Nord-Pacific, indicates that the gold mineralization extends up to 1.5 kilometers on strike and several hundred meters in width. An eastern mineralized zone mapped by NJMC was not drill tested by Nord-Pacific. A sample of quartz-pyrite float from this eastern zone assayed 38.4 gpt gold, 19.6 gpt silver and 61.4 ppm tellurium. A drilling permit for the Mineral Ridge prospect is also expected in mid-2008.
Company President Fred Brackebusch commented, "NJMC started exploration in the Murray gold district four years ago with the Golden Chest mine and our exploration program has now discovered that gold mineralization is widespread and related to alkaline igneous rocks. Our early exploration results have led us to establish a significant land position in the area. Lead isotope data shows that all the gold prospects, including the Golden Chest veins, are of the same relatively young age which confirms the large scale of the gold mineralizing system. We think the Murray District will become a major gold district as exploration proceeds."
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 three major gold prospects in the Murray District.
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.