COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho, May 19, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Timberline Resources Corporation (AMEX:TLR) today announced plans to initiate a Preliminary Scoping Study at its Butte Highlands Gold Project in southwestern Montana.
Butte Highlands, Timberline's most advanced-stage project, was extensively drilled by Placer Dome, Battle Mountain, ASARCO, and Orvana Minerals in the 1980s and 1990s, and contains historic mineralization outlined by Orvana (not compliant with NI 43-101 or SEC Guide 7) exceeding 500,000 ounces of gold. Past drilling highlights include gold intercepts of 50 feet of 0.65 ounces per ton (oz/t), 31 feet of 1.06 oz/t, and 11.5 feet of 1.99 oz/t. The Butte Highlands project lies on patented ground with no underlying royalties and is 100-percent owned by Timberline.
In addition to evaluating the potential of the project, the exploration and development of Butte Highlands is expected to demonstrate the complementary talent, experience, and capabilities that reside "in-house" at Timberline.
* Director and V-P of Exploration Paul Dircksen led exploration efforts at Butte Highlands, including resource calculations and a pre-feasibility review, while with Orvana in the 1990s. * Director Eric Klepfer handles permitting and environmental matters for Timberline through his company, Klepfer Mining Services. He has extensive experience with underground permitting issues in Montana. * Timberline's 100-percent owned contract drilling subsidiary, Kettle Drilling, is expected to provide core drilling services in support of the project. * Director Ron Guill is the sole principal of Small Mine Development, a leader in underground mine development and contract mining, which is in the process of being acquired by Timberline.
Timberline CEO Randal Hardy stated, "Our Preliminary Scoping Study at Butte Highlands is expected to showcase the efficiency and potential of our vertically-integrated business model. We believe that few, if any, companies our size can approach our in-house capabilities to explore, permit, drill, develop, and mine."
The primary objective of the Preliminary Scoping Study is to assess opportunities for near-term underground production. A technical review of feasibility issues published by Orvana in 1997 identified no fatal flaws to mine development. The report noted that custom milling at existing nearby facilities was feasible and access to the deposit could be achieved with a decline. Although the construction of an onsite mill and tailings pond at Butte Highlands is not currently envisioned, the report indicated there are suitable sites for such facilities on the property.
Timberline V-P of Exploration Paul Dircksen stated, "We are eager to resume work at Butte Highlands, building upon several years of effort by prior operators involving millions of exploration dollars and nearly 100,000 feet of drilling. We believe that Butte Highlands has the potential for near-term development and production, and that other areas of the property offer promising targets for additional grass-roots exploration. We also believe that we have assembled a uniquely-qualified team at Timberline to move the project forward."
The work program to support the Study will begin with a 17-hole, 28,000-foot drill program conducted from the surface, coincident with permitting an exploration decline to access mineralization and to establish drill stations for an anticipated second-phase core drill program from underground. Drilling at Butte Highlands will focus on bringing the historic estimates to NI 43-101 and SEC Guide 7 standards while seeking to expand it with step-out holes along strike and down-dip. The exploration decline will be designed to support production in the event that project feasibility is established.
The Preliminary Scoping Study and exploration program will be led by Paul Dircksen. Initial surface drilling may be contracted outside the Company, but future underground drilling is expected to be performed by Kettle Drilling. All permitting efforts at the project will be led by Klepfer Mining Services. The exploration decline, once permitted, will be driven by Small Mine Development.
The Butte Highlands Project is located 15 miles south of Butte, Montana within a favorable geologic domain that has hosted several multi-million ounce gold deposits including Butte, Golden Sunlight, Montana Tunnels, and Virginia City. Furthermore, the project straddles the Continental Divide and is central to one of the most historically productive placer districts in the state. We believe that the lode occurrences at Butte Highlands are a primary source for local placer gold.
Gold mineralization at Butte Highlands is hosted primarily in lower Paleozoic Wolsey shale with higher-grade mineralization occurring within the sediments proximal to diorite sills and dikes. Between 1988 and 1996, prior operators demonstrated the presence of a wide and continuous mineralized zone by drilling 46 core holes (36,835 feet) and 132 reverse-circulation holes (61,338 feet) within the district. The vast majority of this drilling was conducted in the Nevin Hill area which is included in the Timberline property.
Timberline Resources Corporation has taken the complementary businesses of mining services and mineral exploration and combined them into a unique, forward-thinking investment vehicle that provides investors exposure to both the "picks and shovels" and "blue sky" aspects of the mining industry.
Timberline has contract drilling subsidiaries in the western United States and Mexico and an exploration division focused on high-potential, district-scale gold projects. With its anticipated acquisition of a premier American underground mine contractor, Small Mine Development, Timberline will strengthen its position as an emerging, vertically-integrated resource company. Timberline is listed on the American Stock Exchange and trades under the symbol "TLR".
Statements contained herein that are not based upon current or historical fact are forward-looking in nature. Such forward-looking statements reflect the Company's expectations about its future operating results, performance and opportunities that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. When used herein, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "plan," "intend" and "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to Timberline Resources Corporation, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to the Company and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause the Company's actual results, performance, prospects, and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, such factors, including risk factors, discussed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-KSB for the year ended September 30, 2007. Except as required by the Federal Securities law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements.