KELLOGG, Idaho, July 15, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- New Jersey Mining Company (OTCBB:NJMC) is pleased to announce that it has staked another gold prospect near Murray, Idaho. The new prospect known as the Progress is just west of the Niagara copper-silver deposit.
Soil sampling has indicated a zone of anomalous gold-in-soils that is 80 meters wide and at least 350 meters long. Old adits and trenches have exposed gold mineralization and a sample taken from the dump of one of the adits assayed 73.7 grams per tonne (gpt) gold, 92.5 gpt silver and 54.6 gpt tellurium. A one meter wide chip sample was obtained in one of the adits by NJMC's field geologist and assayed 12.9 gpt gold, 11.4 gpt silver and 10.6 gpt tellurium. The prospect was discovered and worked in the 1920s and abandoned during the 1930s Great Depression when funding for exploration became very difficult. Apparently, the prospect was forgotten and no work has been done on the prospect since the 1930s.
The Progress mineralization has the same geochemical signature as the other gold zones discovered in the Toboggan Project area with high tellurium values and some visible gold. The Toboggan Project is an exploration joint venture between Newmont North American Exploration, a subsidiary of Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE:NEM) and New Jersey Mining Company. The Progress prospect is in the Niagara area of the Toboggan Project which means it is not currently part of the joint venture, but could be included at a later date at Newmont's option subject to an increased work commitment.
State of Idaho mine inspector reports during the time that Progress Gold Mines was active indicate the presence of syenite dikes, bedding plane veins, and fissure veins. The presence of tellurium was also mentioned.
Fred Brackebusch, CEO, commented: "The Progress prospect is the fourth large gold zone staked by the Company in the Toboggan area, the others being the Gold Butte, Mineral Ridge and Golden Reward. The presence of numerous wide zones of gold-telluride mineralization spread over a distance of more than 10 kilometers indicates to us that we have a new gold mining district in the making."
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 Toboggan Project which is a gold exploration joint venture with Newmont, the Niagara copper-silver deposit, the Golden Chest project, the New Jersey mine, and the Silver Strand mine.
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, 2007.
Further information about New Jersey Mining Company and its properties can be found at the company's website at www.newjerseymining.com.