BOSTON, Jan. 29, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hot Web, Inc. (Pink Sheets:HWBI) announced today that it has entered into a Definitive Joint Venture Agreement with Western Sierra Mining Corp. (Pink Sheets:WSRA) on several mining properties owned or controlled by WSRA. The mining properties subject to the joint venture include, the Eagle and Ore Cache Group, The Big Chief Mining Group and the Gold Basin Mine. Most notable of the mines is the Gold Basin Mine. The Gold Basin Mine is in production and Hot Web will be providing the capital to expand production by funding a 25-yard per hour plant. The joint venture agreement calls for Hot Web to receive 25% of the profits at Gold Basin for the duration of the project. For its involvement in the other projects, Hot Web will receive a 50% interest in the joint venture.
GOLD BASIN MINE
The Gold Basin claims are located on 332 acres in central Arizona, within the Hassayampa River Basin, some 20 miles south of Prescott, Arizona. The claims are near paved Arizona State Highway 89 and fully accessible using an unpaved forest service road to the site. The claims contain at least 17-24 million tons of processable head ore. Proven, possible and indicated reserves shown from Nebeker and other reported data exceed $400 million at $750 per ounce gold. Much of the ground with the same or similar geology has not yet been tested.
* Reserves oz. Gold: 150,000 oz proven / 400,000 oz probable-indicated * Reserves $ Gold: $112 million proven / $300 million probable-indicated * Mine Life 20 (+) years
THE BIG CHIEF GROUP, EAGLE AND ORE CACHE MINES
The Big Chief Group, Oro Cache, and Eagle Mines are southeast of Prescott, Arizona in the Bradshaw Mountains. The three properties have a total of 25,000 oz. proven gold reserves, 590,000 oz. proven silver reserves, 215,000 oz. probable/indicated gold reserves and 360,000 oz. probable/indicated silver reserves. At $800/oz. gold and $12/oz. silver, the proven gold reserves total $20,000,000, the proven silver reserves total $7,000,000, the probable/indicated gold reserves total $172,000,000 and the probable/indicated silver reserves total $4,000,000. The Company will process the hard rock ore coming from the Big Chief Group, Oro Cache and Eagle Mines owned by Western at a central mill site to be located on a portion of the 550 acre Blue Bell property owned by the Company. As with Gold Basin, the project is divided into two phases. Phase one will construct a hard rock pilot plant on the patented property. Phase two will expand the plant and significantly increase production.
* Reserves oz. Gold: 25,000 oz proven / 215,000 oz probable-indicated * Reserves $ Gold: $20 million proven / $172 million probable-indicated * Reserves oz. Silver: 590,000 oz proven / 360,000 oz probable-indicated * Reserves $ Silver: $7 million proven / $4 million probable-indicated * Mine Life 15 (+) years
Michael Chaffee, CEO & President of Western Sierra Mining, commented, "We are pleased to enter into this joint venture agreement with HWBI. Bringing these projects into production will benefit both companies and their shareholders, as well as provide a solid foundation for the development of new projects that Western has in its portfolio or the current ability to acquire."
Jason Cooper, Interim CEO of Hot Web, Inc., stated, "This joint venture creates a perfect situation for the Company and its plans in the mining sector. By including the Gold Basin project in the joint venture, Western has given Hot Web the opportunity to realize near term cash flow while funding other projects. Western's commitment to assisting Hot Web and its shareholders is an invaluable addition to the team we are putting together for the company's future."
About Western Sierra Mining Corp.
Western Sierra Mining is an aggressive gold and silver exploration and mining company focused on the historic mining districts of the Bradshaw mountains of Arizona with additional areas of interest within Nevada and Mexico. Current projects include the Gold Basin Mine comprised of four mining claims located on some 332 acres in Central Arizona and the Gold River Mines including the SunGold, Oro Cache, and the Big Chief mines, all of which have demonstrated high-grade mineralization with previous histories of production. Long-term Company goals are to create maximum shareholder value by continuing to build a strong base of properties and advance these projects toward production.
About Hot Web
As previously announced, Hot Web is currently negotiating the sale, joint venture and potential spin-off of the Hot Web online properties. The Company, through Presage Partners LLC, has access to a substantial number of mining assets that it is seeking to capitalize on. These mining assets include copper, gold, nickel, platinum, palladium, silver, uranium and Rare Earth Elements. The various mining opportunities are in different stages of development. Some properties are ready for drilling, others are producing and a large number of the properties are available for joint venture rather than an outright sale.
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