LAKEWOOD, Colo., Sept. 20, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pershing Gold Corporation (OTCBB:PGLC) is pleased to announce that Debra W. Struhsacker has joined the Company as Corporate Vice President. In this role, Ms. Struhsacker will be responsible for securing the environmental permits needed to reopen the Relief Canyon Mine in Pershing County, NV. She will also be in charge of the Company's government relations, land, legal, and stakeholder involvement programs. She has been fulfilling these roles on a consulting basis since August 2011.
Ms. Struhsacker has over 25 years of expertise with the key environmental, public land, political, and stakeholder issues pertaining to mineral exploration and mine development. She is well known as an effective mining industry advocate with a proven track record of successfully permitting mineral exploration and mining projects. Among her many professional accomplishments, she played a key role in the fast-track permitting of Franco-Nevada's Ken Snyder Mine (now Newmont's Midas Mine) in Elko County, Nevada; Kinross' Buckhorn Mine in Okanogan County, Washington; and the exploration and discovery phases of Fronteer Development USA Inc.'s (now Newmont's) Long Canyon Project in Elko County, Nevada.
"We are very pleased that Debbie is joining the company as Corporate Vice President," commented Stephen D. Alfers, Pershing Gold CEO and Executive Chairman. "We fully expect her to add Relief Canyon to the list of mines she has successfully permitted and helped put into production. She is joining Pershing Gold's seasoned team of exploration and mining professionals dedicated to the re-opening of the Relief Canyon mine and mineral processing assets. This team has the full suite of engineering, geological, metallurgical, business, permitting and legal skills needed to put Relief Canyon back into production."
Ms. Struhsacker is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Wellesley College where she majored in both geology and French. She also has a Master of Science degree in geology from the University of Montana. She is one of the founders of the Women's Mining Coalition and currently serves on the Coalition's Board of Directors. She is a Certified Professional Geologist and is a member of the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America; the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc.; the Geological Society of Nevada; and the American Institute of Professional Geologists. She has served twice as a trustee of the Northwest Mining Association and is an Emeritus Member of the Board of Directors of the Mountain States Legal Foundation.
About the Relief Canyon Mine
The Relief Canyon Mine property includes three open-pit mines and a state-of-the-art, fully permitted and constructed heap leach processing facility. These assets present Pershing Gold with the opportunity to achieve a fast-track path to production at the Relief Canyon Mine. Pershing Gold's landholdings cover over 25,000 acres that include the Relief Canyon Mine asset and lands surrounding the mine in all directions. This land package provides Pershing Gold with the opportunity to expand the Relief Canyon Mine deposit and to explore and make new discoveries on nearby lands.