Bullfrog Gold Receives Technical Report on Newsboy Project

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo., Feb. 11, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bullfrog Gold Corp. (OTCQB:BFGC) (Bullfrog or the Company) is pleased to announce results from a Technical Report on resources at the Newsboy Gold Project (Project or Newsboy) located 45 miles NW of Phoenix, Arizona. The final report was completed on February 4, 2014 by SRK Consulting (SRK) of Denver, Colorado and is compliant with the current Canadian National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

Table 1 is SRK's statement of mineral resources contained within a pit optimization shell in the Main deposit above a cutoff grade of 0.5 parts per million (ppm) gold. SRK generated 86 pit shells using Whittle^™ pit-optimization software and the inputs and assumptions shown in Table 2, which are based on SRK's experience with other projects and may not be supported by potential scoping studies. The effective date of the SRK report was November 1, 2013.

Table 1

Pit-Constrained Mineral Resource Statement in the Main Deposit

• Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that all or any part of the Mineral Resources estimated will be converted into Mineral Reserves.
   
• Open pit resources stated as contained within a potentially economically minable pit shell, and a calculated internal cut-off grade of 0.5 ppm gold was used based on the following parameters: US$2.82/t mining cost, US$15.41/t processing cost, 88% gold and 18% silver recovery, G&A cost of US$2.67/t, 2% NSR and a US$1,500/oz value for gold and US$30/oz value for silver.
   
• Mineral resource tonnage and contained metal have been rounded to reflect the accuracy of the estimate, and numbers may not add due to rounding.
   
• Troy ounces have been calculated using the following method: tonnes (metric) x grade (ppm) / 31.1034. Tons or s. tons refer to US standard short tons.

Table 2

Economic & Technical Assumptions for Pit Optimization

Table 3 is a summary of measured, indicated and inferred resources within pit optimization shells using the 0.5 ppm gold cutoff and four additional cutoff grades:

Table 3

Pit-Constrained Mineral Resource Sensitivity in the Main Deposit

Five of the 86 pit shells are included in Table 4 to specifically show the pronounced increases in total tons, mineral tons, strip ratio and depths between pits 34 and 35 for a gold price difference of only $30 per ounce. These increases are due to significantly deeper overburden and downward faulting toward the southeast where Bullfrog's drilling discovered deeper extensions of mineralization.  Pit 36 is shown since it was used to report mineral resources. Pit 46 shows further increases in mineral tons at slightly lower grades and strip ratios than Pit 36.

Table 4

Results of Five Specific Whittle^™ Pit Shells

Note: Tonnes and grades may not match mineral resource tables, as Whittle^™ results are presented on a re-blocked model at an internal Whittle cut-off grade.

SRK estimated inferred resources in the shallow zone of the Queen of Sheba exploration target area at 259,000 short tons averaging 1.21 ppm gold and 4.0 ppm silver, based on data from 13 drill holes. The available data from drill holes and those qualified and used for resource estimations are summarized below:

Table 5

Drill Hole Data Base as of November 1, 2013

* Twin core holes for metallurgical testing have a minor area of influence.

In summary, exploration and drilling by the Company during the past two years has delineated a significant gold-silver resource at the Newsboy Project dominantly contained within a pit optimization shell in the Main deposit. Significant exploration targets at the Queen of Sheba and RUS areas of the property have also been further defined. The Project has an extensive data base that has now been converted from paper to electronic format and vetted by qualified third parties. SRK's Technical Report will soon be available on Bullfrog's website.

About SRK

SRK Consulting is an independent, international consulting practice that offers services from exploration through feasibility, mine planning, and production to mine closure. Formed in 1974, SRK now employs more than 1,600 professionals internationally in over 50 offices on 6 continents.

About the Newsboy Project

The Project comprises 7,160 acres of state, federal and private lands located 45 miles northwest of Phoenix, Arizona. Wickenburg and Morristown are located 10 miles and 3 miles respectively from the site. Approximately 1.2 million ounces of gold and 1 million ounces of silver have been produced within 25 miles of the Project from several historic mines, including the Vulture, Congress, Octave and Yarnell.

Newsboy area mine workings dating from 1915 include several short adits, trenches and shallow mine shafts and pits. From 1940 to 1941 approximately 11,000 tons of ore averaging 0.07 ounces of gold and 8.1 ounces of silver per short ton were surface mined from the main Newsboy deposit and shipped as flux to smelters in Arizona. During 1990 and 1992, predecessor owners conducted metallurgical test work, estimated resources and reserves, completed a feasibility study and submitted environmental permit applications to the State and US Bureau of Land Management. Historic in-pit reserves estimated in 1992 using data from 125 holes in the Main deposit area and a 0.023 gold opt cutoff were 1.3 million tons averaging 1.78 ppm gold and 40.1 ppm silver and containing 70,000 ounces of gold and 1.5 million ounces of silver. However, these estimates pre-date 43-101 standards and are therefore non-compliant.  

The property was acquired by Southwest Exploration Inc. in 2008 and optioned to the Company in September 2011. More than $12 million (2013 basis) was spent on the property from 1985 through 2013.

In December 2013 the Company completed 86 drill holes averaging 49 feet in depth to test shallow mineralization previously discovered in the RUS and Queen of Sheba exploration areas. Data from this program was not available to SRK as the effective date of their report was November 1, 2013.

The Company plans to evaluate all relevant information to determine the path forward for the Project under current economic conditions. More information on the Company and its two other projects located in Nevada may be obtained from www.BullfrogGold.com or emailing info@BullfrogGold.com.

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Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This press release may contain certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including those with respect to the objectives, plans and strategies of the Company and those preceded by or that include the words "believes," "expects," "given," "targets," "intends," "anticipates," "plans," "projects," "forecasts" or similar expressions, are forward-looking statements  that involve various risks and uncertainties.  The Company is presently an exploration stage company.  Exploration is highly speculative in nature, involves many risks, requires substantial expenditures and may not result in the discovery of sufficient mineral deposits that can be mined profitably.  Furthermore, the Company currently has no reserves on any of its properties.  As a result, there can be no assurance that such forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.  Additional information regarding important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations is disclosed in the Company's documents filed from time to time with the United States Securities & Exchange Commission. This press release is not an offer to buy or sell securities.