Atna Commences Drilling at Briggs Gold Mine

Atna Commences Drilling at Briggs Gold Mine

GOLDEN, CO – Atna Resources Ltd. reported the commencement of a new drill campaign at the Briggs Gold Mine and its satellite project, Cecil R, in Inyo County, California. The program will include up to 25,000 feet of reverse circulation rotary drilling. The primary goals of the drilling program are:
• Exploration of potentially significant gold mineralization beneath the current proven and probable reserves in the main pit at the Briggs Mine. This work may add considerably to the mine-life and/or annual production rate.
• In-fill drilling at the Briggs Mine to upgrade inferred resources to proven and probable reserve categories to facilitate cost effective  mine planning.
• Expansion of the Cecil R project’s mineralized zone to the south to allow completion of an NI 43-101 technical report and resource estimate for this project.
At the Briggs Mine, significant gold mineralization has been identified beneath the existing proven and probable open pit reserves. The target has been cut by five broadly spaced drill holes, all of which intersected gold grades and widths similar to those being developed for mining in the pit. The intercepts in these holes include:
MW-4, 55 feet grading 0.029 ounce per ton (“opt”) gold (335 feet to
    390 feet)
    PN256, 35 feet grading 0.021 opt Au (600 feet to 635 feet)
    PN262, 35 feet grading 0.032 opt Au (565 feet to 600 feet)
    PN323, 40 feet grading 0.054 opt Au (625 feet to 665 feet)
      and, 65 feet grading 0.038 opt Au (735 feet to 800 feet, ending in
      mineralization)
Geologic assessment of the target indicates the potential for several million tons beneath the currently planned pit bottom. The zone is locally as close as 20 to 30 feet to the existing minable reserves (see NI 43-101 Technical Report filed on SEDAR, May 20, 2008). The fully financed Briggs Mine is currently scheduled to begin operation in the first quarter of next year.
The Cecil R satellite project is located four miles north of the Briggs Mine. A historic non NI 43-101 compliant estimate of mineralized material of 5.75 million tons at a grade of 0.024 oz/ton (0.015 oz/ton cutoff grade) was calculated for the property based on existing drill information. Drilling at Cecil R is designed to expand the existing mineralized zone to the south and to define the gold mineralization limits. Gold at Cecil R is hosted by a sub-horizontal zone of strongly iron stained quartz-feldspathic gneiss at the base of thin poorly consolidated Quaternary gravels. The existing mineralization is in a near surface, gently dipping blanket distributed over an area 1,500 feet by 1,200 feet and varying in thickness from 10 to 50 feet. Canyon Resources reported the following highlights from its 2007 work at Cecil R.
• Hole CR07-5 with 25 feet grading 0.039 opt Au
• Hole CR07-9 with 25 feet grading of 0.045 opt Au
• Hole CR07-12 with 30 feet grading 0.025 opt Au
• Hole CR08-13 with 30 feet grading 0.032 opt Au and a second interval
        of 50 feet grading 0.024 opt Au
The company’s address is 14142 Denver West Parkway, Suite 250, Golden, CO 80401, 303-278-8464, fax: 303-279-3772.