General Update on Progress in the Mine

The mine has begun stockpiling ore for the mid-June start up. Mill feed will be obtained from the upper levels of the mine for the first six months as the down-dip extensions of the orebodies are being accessed. Stopes will be established at depth on the 3000 and 3300 orebodies to replace the upper stopes as they are depleted.

The existing mobile equipment is being used while awaiting the arrival of several new units. Two 20 t trucks, two 4 yd³ scooptrams, a drill buggy, and a utility forklift have all been purchased and will be arriving sporadically over the next 2 to 8 weeks. The mine has one drill jumbo and one “long tom” rig, but is actively seeking to purchase an additional unit. The current payroll of 50 workers includes 24 miners and diamond drillers. This will be increased to 42 over the next two months.

Two development headings are being advanced: 1) the ramp is being extended to depth to access the down-dip extensions of both the 3000 and 3300 orebodies and 2) the connection drift between the Crystal and Mystery Mines is being developed to provide secondary egress, combine ventilation systems, establish underground drill platforms for the zone between the mines, and to bring the Mystery Mine into production in nine months.

The mine is currently dry. Slimes have been mucked from the bottom of the ramp leaving 1 foot of water. Past operators experienced seasonal inflows into the mine from the spring melt. This has not been our experience over the past two seasons. A 200,000 gallon dammed reservoir is being constructed at the 190 metre level and is nearing completion. Seasonal groundwater inflow, if experienced, will be pumped into this reservoir, which will then be used as the source of drill water throughout the mine.  The old ramp bottom will be used as a sump for both development drives. Rather than extend the old ramp, the new down ramp was located in the less permeable limestone as per the recommendations of an existing Golder Associates report from 2006.

Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC)

Rigorous controls are in place to ensure the traceability of samples and their results. Upon delivery core is prepped and logged with intervals of interest and/or mineralization marked for sampling. The core is subsequently photographed prior to cutting. Half the core is retained for future reference and the remaining half placed in double poly bags and sealed for shipment.  Samples are delivered to ALS Chemex in Fairbanks, AK where they are dried, crushed, and representative splits are transported to ALS Chemex labs in either Reno, NV or Vancouver, BC for assay. ALS Chemex complies with the requirements for the International Standards ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 17025:1999. Analysis includes Fire Assay with gravimetric finish for gold and ICP for 33 other elements. Gold assays results greater than 5 ppm are automatically re-submitted for screen metallic analysis.

QA/QC is verified using external standards, blanks, and duplicates with 13% of all samples submitted being QA/QC check samples. Results are examined ensuring control samples fall within 2.5 standard deviations of certified values. Failed results are re-analyzed by the lab and/or additional samples from the remaining core are submitted for analysis.

Nixon Fork Gold Mine

The Nixon Fork Gold Mine was acquired in September 2009. From 1995 - 2007, the project produced approximately 175,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 39 grams per ton (1.14 opt). The mining and processing facilities at Nixon Fork are permitted and bonded. The deposit is a gold-rich copper silver skarn typical of other skarn systems found throughout the world. At Nixon Fork, the higher grades are found in steeply plunging pipe-like bodies that are oxidized to depths of up to 350 meters below the surface. Oxidization of the system has resulted both in secondary copper and gold, with high grades and a "nuggety" distribution.

The Qualified Person for this news release is Richard Goodwin, P.Eng, President & C.O.O for Fire River Gold.

About Fire River Gold Corp.

Fire River Gold Corp. is a near term production company with an experienced technical team focused on bringing its flagship project, the Nixon Fork Gold Mine, back into production in Summer 2011. The Nixon Fork Gold Mine is a permitted and bonded mine which include a ~200 tpd processing plant with a gravity gold circuit, sulphide flotation circuit and a gold recovery system (CIL circuit) that is scheduled to be completed by Summer 2011. The mine also includes a fleet of surface & underground mining vehicles, a self-contained power plant, maintenance facilities, drilling equipment, an 85 person camp, office facilities and a 1.2 km long landing strip. 

Fire River Gold Corp is a member of the International Metals Group.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, I look forward to keeping you updated with our corporate developments.

Richard Goodwin"

Richard Goodwin
President and COO

Further Information:  Tel: +1 604 685 1870 Fax: +1 604 685 8045
Email:  info@firerivergold.com or visit www.firerivergold.com
2303 West 41st Avenue, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, V6M 2A3

Certain information regarding the Company including management's assessment of future plans and operations, may constitute forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws and necessarily involve risks associated with mining exploration and development, volatility of prices, currency fluctuations, imprecision of resource estimates, environmental and permitting risks, access to labour and services, competition from other companies and ability to access sufficient capital. As a consequence, actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. A feasibility study has not been completed and there is no certainty the disclosed targets will be reached nor that the proposed operations will be economically viable. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. We seek safe harbour.

-- Posted Monday, 16 May 2011 | Digg This Article