Pershing begins initial phase of drilling

Pershing Gold Corp., a Colorado-based mining company, this week began the first phase of a 2013 drilling program at the Relief Canyon Mine in Nevada’s Pershing County.

The purpose at the site in Northern Nevada, which is northeast of Carson City in the county directly north of Churchill County, is to explore and expand the gold and silver resource north of the North Pit, the firm said in a news release.

The drilling is to consist of 15 or 20 diamond-core drill holes between 10,000 and 12,000 feet and is being handled for Pershing by West-Core Drilling of Elko. It is being done on claims owned by Gold Acquisition Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Pershing. Pershing’s leadership expressed optimism about the results.

“I am optimistic that this drilling effort will allow us to extend the gold mineralization beyond the Whittle-pit shell constraints of the current total in-pit gold resource estimate,” said Stephen D. Alfers, company executive chairman, president and CEO.

The Relief Canyon Mine property includes three open-pit mines, as well as a permitted and constructed heap leach processing facility, which the firm said provides the opportunity to achieve a fast-track path to production there.

Pershing’s land holdings cover more than 25,000 acres, which include the Relief Canyon Mine assets and lands surrounding that mine.

This property package, said the firm, allows possible expansion of the existing Relief Canyon Mine deposit via exploration aimed at new discoveries on the nearby land.