Thursday 8 November 2012

International Tower Hill Mines on track for Livengood feasibility study by H1 2013


Vancouver-based International Tower Hill Mines (TSE:ITH)(NYSE MKT:THM) has provided an update on its Livengood gold project in Alaska, wrapping up its 2012 geotechnical drilling program within budget. 
"Over the past month I have been very encouraged by the progress being made," said recently appointed CEO, Don Ewigleben, who has been serving as the chairman of the board since November 2011.
"We will continue working on engineering for the next several months and we are on-track for completing the feasibility study in the first half of 2013. 
"I am extremely pleased that the 16 million ounce plus gold deposit is on schedule for feasibility study completion, permitting and construction due to the world-class project team in place."
The company drilled 199 holes in total, for 15,731 metres, using core, sonic, and auger drilling  methods. The campaign tested facility sites to obtain the technical information required for use in "sub arctic" engineering design, the miner said. 
The pump testing of the large diameter water wells required for hydrogeological modeling was also successfully completed. 
Meanwhile, metallurgical test work and engineering studies are ongoing to advance the feasibility study.             
The company said it is aggressively advancing the report and all scenarios under consideration in a bid to optimize the economics of the project. This includes a potential future strategic alliance to assist in the development and construction costs, International Tower Hill said, while "adding value for [its] shareholders." 
International Tower Hill Mines controls a 100 per cent interest in the Livengood gold project, which is accessible by paved highway 70 miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska.
In August, the company received assay results for 45 drill holes at the project, with four holes returning multi-gram gold intersections “well outboard” of the main deposit. The company said that the results indicated that the Livengood district scale gold system has “significant exploration potential." 
Highlights from the most recent results included hole MK-12-281, which intersected 2.76 metres at 2.75 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, including 1.53 metres at 4.09 g/t gold; hole MK-12-285, which returned 2.01 metres at 3.47 g/t gold, including 6.61 metres at 0.64 g/t gold; and hole MK-12-288, which hit 3.05 metres at 2.48 g/t gold.          
At a resource size of 16.5 million ounces in the measured and indicated categories, plus 4.1 million ounces in the inferred category, the Livengood project ranks as one of the largest gold deposits discovered globally in 20 years.

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