Little Squaw Gold Mining Company (OTCBB: LITS) ($0.90) ("Little Squaw" or "the Company") has received additional drill results from its placer gold project on the Little Squaw Creek drainage located on the Company's wholly owned Chandalar, Alaska, mining property. These additional results confirm the Company's opinion that it has discovered an industrial-scale placer gold deposit of potential commercial significance (see the Company's press release of October 4, 2007).
The Company now has results for 68 of the 99 drill holes completed. Sixty of these holes have intersected the "Pay Horizon," which refers to the mineralized stratum of gravel from which significant quantities of gold can be recovered. The new sample results are for 42 holes on drill lines 2, 7, 8, 8.6, 9, 9.9, 10 and on the east ends of lines 3 and 4 (see drill map and drill results tables below). The 60 holes show a Pay Horizon averaging $15.94 per cubic yard (yd3) over a thickness of 84 feet (28 yards) using a gold price of $600 per ounce ($21.25/yd3 @ $800/oz).
Based partially on a February 2002 government study, the Company believes the value of the placer gold gravels at Chandalar falls well within economically extractable limits. U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Alaska Technical Report 38 is titled, "Economic Prefeasibility Studies of Mining in the Koyukuk Mining District, Northern Alaska." The Koyukuk mining district lies immediately west of the Chandalar mining district within the same mountain range. According to economic modeling in the report, placer mines having access and geology similar to the Little Squaw Creek deposit, required a recoverable metal value of $4.62/yd3 to yield a 15 percent Discounted Cash-Flow Rate-of-Return (DCFROR). The BLM report states dollar values in loose cubic yards (mined), whereas the Company states the recoverable gold value in bank cubic yards (in ground). If a normal expansion factor is applied to convert bank to loose cubic yards, then an estimated recoverable metal value of about $6.01 would be required to yield a 15 percent DCFROI. The inflation-adjusted amount is $8.27 yd3 in today's dollars (Bureau of Labor Standards Indices -- Producer Price Index Industry Data for Construction, Sand, and Gravel Mining). The size of the Little Squaw Creek deposit and the scale of a potential mining operation there would exceed any of those in the BLM study, and would gain economies of scale not reflected in the BLM study. The Company believes the placer gold deposit at Chandalar has millions of yards of recoverable metal value currently in the range of $16.00 yd3 to $21.00 yd3 that it could profitably mine. An independent economic feasibility study will be done as soon as sufficient drilling and engineering are completed.
Robert Pate, Chief Operating Officer of the Company, said, "Our staff is encouraged by the results of this placer gold deposit discovery. We anticipate drilling an additional 300 holes to define the limits of the deposit and establish ore reserves. Drilling to evaluate the extensive gold-quartz vein system that is the upstream source area for the alluvial gold remains our No. 1 priority. We believe this vein system may host a multimillion ounce gold deposit."
Company geologists have developed an understanding of the gold placer deposit on Little Squaw Creek as depicted on the drill map below. All the drill lines are perpendicular to the channel flow and linear direction of the gently sloping gravel deposits. A thick paleo-channel deposit of mineralized gravel defined by drill lines 5 through 10 in the upper reaches of Little Squaw Creek is dammed by a subterranean band of erosionally resistant greenstone that it breaches, having disgorged northward into a broad alluvial fan (similar to a fossilized delta). This wide, thick alluvial fan of gold-bearing stream gravel (fluvial material) is defined on drill lines 1 through 4, where it is buried under gold-barren glacial sediments that average 58 feet (19 yards) thick. All the sedimentary strata of stream gravels lay on schist bedrock, with the fan portion of the deposit overlain by glacial overburden (mud, sand and cobbles) containing sparse gold values. The entire deposit remains open to expansion by more drilling.
Metallogeny, Inc., a private company based in Fairbanks, Alaska, has been responsible for all sample collection at the borehole sites and has had exclusive possession of all drill samples, thereby providing independent sample security from the time of borehole extraction through transport to the Fairbanks laboratory. Substrate borehole samples were collected continuously every five feet and processed via a sophisticated sample-reduction routine that recovers the native gold contained in the drill cuttings. The recovered gold is then weighed on an electronic scale accurate to a tenth of a milligram. Calculations are made to determine the content of gold in each cubic yard of gravel. This process of mechanical gold separation is believed to produce a product representative of gold values that could be recoverable in a mining operation.
The tables below contain revised drill sample value results for drill lines 3 and 4, previously reported in the Company's press releases of August 23 and September 10. Metallogeny applied some technical adjustments in making their calculations which they believe more accurately reflect the value of recoverable gold in each cubic yard of gravel. These adjustments included a revision in the sample expansion factor, accounting for fractional differences in drill bit diameters amongst the boreholes, and more effectively limiting the influence of samples with poor volume recoveries.
Richard Walters, President of Little Squaw Gold Mining Company, is responsible for this news release. For additional information regarding Little Squaw Gold Mining, contact Susan Schenk, Manager of Investor Relations, by telephone at (509) 535-6156, or by e-mail at ir@littlesquawgold.com. Little Squaw maintains a comprehensive Web site at www.littlesquawgold.com.
Little Squaw Gold Mining is engaged in the business of precious-metals discovery. This endeavor carries certain risks that are commensurate with the potential rewards of such efforts. These risks cannot be quantified and should not be taken lightly. All statements made here regarding the firm's investment potential should be considered "forward-looking statements" as defined by prevailing regulatory guidelines. As forward-looking statements, these items represent the measured professional judgment of management. They do not, however, represent guarantees, and unforeseen and/or unforeseeable future developments that may render them either incomplete or incorrect. Actual results, plans, programs, and financial performance may differ materially from express or implied forward-looking statements.
2007 Placer Drilling Program
Little Squaw Creek
Summary Of Drill Hole Cut Pay Grades
As of November 26, 2007
(Reverse Circulation Drilling)
(Pay Grade = Value per cubic yard of extractable gold @ $600/oz)
(Valuations use gold recovered @ 850 fine)
(All nuggets > 150 mg cut to 150 mg)
(bcy = bank cubic yards (in situ))
Drill Line Summary
Line Fluvial Pay Grade
Number Glacial (Stream) For
Of Drill Bedrock Overburden Gravel Fluvial
Holes Or Hole Thickness Thickness Gravel
With Pay Depth (ft) (ft) (ft) ($/bcy)
Grade Average Average Average CUT
------------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
2 4 175.0 65.5 110.5 $ 10.40
3 11 154.4 70.6 84.0 $ 20.84
4 16 150.5 71.3 79.1 $ 14.94
7 4 109.3 16.3 96.3 $ 18.39
8 7 154.0 44.3 104.1 $ 15.77
8.6 3 97.3 45.0 34.0 $ 12.84
9 4 125.0 45.0 82.0 $ 20.95
9.9 1 118.0 5.0 115.0 $ 5.34
10 10 143.6 59.3 72.9 $ 13.58
------------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Weighted Avg. 60 144.5 57.8 83.7 $ 15.94
Yards = 48.2 19.3 27.9
------------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Drill Line 2 (1,225 feet long)
Pay Grade
Drill Fluvial Pay Grade Includes
Hole Bedrock Glacial (Stream) For Best
Number Or Hole Overburden Gravel Fluvial Intercept
Depth Thickness Thickness Gravel Over
(ft) (ft) (ft) ($/bcy) $50.00/bcy
Fan CUT ($bcy) Comments
---------- --------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
6 East 70.0 64.0 16.0 $ 3.11
4 East 97.0 56.0 42.0 $ 4.21
2 East 105.0 49.0 57.0 $ 11.02
8 189.5 68.0 122.5 $ 10.74 10' @
$89.11
10 195.5 72.0 124.5 $ 9.31 5' @
$66.95
12 210.0 73.0 138.0 $ 10.81 15' @ Also 5' @
$50.71 $56.97;
No bedrock
---------- --------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
570'
separates
hole 2E
4 Hole from
Average = 175.0 65.5 110.5 $ 10.40 hole 8
Yards = 70.0 24.3 46.0
---------- --------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
15 200.0 75.0 126.0 $ 3.97
19 200.0 75.0 126.0 $ 3.98 No bedrock
Drill Line 3 (1,400 feet long)
Pay Grade
Drill Fluvial Pay Grade Includes
Hole Bedrock Glacial (Stream) For Best
Number Or Hole Overburden Gravel Fluvial Intercept
Depth Thickness Thickness Gravel Over
(ft) (ft) (ft) ($/bcy) $50.00/bcy
CUT ($bcy) Comments
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -------------- ---------
Secondary
12 East 97.5 70.0 30.0 $ 63.42 10'@ $ 174.86 channel?
Only pay
interval
9 East 114.0 89.0 25.0 $ 33.29 5'@ $ 166.48 in
hole.
7 East 128.0 74.0 54.0 $ 96.78 5'@ $1,024.57 No
nugget
effect
5 East 138.0 64.0 74.0 $ 23.10 15'@ $ 62.21
3 East 147.0 49.0 98.0 $ 13.11 5'@ $ 70.77
1 159.0 48.0 111.0 $ 13.16 10'@ $ 66.45
Also 5' @
3 174.0 63.0 111.0 $ 18.50 5'@ $ 63.90 $ 53.75
Also 5' @
5 165.0 64.0 101.0 $ 11.68 5'@ $ 57.99 $ 54.62
7 173.0 82.0 91.0 $ 10.23 10'@ $ 55.67
9 193.0 88.0 105.0 $ 10.02 5'@ $ 64.99
No
12 210.0 86.0 124.0 $ 13.07 15'@ $ 72.02 bedrock
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -------------- ---------
11 Hole
Average = 154.4 70.6 84.0 $ 20.84
Yards = 51.5 23.5 28.0
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -------------- ---------
Last
interval
= 5' @ $
25.98; No
15.5 210.0 110.0 100.0 $ 1.38 bedrock
Drill Line 4 (1,070 feet long)
Pay Grade
Drill Fluvial Pay Grade Includes
Hole Bedrock Glacial (Stream) For Best
Number Or Hole Overburden Gravel Fluvial Intercept
Depth Thickness Thickness Gravel Over
(ft) (ft) (ft) ($/bcy) $50.00/bcy
CUT Comments
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -------------- ---------
Incl. 5'
bedrock;
Secondary
5 East 75 60 15 $ 52.45 channel?
1 East 85.0 45.0 40.0 $ 49.59 25' @ $ 70.74
1 115.0 63.0 52.0 $ 13.98
2 136.0 65.0 71.0 $ 18.02
Also 5' @
3B 149.0 60.0 89.0 $ 25.93 20' @ $ 60.34 $ 101.38
4 150.0 75.0 75.0 $ 13.25
5 157.0 72.0 85.0 $ 4.47
Uncut =
10' @ $
451.95;
Also 5' @
6 172.0 65.0 107.0 $ 20.84 10' @ $ 67.37 $ 78.21
Uncut =
10' @ $
171.03;
Also 5' @
7 188.0 83.0 105.0 $ 14.72 10' @ $ 96.13 $ 78.15
8 193.0 75.0 118.0 $ 1.42
9 186.0 75.0 111.0 $ 8.05 5' @ $ 67.90
10 168.0 70.0 96.0 $ 4.94
11 149.0 85.0 64.0 $ 11.18 10' @ $ 50.76
12 155.0 83.0 72.0 $ 10.06 10' @ $ 52.64
Uncut =
10' @ $
13 162.0 85.0 77.0 $ 41.14 10' @ $ 260.03 530.65
14 168.0 80.0 88.0 $ 5.92
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -------------- ---------
16 Hole
Average = 150.5 71.3 79.1 $ 14.94
Yards = 50.2 23.8 26.4
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -------------- ---------
15 158.0 80.0 78.0 $ 3.14
Drill Line 7 (400 feet long)
Drill Bedrock Glacial Fluvial Pay Grade Pay Grade
Hole Or Hole Overburden (Stream) For Includes
Number Depth Thickness Gravel Fluvial Best
(ft) (ft) Thickness Gravel Intercept Comments
(ft) ($/bcy) Over
CUT $50.00/bcy
-------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------------ ------------
3 East 111.0 25.0 88.0 $ 10.62 10' @ $ 64.18 Includes
some bed
rock
2 East 107.0 30.0 80.0 $ 28.68 20' @ $ 61.90 Includes
some bed
rock
1 East 125.0 5.0 126.0 $ 22.86 30' @ $ 54.84 Includes
some bed
rock
1 94.0 5.0 91.0 $ 10.68 5' @ $107.17 Includes
some bed
rock
-------- ------ ------ ------ ------- -------------- -----------
4 Hole
Average = 109.3 16.3 96.3 $ 18.39
Yards = 36.4 5.4 32.1
-------- ------ ------ ------ ------- -------------- -----------
2 92.0 0.0 90.0 $ 0.13
3 105.0 15.0 90.0 $ 1.13
4 96.0 5.0 85.0 $ 0.39
Drill Line 8 (350 feet long)
Drill Bedrock Gravel Fluvial Pay Grade Pay Grade
Hole Or Hole Overburden (Stream) For Includes
Number Depth Thickness Gravel Fluvial Best
(ft) (ft) Thickness Gravel Intercept Comments
Channel (ft) ($/bcy) Over
CUT $50.00/bcy
($bcy)
------- ------- -------- --------- ------- -------------- ----------
1 150.0 30.0 120.0 $ 6.66 No bedrock
2 128.0 20.0 110.0 $ 47.64 20' @ $ 121.66 Also 10' @
$ 112.66;
Includes
some bed
rock
3 176.0 65.0 113.0 $ 16.14 15' @ $ 58.51 Also 5' @
$ 55.18;
Includes
some bed
rock
4B 194.0 60.0 136.0 $ 12.36 10' @ $ 51.00 Also 5' @
$ 65.46;
Includes
some bed
rock
5 155.0 65.0 90.0 $ 5.40 No bedrock
6B 155.0 20.0 95.0 $ 7.68 Includes
some bed
rock
7 120.0 50.0 65.0 $ 11.28 5' @ $ 70.79 Includes
some bed
rock
------- ------- -------- --------- ------- ------------- ----------
7 Hole
Average = 154.0 44.3 104.1 $ 15.77
Yards = 51.3 14.8 34.7
------- ------- -------- --------- -------- ------------- ----------
Drill Line 8.6 (150 feet long)
Drill Bedrock Gravel Fluvial Pay Grade Pay Grade
Hole Or Hole Overburden (Stream) For Includes
Number Depth Thickness Gravel Fluvial Best
(ft) (ft) Thickness Gravel Intercept Comments
Channel (ft) ($/bcy) Over
CUT $50.00/bcy
($bcy)
------ -------- -------- -------- -------- ------------- ------------
1 97.0 45.0 5.0 $ 9.78 Hit cavity -
old mine
workings
2 95.0 40.0 45.0 $ 13.74 10' @ $ 50.36
3 100.0 50.0 52.0 $ 12.36 5' @ $ 73.52 Includes
some bed
rock
------ -------- -------- -------- -------- ------------- ------------
3 Hole
Average = 97.3 45.0 34.0 $ 12.84
Yards = 32.4 15.0 11.3
------ -------- -------- -------- -------- ------------- ------------
Drill Line 9 (200 feet long)
Pay Grade
Drill Fluvial Pay Grade Includes
Hole Bedrock Gravel (Stream) For Best
Number Or Hole Overburden Gravel Fluvial Intercept
Depth Thickness Thickness Gravel Over
(ft) (ft) (ft) ($/bcy) $50.00/bcy
Channel CUT ($bcy) Comments
---------- --------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Includes
5' @ some bed
1 104.0 35.0 71.0 $ 10.68 $125.64 rock
Also 5' @
$162.06;
Includes
10' @ some bed
2 118.0 40.0 80.0 $ 55.57 $434.95 rock
3 139.0 55.0 86.0 $ 7.44
Includes
some bed
4 139.0 50.0 91.0 $ 11.28 rock
---------- --------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
4 Hole
Average = 125.0 45.0 82.0 $ 20.95
Yards = 31.3 11.3 20.5
---------- --------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Drill Line 9.9 (Single hole)
Pay Grade
Drill Fluvial Pay Grade Includes
Hole Bedrock Gravel (Stream) For Best
Number Or Hole Overburden Gravel Fluvial Intercept
Depth Thickness Thickness Gravel Over
(ft) (ft) (ft) ($/bcy) $50.00/bcy
Channel CUT ($bcy) Comments
---------- --------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
1 118.0 5.0 115.0 $ 5.34
Drill Line 10 (500 feet long)
Pay Grade
Drill Hole Bedrock Glacial Fluvial Pay Grade Includes
Overburd- (Stream) For Best
Number Or Hole en Gravel Fluvial Intercept
Depth Thickness Thickness Gravel Over
(ft) (ft) (ft) ($/bcy) $50.00/bcy Comments
CUT ($bcy)
---------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------- ----------
Includes
some bed
1 79 50.0 81.0 $ 1.62 rock
Includes
some bed
2 120.0 45.0 77.0 $ 5.82 rock
Includes
some bed
3 148.0 55.0 70.0 $ 11.52 rock
Also 5' @
$ 151.10;
Includes
some
4 161.0 65.0 90.0 $ 63.66 30' @$136.51 bedrock
Includes
some bed
5 161.0 80.0 83.0 $ 6.66 rock
No
bedrock;
hit caves
- old mine
6 167.0 88.0 73.0 $ 7.32 workings
7 200.0 70.0 105.0 $ 6.42 No bedrock
Includes
some bed
8 175.0 75.0 50.0 $ 7.68 rock
No
bedrock;
hole
9 90.0 40.0 50.0 $ 0.66 abandoned
10 135.0 25.0 50.0 $ 12.12 No bedrock
---------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------- ----------
10 Hole
Average = 143.6 59.3 72.9 $ 13.58
Yards = 47.9 19.8 24.3
---------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------- ----------
Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=644564
Contact:
Susan Schenk
Manager of Investor Relations
Little Squaw Gold Mining
(509) 535-6156
ir@littlesquawgold.com
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
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