Premier provides Rahill-Bonanza underground update

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THUNDER BAY, ON, Aug. 14, 2012 /CNW/ - Premier Gold Mines Limited (TSX-PG) is pleased to provide an exploration update from ongoing work being performed underground at the Company's Rahill-Bonanza Joint Venture Project (49% PG) in the Red Lake mining district of Northwestern Ontario.  The Rahill-Bonanza Project is a joint venture located in the heart of the main Red Lake "Mine Trend" and is being explored with partner and operator Red Lake Gold Mines Limited ("RLGM"), an affiliate of Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G, NYSE:GG).

Significant news from the project includes:

• The underground diamond drilling program designed to build a camp-wide geological model and to test the regional unconformity to the south is now underway
• Diamond drilling designed to test a previously announced series of structures (see press release dated May 23, 2012) is complete with assays pending
• The tram drift has recently excavated through a gold-bearing Basaltic Komatiite (ultramafic) rock unit, an important unit known to be associated with high-grade mineralization at the Red Lake Gold Mines complex including the High Grade Zone (HGZ)

The Rahill-Bonanza Project covers approximately 4.5 kilometres of the main Red Lake "Mine Trend" between the Red Lake Gold Mines complex to the east, and the Cochenour Complex to the west.

Diamond Drilling to Test Regional Unconformity

The orebodies hosted within the main Red Lake "Mine Trend", including the prolific HGZ, are often spatially associated with a regional unconformity that also passes through the southern portion of the Project area for several kilometres.  A significant goal for the joint venture has long been to establish an underground exploration platform from which systematic diamond drilling could be undertaken to the south to drill up to and across the unconformity with flat holes up to 1,525 metres (5,000 feet) long.  This drilling will allow for a complete geological model of this prospective area that will provide a platform for further exploration drilling.

The tram drift, being excavated by RLGM to support mine development of its Cochenour Project (Bruce Channel Deposit), will serve as an invaluable exploration platform for the Joint Venture. It is located some 1,650 metres (5,400 feet) below surface, at an elevation where exploration for HGZ-style mineralization has been most successful in the past.  Because the HGZ footprint can be very compact, the initial exploration program is designed to be completed at centres as close as 120 metres (400 feet) apart to ensure appropriate coverage across the joint venture project.

The HGZ style ore represents a world class exploration target for the joint venture partners at Rahill-Bonanza.

Diamond Drilling of Previously Announced Structures

On May 23, 2012, Premier reported that:

"Several narrow structures hosting favourable alteration and mineralization have recently returned, in muck and chip samples, encouraging gold grades from anomalous up to 16.46 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au) or 0.48 ounces per ton (oz/t Au). Additionally, a previously drilled pilot hole also returned elevated gold grades. The exploration drilling program from the drift on the Joint Venture Property is slated to commence in H2-2012. However, following the completion of the current pilot hole additional shorter holes are planned targeting an area where numerous gold-bearing structures were identified."

Premier is pleased to confirm that some 502 metres of drilling in six (6) holes was undertaken in order to further test the extent and nature of these structures.  The existence of these structures is encouraging and denotes only a small window of the overall potential at Rahill-Bonanza.  Goldcorp is actively logging and assaying these holes and is expected to report back to the Joint Venture management committee in due course.

This new structure occurs in a previously untested part of the property and represents a new area for exploration.  The JV has agreed to expand surface exploration such that a series of holes will be completed to test the interpreted trend of this mineralized unit toward the known, near-surface, Bonanza gold deposit that is located on the Rahill-Bonanza Property.

Tram Excavation Intersects Important Gold-Bearing Rock Unit

A recent development at the Project is confirmation that a gold-bearing Basaltic Komatiite (or BK, locally called "Altered Rock") has been intersected and excavated along a recent portion of the tram drift.  Muck and chip samples from this horizon have returned amongst the highest grade assays since crossing onto the JV and represents an important target for future exploration.  The BK unit is regarded as an important "piece of the puzzle" in the search for new high grade zones.  All HGZ style discoveries to date at RLGM have the BK associated with them.

"The BK unit is highly reactive chemically and lends itself to pronounced competency contrasts with nearby rock types when under the stress of deformation, leading to low pressure zones along fluid pathways which may host the high grade ore" commented Stephen McGibbon, Premier's Executive Vice-President. "It's critically important that we map out the BK unit on the joint venture ground as part of our ongoing exploration effort as this unit could serve as a vector to new gold zones."

To date, the tram has progressed some 730 metres (or 2,400 feet) into the Rahill-Bonanza joint venture.

Stephen McGibbon, P. Geo., is the Qualified Person for the information contained in this press release and is a Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101.  Assay results are from core samples sent to Activation Laboratories, an accredited mineral analysis laboratory in Ancaster, Ontario, or to Accurassay Laboratories, an accredited mineral analysis laboratory in Thunder Bay, Ontario, for preparation and analysis utilizing both fire assay and screen metallic methods.

Premier Gold Mines Limited is one of North America's leading exploration companies with a high-quality pipeline of gold projects focused in proven, safe and accessible mining jurisdictions in Canada and the United States.  The Company's portfolio includes significant assets in world class gold mining districts such as Red Lake, Musselwhite and Geraldton in Ontario and the Carlin Trend in Nevada.

The statements made in this Press Release may contain forward-looking statements that may involve a number of risks and uncertainties.  Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations and projections.

SOURCE Premier Gold Mines Limited