NEWS RELEASE - January 13, 1999
MAJOR COURT VICTORY ON THE CROWN JEWEL PROJECT
Curlew Lake Resources Inc. announces that on January 6, 1999, a U.S. Federal
District Court affirmed the decision of the U.S. Forest Service on the
adequacy of the Final Environmental Impact Statement and the Record of
Decision. The court granted all motions for summary judgement on behalf of
the U.S. Forest Service and Battle Mountain Gold; all motions of the
plaintiffs were denied.
The Crown Jewel is a joint venture between the operator, Battle Mountain
Gold (NY:BMG), and Crown Resource (NASDAQ:CRRS), while Curlew holds a 5% net
smelter royalty (NSR) on a portion of the claims, having originally sold its
claims in this project to Crown several years ago. Christopher E. Herald,
President of Crown, is reported as having stated "This ruling represents a
major step in the Crown Jewel project moving forward to production. The
decision affirms the adequacy of the project's environmental review and the
measures taken to protect the environment, and removes the uncertainty of
federal environmental litigation."
The Crown Jewel gold deposit contains approximately 1.6 million ounces of
gold at an average grade of 0.185 ozs. gold per ton. Battle Mountain Gold
is earning a 54% in the project by providing 100% of the funding to place
the property into production at a minimum rate of 3,000 tons per day.
Average life of mine costs are estimated at $160.00 per ounce, with average
annual production rates forecast of approximately 185,000 ounces of gold.
Although Curlew's NSR does not cover the existing ore body, it does cover
lands to the east and west that may contain structures representing buried
extensions of the primary Crown Jewel deposit. As the property moves to
initial production, exploration of the surrounding area should commence, as
the main deposit represents only an 8-year mine life.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
"Signed"
Robert B. Pincombe
President
Telephone No. (604) 688-9951 / Facsimile No. (604) 682-3475
P.O. Box 10110, Suite #308-701 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC V7Y 1K8
Email: dataon@curlew-lake.com / Internet: curlew-lake.com |
