BISHOP, Calif., Oct. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- North Bay Resources Inc. (the “Company” or “North Bay”) (OTC: NBRI) is pleased to announce assays up to 5 ounces per ton gold, 0.7 ounces per ton silver, 1.5 ounces per ton platinum, 0.5 ounces per ton palladium, and 0.5 ounces per ton rhodium from recent underground sampling across 230 feet at its Mt. Vernon Gold Mine (see Figure 1). Samples were taken between the 290 foot marker and the 520 foot marker on either side of the existing tunnel in the known gold zone. The sampling was completed in advance of bulk tonnage mining expected to commence shorty (see Press Release Dated September 11, 2024). The assays support and are comparable to previous sampling (2023) and provide further confidence in the grade of the immediately available material at Mt. Vernon with the addition of significant platinum group metals including platinum, palladium, and rhodium.  

Figure 1. Mt. Vernon Gold Mine Assays – October 2024

Assays were completed at Enviro-Chem Analytical Laboratory using a 3-acid digestion and atomic absorption spectrometry for individual metals.

Mine Plan

The initial mine plan is now complete and provides for the extraction of 497 tons of ore, in 4 tunnels totaling 217 feet in length (see Diagram 1), for direct shipment to the Company’s 100 ton per day Bishop Gold Mill located in Inyo County, California. Prior metallurgy work has shown gold, silver and platinum may be separated and concentrated by a basic crush and grind with gravity table recovery (see Press Release dated August 22, 2024) and is well suited to the Bishop Gold Mill circuit.

Diagram 1. 3D Mine Plan – Mt. Vernon Gold Mine

Mt. Vernon Gold Mine

The Mt. Vernon Gold Mine is a largely undeveloped deposit. Sampling, by qualified mining engineers, have assayed greater than 1 ounce per ton, and up to 5 ounces per ton, continuously reported over 200 feet.   The modern access tunnel runs across the known 200-foot-wide gold bearing zone and perpendicular to the channel itself. The channel is up to 500 feet wide and extends over 2000 feet in length throughout the property. The channel varies in thickness from 4 feet to up to 20 feet. Typically, the lower 4 feet contains the higher gold grades. The channel is the same channel previously mined at the contiguous Ruby Mine which is known to be the richest mine in North America. Mt. Vernon is a permitted underground mine with modern portal, tunnel, ventilation. power, and equipment. The ore body is estimated at 954,000 tons based on the known channel (B. Hanford, 2023).