01/23/2018 VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pretium Resources Inc. (TSX:PVG) (NYSE:PVG) (“Pretivm” or the “Company”) is pleased to provide an operations update for fourth quarter 2017 and the first six months of ramp-up at the high-grade gold Brucejack Mine, and provide guidance for the first six months of 2018 as the ramp-up continues at Brucejack.


Fourth Quarter 2017 and Six Months Ramp-Up Production Highlights
?70,281 ounces of gold produced in the fourth quarter of 2017, for a total of 152,484 ounces of gold produced during the first six months of production ramp-up;
?95.8% gold recovery rate in the fourth quarter of 2017 for an average gold recovery rate of 96.2% for the first six months of production ramp-up;
?271,501 tonnes of ore milled in the fourth quarter of 2017 for a total of 532,763 tonnes of ore milled as at December 31, 2017;
?2,951 tonnes per day processed on average during the fourth quarter of 2017 for an average processing rate of 2,895 tonnes per day during the first six months of production ramp-up.

Establishing Long-Term Mine Infrastructure

2017 Mining and Infrastructure Development

During and prior to the second half of 2017, underground development focused on establishing sills and opening levels laterally at the Brucejack Mine in support of the long-term mine plan, which will provide optionality in mining stopes. Access to the broadest possible range of stopes will maximize stope blending and is expected to improve the management of production grades as the ramp-up continues at the Brucejack Mine. In the third quarter of 2017, underground development established a sill on the 1320-meter Level of the Brucejack Mine, the first of two sills planned for the first year of mining at Brucejack. During the third quarter and through the fourth quarter, underground development established a sill at the 1200-meter Level of the mine, and work continued on the lateral development to the east and west.

2018 Mining and Infrastructure Development

Establishment of the two sills has opened up two mining horizons for 2018, the 1200-meter Level to the 1320-meter Level and the 1320-meter Level to the 1440-meter Level. With 30-meter sublevels between sills, these two sills are expected to provide access to eight mining levels by mid-year. With the continued extension of the mining levels to the east and west within the two mining horizons, supported by continued infill drilling (see Infill Drilling below), mining level access to stopes with a greater range of grade is expected to be available through 2018.

Establishing Mine Grade Control

Underground Sampling

The grade control program originally planned to be operational early in the fourth quarter of 2017 is now expected to be operational in the middle of the first quarter of 2018. When fully operational, the grade control program is expected to provide an estimated grade for each ring blasted within a long-hole stope. This information will allow the blending of ore from the various stopes on a ring-by-ring basis to smooth out head grade to the mill.

The sample splitting station, a key component of the grade control program that provides a homogenous sample for each ring blasted within a long-hole stope, has been re-engineered to better handle day-to-day mining operations. Modifications have been completed and commissioning of the sample splitting station is underway. The upgraded and more robust sample splitting station is expected to be fully operational by the middle of this quarter.

Infill Drilling

Another component of the grade control program is infill drilling of stopes to 7.5-meter to 10-meter centers (the infill drill spacing planned for long-term mining operations at Brucejack) prior to mining. A reverse circulation underground infill program will commence in February on a trial basis. Reverse circulation drilling will provide a larger sample per meter and should be faster and more cost effective than core drilling, which has been used for infill drilling to date. If the trial program is successful, reverse circulation drilling will be adopted for long-term grade control infill drilling.

Reconciliation of 2017 Ramp-Up Production

Grade reconciliation to the reserve model for the period August 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017 was approximately 75% to 80%. During the period, ore from the stopes developed on the 1200-meter Level sill provided approximately 25% of mill feed. These stopes were mined in establishing the 1200-meter Level sill as part of the long-term mine plan and had a lower drill density than stopes on other levels of the mine. As the grade control program becomes operational and mining moves up from the 1200-meter Level into areas with higher drill density, reconciliation is expected to improve.

Lyle Morgenthaler, B.A.Sc., P.Eng., Chief Mine Engineer, Pretium Resources Inc. is the Qualified Person (“QP”) responsible for Brucejack Mine development. Warwick Board, Ph.D., P.Geo, Pr.Sci.Nat., Vice President, Geology and Chief Geologist, Pretium Resources Inc. is the Qualified Person (“QP”) responsible for Brucejack Mine reconciliation of 2017 ramp-up production.

Other 2018 Activities

Mill Operations

The main operating units in the mill building are performing as expected, other than the concentrate bagging system which is requiring increased mill downtime and maintenance. Planning is underway to replace or upgrade the system. With the filing of the permit amendment application in December 2017 to increase the plant production capacity to 3,800 tonnes per day, engineering and planning are underway to increase production capacity pending the approval of the permit amendment, a process which is expected to take six to 12 months.

Grass-roots Exploration

Planning is underway for the 2018 grassroots exploration program on the wholly-owned Bowser Claim Group, which is expected to begin in late spring.

Achieving Steady State Production - 2018 Guidance

H1 2018 Guidance

As the ramp-up of mining into areas of higher definition drilling continues, steady state gold production is now expected to be achieved in mid-to-late 2018. Gold production at Brucejack for the first half of 2018 is expected in the range of 150,000 ounces to 200,000 ounces, for total first year ramp-up gold production of 302,000 ounces to 352,000 ounces (July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018). The achievement of steady state mining in areas with higher drill density and the grade control program in full operation will enable the Company to provide further production guidance later in 2018.

2018 Financial Guidance

All in sustaining costs1 for the first half of 2018 are expected to range from US$700 per ounce gold sold to US$900 per ounce gold sold. As operations continue to ramp-up at the Brucejack Mine through 2018, an increased focus will be placed on operational efficiency to reduce costs.

Appointments

Pretivm has realigned its senior leadership to correspond to changes in the organisational structure. Michelle Romero has been promoted from Vice President, Corporate to Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability. Tom S.Q. Yip has been promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Warwick Board, Ph.D., P.Geo, Pr.Sci.Nat., has been promoted to Vice President, Geology and Chief Geologist.

Fourth Quarter and Year-End 2017 Financial Results – Webcast and Conference Call

Pretivm plans to release its fourth quarter and year-end 2017 operational and financial results after market close on Thursday, March 8, 2018. The webcast and conference call to discuss these results will take place Friday, March 9, 2018 at 8:00 am PT (11:00 am ET).

Webcast and conference call details:

Friday, March 9, 2018 at 8:00 am PT (11:00 am ET)
Webcast www.pretivm.com
Toll Free (North America) 1-800-319-4610
International and Vancouver 604-638-5340