Thunder Bay, January 23, 2020 - PREMIER GOLD MINES LIMITED (“Premier”, “the Company”) (TSX:PG) (OTCPK: PIRGF) is pleased to announce its fourth quarter and full year production results for 2019.

Production Highlights:
•Total Q4 gold production of 16,880 ounces
•Total 2019 gold production of 67,427 ounces
•Total Q4 silver production of 45,500 ounces
•Total 2019 silver production of 192,829 ounces

Commercial production was declared more than three months ahead of schedule at South Arturo’s El Nino mine and ore tons mined during the fourth quarter were considerably above plan. At the Company’s Mercedes Mine, excessive dilution led to lower than planned grades and therefore fewer than guided gold ounces produced during the year. The Company identified several factors contributing to the lower than planned grades and is working on initiatives to ensure increased and more reliable production for 2020 and beyond.

Table 1 below provides a summary of production results by mine site.
see more on
https://www.premiergoldmines.com/2019-production

“2019 was a trying year for our Mercedes Mine” stated Ewan Downie, President and CEO of Premier. “However, we believe that we understand the challenges faced by the mine this past year and have a plan in place to address them. We believe our continued exploration successes at Mercedes and the resumption of mining at South Arturo will contribute to production for years to come and provide a platform for our Company’s growth”.

Mercedes Mine, Mexico

The Mercedes Mine is focused on improving grade predictability while also reducing dilution and overall costs. Developing new deposits to increase flexibility and productivity remains a key priority.

During 2019, exploration efforts at the mine focused on identifying near-mine deposits. This program resulted in the most successful campaign for Premier at Mercedes since its acquisition in 2016, with key discoveries at Lupita Extension and San Martin. Both deposits display potential to host above average mineral resource grades. Access to Lupita Extension is underway and will increase the number of available ore headings and stopes, resulting in added flexibility and improved production. A comprehensive reconciliation process is being implemented at the mine as part of an overall effort to ensure mined grades are optimized to the block model estimate. Additionally, the mine’s dilution reduction efforts now include the use of smaller mining equipment to allow reduced mining widths and headings sizes where appropriate.

For 2020, the Company is expecting increased production and lower costs versus 2019 as operational improvements and access to higher grade mineralization is realized. Consequently, the Mercedes 2020 production guidance range is between 65,000 to 75,000 ounces of gold at cash costs of between $850 to $975 per ounce and all-in sustaining costs of between $1,125 to $1,275 per ounce.

South Arturo Mine, Nevada

The South Arturo Mine is a joint venture between Premier and Nevada Gold Mines LLC, a joint venture between Newmont Mining and Barrick Gold Exploration Inc. (“Barrick”) operated by Barrick.

Commercial production was declared at the El Nino underground mine at the end of Q3, more than three months ahead of schedule. The El Nino mine recovered a total of 5,964 ounces of gold (including 562 pre-production ounces) to Premier’s account during 2019, with an additional 3,855 contained ounces being stockpiled for future processing. In addition, 2,124 ounces of gold were recovered from the Phase 2 open pit stockpile during the year with an additional 392 pre-production ounces of gold from the Phase 1 open pit. Underground core drilling at El Nino returned numerous positive results including 24.4 m of 20.60 g/t Au (SEC19010), 32.0 m of 10.09 g/t Au (IER19021), and 51.8 m of 11.13 g/t Au (IER19031).

Exploration drilling to increase reserves and resources was also completed elsewhere at South Arturo. Primary Phase 3 pit targets returned highlight intercepts including 112.8 m of 7.29 g/t Au (MAD19004) and 62.5 m of 7.39 g/t Au (MAD19002) (See press release dated October 28, 2019 for complete results).

The JV is finalizing the operating plan for 2020, including a detailed review of additional mining opportunities, following which the Company expects to provide cost and production guidance for South Arturo.

Q4 and year end 2019 financial results and conference call details:

Full financial results for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2019, will be released before market open on March 5, 2020 and a conference call with senior management will be held at 10:00am EST.

Details for the conference call and webcast can be found below and will be accessible on the Company’s website.

Toll Free (North America): (+1) 888 390 0605

International: (+1) 416 764 8609

Conference ID: 12570368
Webcast Link:

https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/2170433/9BF07975F01997539A4A558FF039F0F8