cnw






Shares Issued: 127,431,855


THUNDER BAY, ON, Jan. 26, 2012 /CNW/ - PREMIER GOLD MINES LIMITED (TSX:PG) ("Premier") is very pleased to announce that it has signed a Letter of Intent to
enter into a joint venture with NEWMONT USA LIMITED, a subsidiary of Newmont Mining Corporation
(NYSE:NEM, TSX:NMC) ("Newmont") to consolidate the Saddle and Rain projects within the Rain
Sub-district of Nevada's prolific Carlin Trend.


Highlights of the proposed joint venture include:



Premier and Newmont will each contribute lands held along the "Rain
Trend" to consolidate the prospective horizon that is host to the Rain
Mine, and the Saddle and Tess gold Deposits;


Premier will acquire a 55% operating interest by contributing one land
Section, waiving its existing right of payment under the Rain and
Emigrant royalties, and contributing an initial $20 million in
development expenditures over two years;


Newmont will acquire a 45% non-operating interest by contributing three
land Sections, full site access to the joint venture including roads,
infrastructure and power, and access to contractor/supplier
relationships/discounts; and


The Joint Venture will secure a favourable milling agreement such that
ore from the project will be processed at Newmont's milling facilities
that are located within 20 miles of the Property at a pre-arranged
milling rate, subject to Newmont's processing and displacement
priorities. If the joint venture is able to secure toll milling on more
favourable terms, it may engage the alternative milling subject to
Newmont's right to match the alternative milling terms.



Subject to completion of due diligence by each party, the combined
properties (the "Rain Project"), which can be viewed in Figure 1, will
include the historic Rain Gold Mine and the Saddle and Tess gold
deposits that have been subject to recent exploration drilling by both
Premier and Newmont. The Rain Gold Mine was operated as both an open
pit and underground operation between 1988 and 2000 with more than
950,000 ounces of gold produced. During the final year of underground
production, the average grade was 10.6 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au) or
0.31 ounces per ton (oz/t). The Saddle-Tess gold deposit is located
immediately along strike from the underground workings (ramp) of the
Rain Gold Mine and additional open pit resources may be available from
the combined project. Highlights from drilling on the targeted horizon
include:



0.57 oz/t Au across 48.4 ft (19.54 g/t Au across 14.75 m) including 2.35
oz/t Au across 9.5 ft (80.50 g/t Au across 2.9 m) in SA008A


0.26 oz/t Au across 25.0 ft (8.91 g/t Au across 7.62 m) within 0.07 oz/t
Au across 292.0 ft (2.34 g/t Au across 89.0 m) in SA022


0.25 oz/t Au across 40.0 ft (8.42 g/t Au across 12.2 m) including 0.31
oz/t Au across 22.ft (10.70 g/t Au across 6.98 m) in SA003


0.41 oz/ton Au across 13.0 ft (14.12 g/t Au across 4.0m) in SA008


0.29 oz/ton Au across 21.2 feet (10.09 g/t Au across 6.5m) in SA013A


0.23 oz/ton Au across 91.0 ft (7.73 g/t Au across 27.74 m) including
0.56 opt across 19.0 ft (19.20 g/t Au across 5.79 m) in RCR-44


0.23 oz/ton across 30 ft and 0.73 oz/ton across 15ft (7.95 g/t Au across
9.14 m and 25.03 g/t Au across 4.57 m) in RCR-65



"The combination of projects could allow for near-term production and
the potential to define a significant gold resource along the largely
underexplored Rain Trend" said Paul Huet, Chief Operating Officer of
Premier. "With full access to existing Newmont infrastructure in the
heart of one of the world's most prolific gold mining districts, this
joint venture has the potential to significantly de-risk the Project
while vaulting Premier from explorer to producer."


This joint venture will provide Premier with an expanded core land
position within one of the most productive gold regions found anywhere
in the world; the Carlin Trend. Advancing this Project towards
underground development will be a priority including an opportunity to
restart operations at Rain. The partners expect to implement a program
that will include establishing underground infrastructure to complete
an aggressive drill program for resource delineation and bulk sampling
in advance of a potential mining project. The Saddle-Tess Deposit
represents one of the most prospective undeveloped high-grade gold
deposits in the Carlin Trend.


"This joint venture will elevate the profile of the Company's US
Division, consistent with a focus on aggressively building Premier's
US-based project portfolio as we develop an exciting, North American,
high-grade, growth-oriented company" stated Ewan Downie, President and
Chief Executive Officer of Premier. "We are also excited by the
prospect of working with one of the world's major gold producers to
advance this highly prospective property package located in the heart
of the Carlin Trend, a jurisdiction that supports mine development."


In addition to the joint venture lands, Premier retains ownership of
several nearby land Sections that will be subject to future exploration
aimed at discovering extensions of the "Rain Trend" and/or new gold
mineralization in the area.


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 ALS Laboratories, an accredited mineral analysis
laboratory in Reno, Nevada, for preparation and analysis utilizing fire
assay methods.


The Company will be holding an analyst conference call today January 26,
2012 at 2:00pm eastern.




Dial in numbers: 1.807.623.5005 1.866.384.4004

Participant Code: 5583431


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