Thomson Reuters






Oct 22 (Reuters) - The independent consultant that recently
quit Pretium Resources Inc's flagship gold exploration
project has accused the company of making "erroneous and
misleading" claims, the company said in a release that sent its
shares down nearly 30 percent.


Pretium said on Tuesday that its management and the other
independent consultant on the project, Snowden Mining Industry
Consultants, have "significant concerns" with the accusations by
Strathcona Mineral Services Ltd.


Pretium is currently processing a 10,000-tonne bulk sample,
dubbed the "Valley of the Kings" program, at its Brucejack
project in northern British Columbia.


Pretium said Strathcona saw preliminary assay results from a
very small part of the material before it withdrew. It said
Strathcona had not seen any results from the bulk sample
processing.


Pretium quoted Strathcona as saying there is "no valid gold
mineral resources" for the Valley of the Kings zone, and that
comments from recent Pretium releases "about probable mineral
reserves and future gold production ... over a 22-year mine life
are erroneous and misleading."


Pretium said early processing results suggest there may be
more gold in the material than the preliminary assay results
showed. It said Snowden has advised it that no part of the
10,000-tonne sample should be considered in isolation.


"We believe that the true test of the bulk sample - and its
representativity of the Valley of the Kings overall - is to
determine the actual amount of gold contained within the 10,000
tonnes of material we extracted," Pretium said in a release


Officials at Strathcona and Snowden were not immediately
available for comment.


Pretium shares have fallen by about 50 percent since Oct. 9,
when Pretium first said Strathcona had resigned from the
project. The shares were at C$3.49 late on Tuesday morning, down
almost 27 percent.

(Reporting by Allison Martell; Editing by Janet Guttsman and
Andrew Hay)