GOLD STOCK NEWS - Goldcorp (GG) and its joint venture partner, Premier Gold Mines (PG.TSX), have begun drilling programs focused on gold exploration in the prolific Red Lake gold mining district of northwestern Ontario, Canada. Premier Gold and Goldcorp will be drilling for new discoveries as well as testing extensions of known gold zones. Premier Gold Mines’ President and CEO Ewan Downie stated that the company expects “substantial news flow from our Red Lake programs in 2010,” including additional discoveries of high-grade deposits at a number of the company’s properties.

Included in the drilling program is further exploration of the Rahill-Bonanza project, a joint venture operated by Red Lake Gold Mines Limited, an affiliate of Goldcorp Inc. Drilling in 2009 discovered a potential new gold zone with a favorable ultramafic rock unit similar to the nearby Bruce Channel Deposit, which will also undergo further drilling to evaluate the potential southern extension of the deposit.

Drilling will also be carried out to test the down-dip potential of the Bonanza Deposit. Indications are that at depth, the Bonanza Deposit is trending into a more favorable geologic environment for hosting bonanza-grade gold mineralization. Testing will also be conducted at the nearby West Granodiorite Zone to confirm the potential for a significant gold resource and expand mineralization down-plunge. Testing on several major structures will occur at East Bay, along an ultramafic trend proximate to the F2 Zone, with joint venture partner Goldcorp subsidiary, Red Lake Gold Mines Limited.

Premier Gold Mines will also conduct test drilling at its majority-owned Hardrock Project to further evaluate the results of the 2009 drilling program, which successfully identified multiple open-pit and underground gold zones. Premier expects to release a NI43-101 compliant resource estimate relating to the near-surface zones on this project in the first quarter.

Drilling at the company’s Hardrock deposit has demonstrated the existence of high-grade gold and the potential for the deposit to contain a multi-million ounce gold resource. Premier will continue to advance this project over the course of 2010.

Premier Gold Mines Limited is a Canada-based mineral exploration and development company with several projects in northwestern Ontario and a joint venture in Mexico. Premier Gold is drilling and advancing a suite of gold projects, offering the company’s shareholders multiple opportunities for success. This is a relatively rare occurrence in an industry that consists largely of single-project exploration companies.

In mid-day trading shares of Premier Gold Mines (PG.TSX) were higher by C$0.02 to C$3.65, shares of Goldcorp (GG) were lower by $0.34 to $35.55, and the gold price declined $3.61 to $1,072.88 per ounce.