Premier Gold Mines (PG.TSX) released an update on the drilling program at its Rahill-Bonanza Project. The project is a joint-venture with Red Lake Gold Mines, a subsidiary of Goldcorp (GG). The highlight of the update was the intersection of high-grade gold mineralization within the West Granodiorite Zone, which consisted of 12.5 grams per ton of gold across 4.5 meters in a section containing numerous specks of visible gold, and 21.1 grams per ton of gold across 0.5 meters. According to CEO Ewan Downie, 'this part of the Red Lake camp has seen almost no previous exploration and suggests that this deposit could have significant size potential. The grades and widths from this deep intercept are comparable to those at the Bruce Channel Deposit.'

The current drill program is focused on testing exploration targets and defining a potential gold resource. The testing area is located in close proximity to Goldcorp's Bruce Channel deposit, a multi-million ounce gold discovery. The Bruce Channel deposit was acquired by Goldcorp through its 2008 acquisition of Gold Eagle Mines. Collaboration between the projects could potentially lower cash cash costs for both projects. Test mining has indicated that a historical resource of 5.7 million tons at 0.1 gold ounces per ton may exist. The company notes that this is not a certified estimate and should not be relied upon.

Premier Gold Mines is a Canadian-based mineral exploration and development company with several projects and deposits in Northwestern Ontario and a joint venture in Mexico. Two of these projects are operated in the Red Lake gold mining camp, both joint ventures with Goldcorp. The company has active drill programs at its Hardrock Project and PQ North Project that are located on the main Musselwhite gold mine trend. In early morning trading, shares of Premier were up C$0.04 to $2.55, while the gold price was up $3.38 to $937.86 per ounce.