PREMIER GOLD MINES LIMITED (TSX:PG) is pleased to provide an exploration update, including the confirmation of high grade extensions, at the Company’s 100%-owned Mercedes Mine, located in the State of Sonora, Mexico.  The ongoing 40,000 metre surface and underground drill programs include definition and expansion of the main gold bearing horizons and testing new zones on the property.

Underground drilling at the Rey de Oro deposit, one of several zones being brought into production this year, has confirmed the extension of a high-grade vein system that exhibits some of the best widths drilled to date.  Recent highlights include:

• UG-R018-002 with 6.21 g/t Au and 101.83 g/t Ag across 16.55 metres
• UG-R018-006 with 36.65 g/t Au and 171.30 g/t Ag across 21.95 metres
• UG-R018-007 with 8.10 g/t Au and 121.32 g/t Ag across 20.50 metres
• UG-R018-008 with 8.33 g/t Au and 67.66 g/t Ag across 9.20 metres

“These high grade results and good widths are similar to our success at the Aida vein zone intersected earlier this year and confirms our belief that substantial potential exists to expand the mine life at Mercedes” stated Charlie Ronkos, Executive Vice-President of Premier.  “These initial intercepts suggest a zone with grades well in excess of the current reserve grade at Mercedes”.

Rey de Oro

Additional drills are being mobilized to Rey de Oro in order to continue step-out and delineation drilling of this vein extension.  These results include some of the widest vein intercepts on the property and are located proximal to recently constructed underground mine workings (see Figure 1 below).

Table 1 summarizes recent intercepts from 2018 drilling at Rey de Oro.

Table 1 – Highlight drill intercepts from the Rey de Oro vein target

Aida

A surface and underground drill program is underway to define the high-grade Aida target that is located to the west of the main Mercedes vein (see Figure 2) and proximal to existing mine workings.  Broad zones of mineralization have returned multiple high-grade intercepts as highlighted in Table 2. 

Table 2 – Highlight drill intercepts from the Aida target

The 2018 drill program will also test for extensions of the known vein systems, and for new target areas on the property.  The primary target areas are as follows (see Figure 2):

1. Drilling at the Axis target located to the west of the main Mercedes vein, has discovered a broad zone of low-grade mineralization with assays of up to 0.64 g/t Au and 0.79 g/t Ag across 31.5 metres;
2. Once the drift has been sufficiently established in H2 2018, drilling is expected to begin on the Marianas vein, located along the main Mercedes vein trend; and
3. Continued definition and step-out drilling at Diluvio and Lupita that were recently brought into production.

Production at Mercedes is expected to be weighted to the second half of the year owing to changes in the mining methods, the required additional drilling at the new Diluvio deposit and delays in permitting associated with the ventilation raise at Rey de Oro.  Stope mining has commenced at Diluvio and the ramp up in production from Rey de Oro continues.  As a result of these initiatives, monthly production in July has been the best so far in 2018.

Premier Gold Mines Limited is a gold producer and respected exploration and development company with a high-quality pipeline of precious metal projects in proven, accessible and safe mining jurisdictions in Canada, the United States, and Mexico.

Stephen McGibbon, P. Geo., Executive Vice-President, Corporate and Project Development, 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.  Mercedes assay results are from core samples sent to ALS Chemex, an accredited mineral analysis laboratory in Lima, Peru or Vancouver, British Columbia, for preparation and analysis utilizing both fire assay and ICP methods. For a complete description of Mercedes’s sample preparation, analytical methods and QA/QC procedures refer to the technical report for the Mercedes Mine dated April 18, 2018 (effective date December 31, 2017), entitled “Technical Report on the Mercedes Gold-Silver Mine, Sonora State, Mexico.”