GOLD EXPLORATION: Hawthorne begins bulk sampling at Taurus

BRITISH COLUMBIA — Vancouver-based Hawthorne Gold has begun extracting a 10,000-tonne bulk sample from the Sable zone at its Taurus project in the Cassiar district. The sample will be stockpiled next to the Cassiar mill and processed when the mill is recommissioned.

The company received government approval on Aug. 14, 2009, and stripping of the overburden began immediately. The work is being carried out by local contractors including the Dease River Development Corp. and related First Nation companies.

The Taurus deposit supported underground mining in the 1950s and the 1980s. Hawthorne is reviving the mine as a low-grade, high-tonnage pit. The company has outlined an inferred resource of 33.06 million tonnes grading 1.00 g/t Au.

Start-up of the Cassiar mill is slated for later this year. The plant has a throughput of 270-t/d and will treat ore from the Table Mountain deposit as well as the Taurus pit.

Additional information is posted at www.HawthorneGold.com.