MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wits Basin Precious Minerals Inc. (OTCBB:WITM - News) is pleased to announce that it has intersected an ore-grade gold vein on its Bates-Hunter Gold Project in Central City, Colorado. Assay results are 0.647 ounces per ton (opt) Au over a 5-foot sample interval. Within this sample interval, the highest value reported is 1.197 opt Au over 2.5 feet. The intercept is near the apparent intersection between two veins at a down-hole depth of 145-149 feet in diamond drill hole BH-06-04, a -62-degree hole drilled to the northwest on an azimuth of 280 degrees. The true width of the intersected gold vein is not known and additional diamond drilling will be required to determine this.

Wits Basin President Dr. Clyde L. Smith said, "The ore-grade intercept in diamond drill hole BH-06-04 is extremelyencouraging and clearly indicates that excellent potential exists for ore-grade ore shoots in the veins now being drilled by Wits Basin on the Bates-Hunter Gold Project. At current gold prices, gold grades in excess of 0.30 opt Au over a minimum 5-foot mining width may be considered economic for underground mining. The above-mentioned 0.647 opt Au value over a 5-foot sample interval should therefore be considered potentially economic."

Although accurate production records are not available, it has been estimated that at least 4,000,000 ounces of gold were produced in the Central City Gold District between 1859 and 1947, with approximately 95% of production prior to 1904. The district was famous for production from high-grade gold ore shoots.

Wits Basin has focused on a selected portion of the historic Central City Gold District from which approximately one-quarter of past production has come. The Company has assembled a team of four experienced exploration geologists who are now conducting the first significant modern exploration program in the District. Over the last 13 months, this team has been performing a detailed geologic study including claim surveying, geologic mapping with surveyed outcrop stations, detailed core logging, assaying of numerous mineralized intervals, compilation of historical data, diamond drilling, and state-of-the-art three-dimensional computer modeling. This intense study has revealed that past production has come from high-grade gold ore shoots located at structural intersections between three steeply-dipping vein sets. Wits Basin has identified several such structural intersections outside of and below areas of past production on the Bates-Hunter Gold Project claims that could contain ore shoots. The Company will consider these as targets for future drilling.