Favorable Draft Environmental Impact Report For Idaho-Maryland Project

GRASS VALLEY, CA - Rise Gold Corp. reported that the Nevada County government has released a favorable Draft Environmental Impact Report (the "DEIR") for the Idaho-Maryland Mine Project (IMM Project). The report's release represents a major milestone toward the approval of the Company's Use Permit application to reopen the historic past-producing Idaho-Maryland Gold Mine.

The independently prepared DEIR is the culmination of two years of intensive study by the Nevada County government with the support of its consultant Raney Planning & Management Inc., an experienced firm located in Sacramento[1], and contributions from many qualified technical experts and scientists. The DEIR concludes that there are no significant impacts to air quality, biological resources, water quality, groundwater, vibrations, or noise from operations from the proposed re-opening of the Idaho-Maryland mine.

The timeline to complete the Use Permit process is largely dependent on the Nevada County government. The most recent mining related EIR process completed in 2019 by Nevada County was the Boca Quarry Expansion. In that case, the Nevada County Board of Supervisors approved the project approximately five months from the release of the DEIR. Based on this recent precedent, the Use Permit process for the IMM Project could be completed by June of 2022.

The Nevada County Board of Supervisors have approved three mining projects in recent years. The Boca Quarry Expansion, a surface aggregate mine with production up to 1 million tons per year, was approved in 2019. The Greenhorn Creek Mining Expansion, a surface aggregate mine with production of up to 600,000 tons per year, was approved in 2017 and the Blue Lead Gold Mine, a surface placer gold mine with production of up to 400,000 tons per year, was approved in 2015.

A recent survey of Nevada County conducted by J. Wallin Opinion Research demonstrates strong local support for the IMM Project. A majority (59%) of respondents supported the re-opening of the Idaho-Maryland Mine with only 34% of respondents opposed. Majority support for the project is consistent across all the county's five districts.