Atna Commences Briggs Mine Exploration 
 

GOLDEN, CO - Atna Resources Ltd. reported the commencement of a new exploration and definition drilling program on targets at its Briggs Mine, in Inyo County, California. The program will include 25,000 to 30,000 feet of reverse circulation rotary drilling. Primary goals of the drilling program are: Reserve expansion in the BSU, Argonaut and Main Briggs pits where geologic interpretation indicates the potential to extend ore reserves beyond currently engineered pit limits; Critical in-fill drilling at the new North Main Briggs pit designed to upgrade inferred mineral resource to proven and probable reserves; Expansion and delineation drilling in the Deep Briggs resource zone beneath the current minable reserves.

James Hesketh, President and CEO, states, "The Briggs Mine sold approximately 25,100 ounces of gold in 2010 generating revenues in excess of US$30 million. With operations at Briggs approaching targets, it is time to begin a program of reserve expansion. This drilling program has the potential to add significant new reserve ounces, with a minimum goal of replacing the ounces mined in the past year and an upside goal of adding a number of additional years of mine life if the drilling program is successful." Expansion potential in the southern BSU pit is in an area where mining operations encountered significant gold grades (>0.03 oz/ton gold) along the currently planned ultimate pit boundary. The zone of mineral interest occurs in where development drilling is sparse and the geologic block model underestimated the actual grade of the ore mined. In the Argonaut pit area, development drill holes are broadly spaced and did not allow for a southerly extension of this zone. However, recent mining indicates that the mineralized zone extends to the south beyond the engineered pit limits in an area that produced grades in excess of 0.08 oz/ton gold in pit-wall sampling. In the newly engineered North Main Briggs pit, a substantial block of inferred mineral resources lies within and adjacent to the current pit plan. This mineral resource may be convertible to proven and probable reserves with additional drilling. A large portion of this current program will focus on further delineating and expanding mineralization behind the east wall of the Briggs Main pit and in the Deep Briggs resource zone discovered in 2009. The Deep Briggs mineralization is classified primarily as indicated and inferred mineral resource based upon the currently available data. Drilling will consist of both delineation and step-out drilling in this zone. The company's address is 14142 Denver West Parkway, Suite 250, Golden, CO 80401, (303) 278-8464, fax: (303) 279-3772.