Yellowknife (Jun 07/06) - A recent independent resource estimate at the Yellowknife Gold Project has Tyhee Development Corp.'s grinning a golden grin.

Geologists reporting for Tyhee Development now say the company's Yellowknife gold project contains 1 million ounces of gold grading at 3.8 grams per tonne.

"The scale of the Yellowknife gold project is confirmed as being a quality resource," said David Webb, president and chief executive officer of Tyhee.

An open pit mine could be considered for the Ormsby Zone portion of the property, he said.

"Production costs of an open pit mine are lower and it's a lot safer," said Webb.

Two drill rigs are currently doing exploration work at the site.

Webb expects almost $10 million in exploration and development costs this year.

While planning may only be in the early stages, Webb said there could be the potential for 100 to 150 jobs if a mine is eventually opened.

With the gold project only 90 km northeast of Yellowknife, Webb said the potential mine, "has got to be good for the people in Yellowknife."

It's good to see old discoveries are getting new looks, said Mike Vaydik, general manager with the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines.

Vaydik said the Yellowknife gold project has a lot of history behind it and many people in town remember Discovery mine, which operated between 1950 to 1969 close to the current site.

"The sustained gold price is spurring on new discoveries," said Vaydik.

The mine is 18 months into a two-year permitting plan.

Permits need to be cleared by the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board's subsidiary, the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board.

"We can't comment on the project because Tyhee is still going through the environmental evaluation and we don't have the developer's assessment report yet," said a senior regulatory officer for the Land and Water Board.

Webb said the regulatory process is going "as well as expected," and is on schedule.

-with files from Jessica Gray