Mr. Robert Quartermain reports

PRETIVM REPORTS FOURTH QUARTER AND YEAR END 2012 RESULTS

Pretium Resources Inc. is releasing the following highlights from the fourth quarter of 2012 and updates for the Brucejack project in Northern British Columbia.

Fourth-quarter 2012 highlights and significant events:

• The company announced on Nov. 20, 2012, an updated Valley of the Kings mineral resource estimate for Brucejack. High-grade gold resources in the Valley of the Kings (5.0-gram-per-tonne gold-equivalent cut-off) now total:
  • 8.5 million ounces of gold in the indicated mineral resource category (16.1 million tonnes grading 16.4 grams of gold per tonne);
  • 2.9 million ounces of gold in the inferred mineral resource category (5.4 million tonnes grading 17.0 grams of gold per tonne).
• The company announced on Dec. 11, 2012, that it was selected to receive the 2013 Bill Dennis Award from the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada for advancing the Valley of the Kings.
• The company completed the widening of a portion of the historical West zone underground workings to five metres by five metres and commenced excavation of the ramp to access the Valley of the Kings underground from the historical West zone underground workings.
• The company completed metallurgical test work for the Brucejack feasibility study, which demonstrated recoveries of 98.3 per cent for gold and 92.5 per cent for silver.
• The company ended the year with working capital at Dec. 31, 2012, of $30.1-million.
• The company completed a private placement on Feb. 15, 2013, of 1,648,550 flow-through common shares, inclusive of the exercise of the underwriters' 80,450-flow-through-share overallotment option, for aggregate gross proceeds of $21-million.

2012 exploration

The 2012 Brucejack surface exploration program was completed in mid-October with a total of 105,769 metres drilled in 306 holes. Drilling over the course of 2012 successfully demonstrated the continuity and projection of high-grade gold mineralization in Brucejack's Valley of the Kings. The Valley of the Kings now extends for over 1,000 metres along strike and remains open to the east and west along strike and at depth.

In late December, the widening of the historical West zone underground workings was completed, and excavation of the access ramp from the West zone workings to the Valley of the Kings commenced. The widening of a portion of the existing underground workings to five m by five m was completed so that the historical West zone portal and underground workings can be used for access to the Valley of the Kings with production-sized mining equipment. The current ramp alignment will allow acceleration of production development as it will be used to provide initial access to the Valley of the Kings and multiple headings for excavation of the planned production declines.

Approximately 250 metres out of the total planned length of 546 metres of the access ramp have been excavated since the turn toward the Valley of the Kings from the West zone was initiated in December. A channel sampling program along the ramp will be conducted as work progresses, as the area is untested. Further underground sampling and drilling are planned after the Valley of the Kings has been reached, which is expected in the second quarter of 2013.

2013 bulk sample

Access to the Valley of the Kings from underground is also designed to excavate a 10,000-tonne bulk sample representative of the deposit. The access ramp is targeting the 1,345-metre level at the 426600 cross-section of the Valley of the Kings. Strathcona Mineral Services Ltd. of Toronto has been engaged as the independent qualified person to oversee and report on the 10,000-tonne bulk sample from the Valley of the Kings. Excavation of the bulk sample is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2013. Planning is continuing with Strathcona Mineral Services on the work required to be completed prior to excavating the bulk sample, the procedures for excavating the bulk sample and the sampling protocols.

Feasibility study

A feasibility study on the high-grade gold opportunity at Brucejack is continuing, and mine planning is now well under way based on the Nov. 20, 2012, mineral resource estimate (see news release dated Nov. 20, 2012). During the fourth quarter, a decision was made to advance the Brucejack feasibility study with an operating rate of 2,700 tonnes per day, with long-hole stoping and cemented paste backfill chosen for the mining method. Stopes will be mined using a combination of longitudinal and transverse mining, depending on zone width and orientation. Cemented paste tailings will be prepared in a paste plant located on surface near the mill and then pumped underground for distribution to the stopes.

As part of the feasibility study, the company has completed locked-cycle metallurgical test work. The average locked-cycle recoveries for combined gravity and flotation for the Valley of the Kings composites were 98.3 per cent for gold and 92.5 per cent for silver.

The feasibility study for the Brucejack project is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2013.

Ian Chang, MASc, PEng, vice-president, project development, Pretium Resources, is the qualified person responsible for Brucejack project development.

Other developments

Subsequent to the end of the fourth quarter of 2012, the company completed a private placement of 1,648,550 flow-through common shares, inclusive of the exercise of the underwriters' 80,450-flow-through-share overallotment option, for aggregate gross proceeds of $21-million (see news release dated Feb. 15, 2013). The gross proceeds of the offering are being used to advance exploration activities at the Brucejack project in support of the 10,000-tonne bulk sample from Valley of the Kings.

Pretium's working capital as at Dec. 31, 2012, was $30.1-million.

Pretium's audited consolidated financial statements and management discussion and analysis for the year ended Dec. 31, 2012, will be available on SEDAR and Pretium's website.

We seek Safe Harbor.