VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 10, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Rockridge Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:ROCK) (Frankfurt: RR0) (“Rockridge” or the “Company”) is pleased to report additional results from its inaugural winter diamond drilling program at its flagship Knife Lake Project located in Saskatchewan (the “Knife Lake Project” or “Property”). Rockridge recently entered into an Option Agreement with Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. to acquire a 100% interest in the Property that covers the majority of the historical Knife Lake Cu-Zn-Ag-Co VMS deposit. The contiguous claims total approximately 85,196 hectares and are located approximately 50 km northwest of Sandy Bay, Saskatchewan.
Knife Lake VMS Project Map:
http://www.rockridgeresourcesltd.com/_resources/Knife_Lake_Region_20181011.pdf
The analytical results are summarized below and indicate high grade intercepts in six holes, including a wide intercept in hole KF19006. Drill hole KF19006 tested the up-dip extension of the Knife Lake deposit in an area that had not been previously tested. The drill hole intersected net-textured to semi-massive sulphide mineralization from 5.1m to 20.3m downhole. The 15.2m interval returned 2.01% Cu, 0.39 g/t Au, 8.16 g/t Ag, 0.17% Zn, and 0.02% Co for an estimated 2.45% CuEq. Drill hole KF19007 which tested the down-dip extension of the deposit in the same area as KF19006, intersected interstitially-forming to net-textured sulphides between 39.1m to 42.0m. KF19007 returned 2.95m of 0.66% Cu, 0.1 g/t Au, and 2.6 g/t Ag for an estimated 0.82% CuEq.
Drill holes KF19009, KF19010, KF19011, and KF19012 were drilled in the southern extent of the deposit in areas that had either not been drill tested and/or where historical assays had not been validated. All four drill holes intersected zones of disseminated, interstitially-forming to net-textured sulphide mineralization. Drill hole KF19011 intersected 14.2m of 0.60% Cu, 0.07 g/t Au, 2.02 g/t Ag, 0.20% Zn, and 0.01% Co for an estimated 0.77% CuEq. Drill hole KF19012 intersected 10.6m of 0.61% Cu, 0.09 g/t Au, 2.6 g/t Ag, and 0.17% Zn for an estimated 0.76% CuEq. Interpretation and QA/QC has now been completed on all twelve holes from the program. Highlighted intersections from the drill holes are reported in the table below.
The Company is now working towards completing an NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate for Knife Lake with the results from this drill program. Following that, a summer exploration program is being planned with details and news on it forthcoming.
Rockridge’s CEO, Grant Ewing commented: “The Knife Lake property package is highly prospective for new discoveries using modern exploration techniques and methods given the lack of recent field work. The known deposit is thought to be a remobilized portion of a presumably larger primary VMS deposit and there is excellent potential for deposit expansion at depth which we plan to test in future programs. Furthermore, there are several high quality targets to test on the expansive landholding, and there have yet to be satellite deposits discovered in the vicinity as VMS systems often host clusters or stacked deposits.”
Rockridge’s President, Jordan Trimble commented: “The results from this first-pass drill program have exceeded our expectations with almost all drill holes having intersected high grade copper mineralization, and in doing so we have successfully confirmed the tenor of mineralization reported by previous operators as well as expanding known zones of mineralization. We are now working towards issuing an NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate as well as planning a regional summer field program, both of which will provide steady news flow and catalysts over the near term. We will continue to execute on our value creation strategy of going into overlooked but prospective projects in prolific mining jurisdictions and using modern exploration methodologies to test new ideas and make new discoveries.”
Drill Hole Results Table for Holes KF19006, KF19007, KF19008, KF19009, KF19010, KF19011 and KF19012:
| Hole | From | To | Core Length |
Cu | Au | Ag | Zn | Co | CuEq |
| (m) | (m) | (m) | (%) | (g/t) | (g/t) | (%) | (%) | (%) | |
| KF19006 | 5.10 | 20.25 | 15.15 | 2.01 | 0.39 | 8.16 | 0.17 | 0.02 | 2.45 |
| Includes | 8.75 | 16.00 | 7.25 | 3.07 | 0.72 | 12.74 | 0.28 | 0.03 | 3.79 |
| Includes | 11.00 | 16.00 | 5.00 | 3.58 | 0.93 | 15.22 | 0.35 | 0.03 | 4.51 |
| Includes | 11.00 | 12.00 | 1.00 | 5.87 | 0.46 | 24.20 | 0.44 | 0.03 | 6.62 |
| KF19007 | 39.05 | 42.00 | 2.95 | 0.66 | 0.1 | 2.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.82 |
| KF19008 | No significant intercepts | ||||||||
| KF19009 | |||||||||
| Upper Int | 41.00 | 49.00 | 8.00 | 0.43 | 0.04 | 1.75 | 0.12 | 0.01 | 0.55 |
| Includes | 42.00 | 44.00 | 2.00 | 1.04 | 0.07 | 3.16 | 0.18 | 0.01 | 1.25 |
| Lower Int | 53.00 | 55.60 | 2.60 | 0.79 | 0.06 | 3.48 | 0.11 | 0.00 | 0.90 |
| Includes | 55.00 | 55.60 | 0.60 | 1.76 | 0.15 | 7.73 | 0.15 | 0.00 | 1.97 |
| KF19010 | |||||||||
| Upper Int | 40.85 | 43.70 | 2.85 | 0.69 | 0.07 | 3.24 | 0.39 | 0.02 | 1.00 |
| Includes | 40.85 | 42.00 | 1.15 | 1.00 | 0.10 | 5.50 | 1.00 | 0.03 | 1.64 |
| Lower Int | 53.00 | 57.70 | 4.70 | 0.38 | 0.03 | 1.37 | 0.05 | 0.01 | 0.46 |
| KF19011 | 29.35 | 43.50 | 14.15 | 0.60 | 0.07 | 2.02 | 0.20 | 0.01 | 0.77 |
| Includes | 29.35 | 31.65 | 2.30 | 1.28 | 0.13 | 3.53 | 0.40 | 0.00 | 1.55 |
| Includes | 30.00 | 31.00 | 1.00 | 2.80 | 0.31 | 7.29 | 0.55 | 0.01 | 3.27 |
| KF19012 | 26.50 | 37.05 | 10.55 | 0.61 | 0.09 | 2.60 | 0.17 | 0.00 | 0.76 |
| Includes | 31.00 | 37.05 | 6.05 | 1.07 | 0.16 | 4.64 | 0.26 | 0.01 | 1.32 |
| Includes | 35.00 | 36.00 | 1.00 | 1.75 | 0.45 | 7.13 | 0.44 | 0.01 | 2.24 |
* Drill indicated intercepts (core length) are reported as drilled widths. True thickness is undetermined
** Assumptions used in USD for the copper equivalent calculation were metal prices of $2.80/lb Cu, $18.00/lb Co, $1,300/oz Au, $17.00/oz Ag, $1.20/lb Zn and a processing cost of $11.55/tonne. Copper equivalent (CuEq) was calculated using the formula CuEq = Cu% + ((Zn%*Zn Price*Zn Recovery*Zn Payable*22.0462) + (Co%*Co Price *Co Recovery*Co Payable*22.0462)+ (Augpt*Au Price*Au Recovery*Au Payable/31.1035) + (Ag *Ag Price*Ag Recovery*Ag Payable/31.1035)) / (Cu price*CuRecovery*Cu payable*22.0462)
The Company completed twelve holes consisting of 1,053m of diamond drilling in the 2019 winter drilling program. This represents the first work on the property since 2001 and had two primary objectives: confirm the tenor of mineralization reported by previous operators and expand known zones of mineralization. All activities will advance the project toward the goal of completing a NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate.
Knife Lake Plan Map and Drill Collar Locations:
http://www.rockridgeresourcesltd.com/_resources/maps/Knife-Lake-Plan-Map-2019_v3.pdf
Compilation and initial modelling indicates a potential for expansion of the historical deposit at depth. The current drilling has been focused on resource upgrade and expansion as well as infill drilling between historical holes. The program will also give the Company’s technical team valuable insights into the property geology, alteration, and mineralization that will be applied to future regional exploration on the highly prospective and underexplored land package.
Knife Lake contains typical VMS mineralogy which has been significantly modified and partially remobilized during the emplacement of granitic rocks. Therefore, the known historical deposit may represent a remobilized portion of a presumably larger “primary” VMS deposit based on general observations about the mineralogy, mineral textures and metal ratios in the deposit. Most of the historical work consisted of shallow drilling at the deposit area with little regional work carried out and limited deeper drilling below the deposit. As a result, there is strong discovery potential both at depth and regionally.
Drill Results Table from Previously Reported Holes KF19001, KF19002, KF19003, KF19004, and KF19005:
| Hole | From | To | Core Length |
Cu | Au | Ag | Zn | Co | CuEq |
| (m) | (m) | (m) | (%) | (g/t) | (g/t) | (%) | (%) | (%) | |
| KF19001 | 7.50 | 40.60 | 33.10 | 1.28 | 0.12 | 4.80 | 0.13 | 0.01 | 1.49 |
| Upper Int | 7.50 | 13.60 | 6.10 | 1.67 | 0.21 | 7.20 | 0.31 | 0.01 | 1.99 |
| Includes | 7.50 | 11.50 | 4.00 | 2.29 | 0.29 | 9.80 | 0.43 | 0.01 | 2.72 |
| Middle Int | 19.50 | 24.10 | 4.60 | 1.70 | 0.14 | 5.90 | 0.15 | 0.01 | 1.94 |
| Includes | 21.50 | 23.50 | 2.00 | 2.06 | 0.23 | 8.20 | 0.26 | 0.02 | 2.46 |
| Lower Int | 30.70 | 40.60 | 9.90 | 1.56 | 0.13 | 6.10 | 0.11 | 0.02 | 1.81 |
| Includes | 36.70 | 38.70 | 2.00 | 3.37 | 0.33 | 14.40 | 0.26 | 0.03 | 3.88 |
| KF19002 | 9.70 | 53.50 | 43.80 | 0.78 | 0.07 | 2.54 | 0.07 | 0.01 | 0.93 |
| Includes | 24.30 | 42.00 | 17.70 | 1.27 | 0.11 | 3.71 | 0.07 | 0.02 | 1.47 |
| Includes | 25.40 | 30.50 | 5.10 | 2.03 | 0.10 | 5.04 | 0.11 | 0.02 | 2.28 |
| Includes | 29.50 | 30.50 | 1.00 | 5.97 | 0.21 | 15.4 | 0.28 | 0.04 | 6.49 |
| KF19003 | 11.20 | 48.80 | 37.60 | 2.03 | 0.19 | 9.88 | 0.36 | 0.01 | 2.42 |
| Includes | 24.75 | 37.90 | 13.15 | 4.31 | 0.37 | 21.48 | 0.75 | 0.02 | 5.05 |
| Includes | 30.00 | 37.90 | 7.90 | 5.98 | 0.49 | 29.28 | 0.94 | 0.03 | 6.96 |
| Includes | 30.00 | 34.00 | 4.00 | 7.54 | 0.63 | 37.16 | 1.32 | 0.05 | 8.92 |
| Includes | 31.00 | 33.00 | 2.00 | 10.33 | 0.60 | 50.60 | 1.18 | 0.01 | 11.43 |
| KF19004 | 33.15 | 36.50 | 3.35 | 1.01 | 0.08 | 4.21 | 0.19 | 0.02 | 1.25 |
| KF19005 | 32.00 | 36.50 | 4.50 | 1.03 | 0.06 | 3.98 | 0.15 | 0.01 | 1.20 |
| Includes | 33.00 | 35.00 | 2.00 | 1.72 | 0.10 | 6.32 | 0.22 | 0.01 | 1.97 |
* Drill indicated intercepts (core length) are reported as drilled widths and true thickness is undetermined
** Assumptions used in USD for the copper equivalent calculation were metal prices of $2.80/lb Cu, $18.00/lb Co, $1,300/oz Au, $17.00/oz Ag, $1.20/lb Zn and a processing cost of $11.55/tonne. Copper equivalent (CuEq) was calculated using the formula CuEq = Cu% + ((Zn%*Zn Price*Zn Recovery*Zn Payable*22.0462) + (Co%*Co Price *Co Recovery*Co Payable*22.0462) + (Augpt*Au Price*Au Recovery*Au Payable/31.1035) + (Ag *Ag Price*Ag Recovery*Ag Payable/31.1035)) / (Cu price*CuRecov*Cupayable*22.0462)
Knife Lake Geology and History:
The Knife Lake Project is interpreted to be a remobilized VMS deposit. The stratabound mineralized zone is approximately 15m thick and contains copper, silver, zinc and cobalt mineralization which dips 30° to 45° eastward over a strike-length of 4,500m, with an average horizontal width of approximately 300m. Over 400 diamond drill holes have been completed in and around the current property boundaries, with much of this historic drill core stored under cover and in very good condition. A 357kV powerline runs within 16 km of the Knife Lake Deposit area, greatly enhancing the project’s infrastructure.
Knife Lake Deposit Map:
http://www.rockridgeresourcesltd.com/_resources/Knife_Lake_Location_and_Highlights_20181011.pdf
The deposit is hosted by felsic to intermediate volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks which have been metamorphosed to upper amphibolite facies. The deposit contains VMS mineralogy which has been significantly modified and partially remobilized during the emplacement of granitic rocks. The mineralization straddles the boundary between two rock units and occurs on both limbs of an interpreted overturned fold.
The Knife Lake area saw extensive exploration from the late 1960s to the 1990s with the last documented work program completed in 2001. Between 1996 and 1998, Leader completed 315 diamond drill holes, outlining a broad zone of mineralization occurring at a depth of less than 100 metres (AF 63M-0006, Report 10). Late in 1998, Leader published a historical estimate for the deposit, reporting a drill-indicated resource of 20.3 million tonnes grading 0.6% Cu, 0.1 g/t Au, 3.0 g/t Ag, 0.06% Co and 0.11% Zn. Within the historical estimate, there is a higher grade zone containing 11.0 million tonnes grading 0.75% Cu in addition to other metals (SMDI 0406). All disclosed historical estimates were completed prior to the passing of NI 43-101 into law and as such the Company advises that these mineral resource estimates, as disclosed, are not supported by a compliant National Instrument 43-101 technical report, contrary to NI 43-101. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify these historical estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves in accordance with NI 43-101. The above resource estimates are from the Saskatchewan Mineral Deposit Index (SMDI) 0406. The Company is not treating the historical estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. These estimates do not comply to categories prescribed by National Instrument 43-101 or the Canadian Institute of Mining, and are disclosed only as indications of the presence of mineralization and are considered to be a guide for additional work. The historical models and data sets used to prepare these historical estimates are not available to Rockridge and the author is not aware of any more recent resource estimates or data. The 1998 historical resource was calculated using the cross-section method and used assay data from 241 Leader holes and from 6 other holes drilled prior to Leader’s drilling. A cutoff grade of 0.3% copper-equivalent and a minimum composite length of 3.0 meters was used. Holes were plotted on vertical drill sections ranging from Section 20760 N to Section 24905 N, covering a strike length of 4,145 meters. The categories used for the Leader Mining 1998 historical resource estimates are stated as being “drill-indicated”. This is not a resource category as defined under 43-101 CP Section 2.4 (1) and (2)6 but based on the methodologies and drill hole spacing it would likely be equivalent to an inferred resource category.
QA/QC:
Samples were sent for geochemical analysis with ALS Global, Vancouver for the following analyses: 48 element four acid ICP-MS (ME-MS61) and gold (Au) 30 g Fire Assay – AA finish (Au-AA23). Over limit analysis were completed using the following analyses: Ore Grade copper (Cu), nickel (Ni) and zinc (Zn) – four acid ICP-AES (ME-OG62).
On receipt of final certificates of analysis, the QA/QC sample results were reviewed to ensure the order of samples were reported correctly, that the blanks ran clean, and that the results for each standard had minimal variance from its certified value. QA/QC for the Knife Lake drilling included certified reference material (“CRM’s”) and blanks that were inserted into each sample batch in order to verify the analytical from the lab. The CRM’s from the first five drill holes reported passed within 2 standard deviations and the blanks returned acceptable values. All of the lab internal standards and duplicates were within acceptable values.
Drill Collar Summary Table:
| Hole ID | Easting | Northing | Elevation | Azimuth | Dip | Depth |
| (m) | (m) | (m) | (m) | |||
| KF19001 | 641595.5 | 6194192.6 | 387 | 283 | -90 | 90 |
| KF19002 | 641622.7 | 6194154.3 | 389 | 283 | -65 | 90 |
| KF19003 | 641606 | 6194157 | 389 | 280 | -55 | 90 |
| KF19004 | 641566.8 | 6194120.1 | 390 | 283 | -70 | 90 |
| KF19005 | 641551.6 | 6194016.9 | 388 | 283 | -70 | 90 |
| KF19006 | 641590.8 | 6194285.3 | 386 | 283 | -65 | 69 |
| KF19007 | 641654.5 | 6194272.6 | 380 | 280 | -65 | 90 |
| KF19008 | 641616.9 | 6194368 | 380 | 283 | -60 | 90 |
| KF19009 | 641500.3 | 6193801.7 | 380 | 283 | -55 | 84 |
| KF19010 | 641500.3 | 6193801.7 | 380 | 283 | -90 | 90 |
| KF19011 | 641337.2 | 6193337.1 | 386 | 280 | -55 | 90 |
| KF19012 | 641384.4 | 6193478.8 | 385 | 280 | -55 | 90 |
Qualified Person:
Richard Kusmirski, P.Geo., a “qualified person” for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, and a Director of Rockridge Resources Ltd., has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical disclosure in this news release.
About Rockridge Resources Ltd.
Rockridge Resources is a new publicly traded mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral resource properties in Canada, specifically copper and base metal projects. The Company’s flagship project is the Knife Lake Project located in Saskatchewan, which is ranked as the #3 mining jurisdiction in the world by the Fraser Institute. The project hosts the Knife Lake deposit, which is a VMS, near-surface copper-cobalt-gold-silver-zinc deposit open along strike and at depth. There is strong discovery potential in and around the deposit area as well as at regional targets on the 85,196-hectare property. Rockridge’s goal is to maximize shareholder value through new mineral discoveries, committed long-term partnerships, and the advancement of exploration projects in geopolitically favourable jurisdictions.
Rockridge Resources Ltd.
“Jordan Trimble”
Jordan Trimble
President
For further information contact myself or:
Nick Findler
Corporate Development and Communications
Rockridge Resources Ltd.
Telephone: 604-639-3850
Toll Free: 800-567-8181
Facsimile: 604-687-3119
Email: nfindler@rockridgeresourcesltd.com
NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT OF THIS NEWS RELEASE.
Forward Looking Statements:
Statements included in this announcement, including statements concerning our plans, intentions and expectations, which are not historical in nature are intended to be, and are hereby identified as, “forward-looking statements”. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words including “anticipates”, “believes”, “intends”, “estimates”, “expects” and similar expressions. The Company cautions readers that forward-looking statements, including without limitation those relating to the Company’s future operations and business prospects, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements.
