VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Rockridge Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: ROCK) (OTCQB: RRRLF) (Frankfurt: RR0) (“Rockridge” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it intends to mobilize and commence an exploration drill program at its Raney Gold Project located in Ontario, Canada (the “Project” or “Property”) in February 2020. An exploration permit for the program was received late last year, providing for exploration activities including geophysical surveys and diamond drilling to be conducted over a 3-year period. Rockridge plans to finalize terms with its selected drill contractor within the next week and will then commence the process of mobilizing for the upcoming program.
Raney Gold Project Location Map:
http://www.rockridgeresourcesltd.com/_resources/maps/location_map_raney.pdf
Highlights:
- The Raney Project is a prospective gold property located ~110 km southwest of the prolific gold district of Timmins, ON
- Limited historical exploration campaigns conducted on the Property; the last exploration activities occurred ~10 years ago when gold prices were ~US$900/oz.
- Rockridge’s technical team has developed a new geological model suggesting that the mineralized zones may have a steep south dip orientation versus the historical model which showed a steep north dip
- This new geologic model shows improved continuity of mineralized zones and potential for expanded strike and dip potential
- Following up on historical drill results with best intercept consisting of 6.5 g/t gold over 8m which is open for expansion
- 2,000 to 2,500 metre initial drill program to commence in February 2020; potential to discover additional gold bearing structures and expand known zones
- Property has excellent access and infrastructure; accessible by paved and forestry roads
- Newmont’s newest gold mine (Borden) located ~35km west and IAMGOLD’s Cote development project is ~75km southeast
Planned Drill Program Summary:
Historical drilling at the Raney Gold Project focused on identifying near surface gold mineralization along an extensive alteration zone. Three sub-parallel and closely spaced mineralized zones of quartz carbonate alteration with quartz veining, pyrite, pyrrhotite and occasionally visible gold have been outlined. The drilling to date suggests the possibility of steeply plunging shoots of mineralization with reasonable widths open along strike.
Rockridge’s technical team carried out recent work involving compilation and interpretation of all historic data which resulted in the development of a revised geologic model for the Project. This new model suggests that the mineralized zones may have a steep south dip orientation versus the historical model which showed a steep north dip. Continuity between three distinct zones of mineralization correlate better along strike and down dip with the revised model. Importantly, the strike potential for the mineralized zones may be expanded as some of the historic exploration drill holes would have missed the target zone with the revised geologic model.
The planned phase 1 exploration drilling program will entail 2,000 to 2,500 metres in 7 to 12 holes. The program is intended to test the continuity of the gold bearing structures and explore the potential for expansion of the mineralized shoots down plunge below the 150 metre level. The best historic intercept at this level returned 6.5 g/t gold over 8 metres and is open down plunge. Mobilization of the drill will occur in February 2020 with the phase 1 drilling program expected to take approximately sixty days to complete.
Rockridge’s CEO, Grant Ewing, commented: “We look forward to commencing the first exploration and drill program at the Raney Gold Project in over 10 years. Our initial focus will be on follow-up of a high-grade gold occurrence reported by the previous operator that is open for expansion. The revised geologic model indicates that the Project has significantly more potential than initially envisioned with improved strike and down dip discovery potential. The project is in a region with excellent access and infrastructure in a geologic setting noted for the occurrence of world class deposits which bodes well for future resource development potential.”
Raney Gold Project Geology and History:
Rockridge holds an option to earn a 100% interest in the Raney Gold Project. The Project is located in the Archean Swayze Greenstone belt, thought to be the south east extension of the Abitibi Greenstone belt, which hosts the world class Timmins and Kirkland Lake gold districts.
Numerous gold occurrences occur throughout the district and several world-class mines have been developed. These deposits are responsible for a large portion of the world’s cumulative gold production and are often characterized by gold enriched quartz vein systems associated with supracrustal belts in low to medium grade metamorphic terranes. Gold mineralization at the Property is typical of the mesothermal lode gold deposit model.
Previous exploration on the Property from 1972 to 1991 consisted of prospecting, mapping, sampling, trenching, winkie drilling, ground geophysics, stripping, and some limited diamond drilling. This was followed by exploration work during the 2009 to 2010 period, when the best intercept returned was 6.5 g/t gold over 8.0 metres.
The presence of a gold system on the Raney Gold Project indicates that the remainder of the project should be explored for additional gold structures. The property is underlain by mafic volcanics to the north, and felsic to intermediate volcaniclastics to the south. The felsic volcaniclastics are host to the gold zones. Quartz feldspar porphyry dykes and sills and minor mafic intrusives occur throughout the Property. The porphyries are generally massive but may be sheared and hydrothermally altered and veined in places.
A 100 metre-wide intensely sheared and altered quartz feldspar porphyry body is located just to the south of the main Raney gold showing. Gold mineralization exposed on surface and intersected in drill holes on the Property is typical of the lode gold class of gold deposit which is the dominant gold deposit type in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt. Gold mineralization on the property is associated with the intensely sheared and altered zones within the felsic tuffs, and higher grades tend to occur where quartz veining is present.
Qualified Persons:
Grant Ewing, P.Geo., a “qualified person” for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, and the CEO 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 publicly traded mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral resource properties in Canada and other mining-friendly jurisdictions. The Company’s Knife Lake Project is 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. Furthermore, the Company’s Raney Gold Project is a high-grade gold exploration project located in the same greenstone belt that hosts the world class Timmins and Kirkland Lake lode gold mining camps. 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.
Additional information about Rockridge Resources and its project portfolio can be found on the Company’s website at www.rockridgeresourcesltd.com. Rockridge currently has 33.9 million shares issued and outstanding.
Rockridge Resources Ltd.
“Grant Ewing”
Grant Ewing
CEO
For further information, contact myself or:
Jordan Trimble, President or
Simon Dyakowski, Corporate Development
Rockridge Resources Ltd.
Telephone: 604-687-3376
Toll Free: 800-567-8181
Facsimile: 604-687-3119
Email: info@rockridgeresourcesltd.com
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Forward Looking Information
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.
