Rubicon finds more gold at McFinley

Vancouver — Rubicon Minerals (RMX-T) has intersected a new gold zone, known as PZ-2, at its wholly owned McFinley project in Ontario’s Red Lake camp. The drilling also extended the PZ-1 zone over 150 metres, and that zone is now open along strike in both directions.

The McFinley property comprises about 5 sq. km in southwestern Bateman Twp. Mineralization is hosted by highly altered and veined sections, up to 40 metres thick, within altered mafic volcanics near their contact with East Bay ultramafics.

Rubicon discovered the new zone last month while drilling in the unexplored northern part of the property. The PZ-2 zone is parallel with the larger Phoenix zone, where previous drilling returned a section of 15.5 grams gold over 4.8 metres.

Results from nine recent drill holes at the Phoenix zone include those sunk on PZ-2. Highlights include 14 grams gold per tonne over 2.1 metres in hole 89 and 6.6 grams over 2 metres in hole 82. True widths are estimated at 75% of core widths.

New intercepts in the PZ-1 zone include 11.1 grams gold over 2.3 metres in hole 89 and 6.7 grams over 1.2 metres in hole 82. Other intercepts, including 4.1 grams over 3 metres, indicate widespread gold mineralization. Gold occurs within quartz-carbonate veins and as replacement zones, and is locally visible. Variable amounts of arsenopyrite, pyrrhotite, pyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite and galena are also present.

Rubicon has explored only a small part of the system, and most of the drilling has been within depths of 100 metres below surface. The company says there is good potential for expanding existing zones and finding new ones laterally and at depth. It plans to begin second-phase diamond drilling in May after the ice breaks up.