Drilling resumes at McCuaig (January 31, 2003)

Partners Rubicon Minerals (RMX-V) and Golden Tag Resources (GOG-T) have resumed their search for gold at their McCuaig property in the prolific Red Lake mining camp of northeastern Ontario.

The pair will sink upwards of 10,000 metres at the property, which lies about 1.5 km from the high-grade Red Lake mine of Goldcorp (G-T) and neighbouring Campbell mine of Placer Dome (PDG-T). The dual hope to echo the success of those operations.

Drilling will focus on the 1900 and LD zones, both of which are hosted by intensely silicified ultramafic bodies and are associated with disseminated sulphides (pyrrhotite, pyrite and arsenopyrite) and quartz-carbonate veins. Each also lies near major faults, and visible gold is common at the 1900 zone. The geological characteristics are similar to those at Red Lake and Campbell.

Past results from the 1900 zone include 76 grams per tonne over 0.7 metre in hole MC-32 and 25 grams over 1.7 metres in hole 27. The LD zone returned a best result of 0.68 gram over 0.5 metre; however, only six holes were drilled, and a grab sample of outcropping quartz veining yielded a more respectable 7.75 grams.

The Red Lake district is one of the most prolific mining camps in Canada, having produced 24 million-odd ounces from 15 mines since the 1920s. Moreover, the Red Lake mine, which began life in 1948 under the name Dickenson, has since become one of the richest and lowest-cost gold operations in the world.

Rubicon holds a 60%-stake in McCuaig and Golden Tag the remainder.