Rubicon’s F2 returns high-grade gold intercepts

More drilling at Rubicon Minerals’ (RMX-T, RBY-X) 100%-owned Phoenix project in the Red Lake gold district of Ontario shows excellent grades extend to depth.

Drilling in several areas has continued to intersect numerous high-grade and broad gold-bearing intervals that expand the key F2 gold system.

In the Deep Central area, for instance, underground drill hole 122- 60 returned 18.2 grams gold per tonne over 5.5 metres at a depth of 928 metres below surface, including several sections grading over 34.28 grams gold. Just 175 metres north of that intercept, surface hole 95 cut 17.5 grams gold over 5.1 metres including 28.4 grams gold over 3 metres. The latter intercept is particularly significant, the company believes, because it is below the West Limb area where there has been only limited drilling so far and could form a potential new zone.

In the Southern area, underground drill hole 305-3 returned 13.7 grams gold over 44.9 metres including 130.9 grams gold over 1.5 metres. In the same target area, surface hole F2-91 hit 10.9 grams gold over 5 metres including 48 grams gold over 1.4 metres. The latter intercept expands the F2 system to the southwest taking the known overall strike length to 1,080 metres.

Additional high-grade material was found between the main F2 corridor and the ultramafic hangingwall contact, where underground drill hole 122-62A cut 2,617.8 grams gold over 0.5 metre at 411 metres depth. That intercept occurred in a six-metre thick (core length) vein zone in intrusive rocks developed within the hangingwall to the main F2 mineralized corridor.

In the Northern Extension area, drilling from surface continued to intersect gold. Examples include drill hole F2-90: 25.1 grams gold over 1 metre, and F2-92: 6.6 grams gold over 3.9 metres including 12.8 grams gold over 1.8 metres.

Finally in the Hanging Wall zone, surface hole HW-6 cut 36.3 grams gold over 1 metre about 108 metres from a previously reported intercept in F2-39 of 3,151.1 grams gold over 0.5 metre.

So far at F2, Rubicon has drilled roughly 130,000 metres and a further 115,000 metres are planned to test and infill a 1,200-by 1,600- metre target area.

Rob McEwen, president and chief executive of McEwen Capital and the former chairman and chief executive of Goldcorp (G-T, GG-N), owns 21.4% of Rubicon’s shares.

At presstime in Toronto, Rubicon’s shares were $4.07, trading within a 52-week window of $2.67- $5.41 per share. Rubicon has 213.4 million shares outstanding.