Dec 6 2019
Rockridge Resources Ltd. takes pleasure in announcing that it has secured an Exploration Permit relating to its Raney Gold Project situated in Ontario, Canada.
The Exploration Permit will allow Rockridge Resources to conduct exploration activities such as diamond drilling and geophysical surveys over a period of three years.
Highlights:
- Rockridge Resources receives an option to earn complete interest in the Raney Gold Project.
- Potential gold property is situated about 110 km south-west of the prolific gold district of Timmins located in Ontario.
- Restricted historical exploration campaigns were carried out on the Raney Gold Project; the final exploration activities took place about a decade ago when the price of gold was in the US$900/oz. range.
- Follow-up on historical drill results revealed the best intercept that returned approximately 6.5 g/t gold over 8 m and remains exposed for expansion.
- The initial drilling program of approximately 2500 m has been planned in February–April 2020. It offers the potential to find more gold-bearing structures and expand the identified zones.
- The Raney Gold Project has good infrastructure and can be easily accessed through forestry and paved roads.
- The newest gold mine (Borden) of Newmont Goldcorp is located about 35 km to the west, and the Cote development project of IAMGOLD is located about 75 km southeast.
Planned Exploration Program Summary
At the Raney Gold Project, the previous drilling focused on detecting near-surface gold mineralization along a wide alteration zone. In addition, two to three closely spaced and sub-parallel mineralized zones of quartz-carbonate alteration with pyrite, pyrrhotite, quartz veining, and, at times, visible gold have been defined. So far, the drilling indicates the prospect of steeply plunging shoots of mineralization along with rational widths and a presently defined strike extent of a minimum of 50 m.
The scheduled phase 1 exploration drilling program will involve about 2500 m over 7 to 10 holes. As part of the drilling program, the continuity of the gold-bearing structures will be tested, including the prospect of expanding the mineralized shoots down plunge below the 150-m level. At this level, the best historic intercept returned approximately 6.5 g/t gold over 8 m and remains exposed down plunge.
Drill mobilization is likely to happen in January/February 2020, and the phase 1 exploration drilling program is anticipated to be completed in about 60 days.
We look forward to commencing the first exploration 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 at depth. 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.
Grant Ewing, CEO, Rockridge Resources Ltd.
Raney Gold Project Geology and History
Situated in the Archean Swayze Greenstone belt, the Raney Gold Project was believed to be the south-east extension of the Abitibi Greenstone belt, which hosts the world-class Timmins and Kirkland Lake gold districts.
Various gold occurrences are known to occur all through the district, while a number of world-class mines have also been developed. Deposits like these account for a large part of the cumulative gold production in the world. They are usually defined by quartz vein systems enriched with gold and related to supracrustal belts in low-to-medium grade metamorphic terranes.
At the Raney Gold Project, gold mineralization is characteristic of the mesothermal lode gold deposit model. From 1972 to 1991, historic exploration was performed on the Raney Gold Project that included sampling, mapping, prospecting, stripping, ground geophysics, winkie drilling, trenching, and some restricted diamond drilling.
This was subsequently followed by exploration work that was performed between 2009 and 2010, when the best intercept returned was about 6.5 g/t gold over 8.0 m.
The Raney Gold Project hosts a gold system indicating that the remainder of the project must be investigated for further gold structures. It is underlain by felsic to intermediate volcaniclastics to the south, and mafic volcanics to the north.
The gold zones host the felsic volcaniclastics. Slight mafic intrusives and quartz-feldspar porphyry dikes and sills occur all through the Raney Gold Project. The porphyries are usually huge, but are likely to be sheared, veined, and hydrothermally altered in places.
A strongly sheared and altered quartz-feldspar porphyry body with a width of 100 m is situated close to the south of the main Raney gold showing. On the Raney Gold Project, gold mineralization exposed on surface and intersected in drill holes is characteristic of the lode gold class of gold deposit—the dominant type of gold deposit in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt.
Gold mineralization on the Raney Gold Project is linked with the strongly sheared and altered zones inside the felsic tuffs, and higher grades are likely to occur in the presence of quartz veining.
Source: https://rockridgeresourcesltd.com/