Jan 14 2020
Rockridge Resources Ltd., a publicly traded mineral exploration company, takes pleasure in announcing that it has planned to mobilize and initiate a diamond drill exploration program in February 2020. The exploration program has been planned at the company’s Raney Gold Project based in Ontario, Canada in February 2020.
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Rockridge Resources received an exploration permit for the drilling program late last year. The permit allows the company to perform exploration activities such as diamond drilling and geophysical surveys over a period of three years.
Within the next week, Rockridge Resources has planned to settle the terms with its chosen drill contractor and will subsequently initiate the mobilizing process for the forthcoming exploration program.
Highlights
- The Raney Gold Project is a potential gold property situated about 110 km southwest of the rich gold district of Timmins in Ontario.
- Restricted historical exploration campaigns were carried out on the Raney Gold Project; the last exploration activities took place about a decade ago when the prices of gold were approximately US$900/oz.
- The technical team at Rockridge Resources has created a new geological model indicating that the mineralized zones can potentially have a steep south dip orientation against the previous model, which revealed a steep north dip orientation.
- The latest geologic model demonstrated enhanced mineralized zone continuity and the possibility of the extended strike and dip potential.
- During a follow up on previous drill outcomes, the best intercept returned 6.5 g/t gold over 8 m, which remains exposed for expansion.
- An initial drill program of 2,000 to 2,500 m will be initiated in February 2020, with the potential to identify more gold-bearing structures and to expand the known mineralized zones.
- The Raney Gold Project has excellent infrastructure and access, and can be accessed through forestry and paved roads.
- The latest gold mine (Borden) of Newmont is situated approximately 5 km west, and the Cote development project of IAMGOLD is located about 75 km southeast.
Summary of the Planned Drill Program
At the Raney Gold Project, the previous drilling focused on detecting near-surface gold mineralization along a wide alteration zone.
Three closely spaced and sub-parallel mineralized zones of quartz-carbonate alteration with pyrrhotite, pyrite, quartz veining, and, sometimes, visible gold have been delineated. So far, the drilling indicates the potential of steeply plunging mineralized shoots with practical widths exposed along strike.
The technical team at Rockridge Resources performed a recent analysis that involved interpretation and compilation of all previous data. Following this data compilation and interpretation, a revised geologic model was developed for the Raney Gold Project.
The new geologic model indicates that the mineralized zones can potentially have a steep south dip orientation against the previous model that revealed a steep north dip. Moreover, continuity between three distinct mineralization zones corresponds better down dip and along strike with the revised geologic model.
Most significantly, the strike potential with respect to the mineralized zones can possibly be expanded because a few historic exploration drill holes are likely to have overlooked the target zone with the new geologic model.
The scheduled phase 1 exploration drilling program will involve 2,000 to 2,500 m in 7 to 12 holes. The aim of the drilling program is to test the continuity of the gold-bearing structures as well as to investigate the possibility to expand the shoots of mineralization down plunge beneath the 150 m level. At this level, the best historic intercept contained 6.5 g/t gold over 8 m and remains open down plunge.
Drill mobilization will be performed in February 2020, with the phase 1 drilling program anticipated to be completed in about 60 days.
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.
Grant Ewing, CEO, Rockridge Resources Ltd.
Ewing continued, “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 Resources holds an option to gain a complete interest in the Raney Gold Project. Situated in the Archean Swayze Greenstone, the Raney Gold Project is assumed to be the south-east extension of the Abitibi Greenstone belt, hosting the world-class Timmins and Kirkland Lake gold districts.
Many deposits of gold occur all through the district and a number of world-class mines have also been developed. Deposits like these account for a huge part of the global cumulative production of gold and are usually defined by quartz vein systems enriched with gold and related to supracrustal belts in metamorphic terranes of low-to-medium grade. At the Raney Gold Project, gold mineralization is characteristic of the mesothermal lode gold deposit model.
Historic exploration conducted on the Raney Gold Project between 1972 and 1991 involved mapping, prospecting, trenching, sampling, stripping, ground geophysics, winkie drilling, and certain restricted diamond drilling. Following this, exploration work was performed between 2009 and 2010, when the best intercept consisted of 6.5 g/t gold over 8.0 m.
At the Raney Gold Project, the existence of a gold system suggests that the remainder of this property should be investigated for further gold structures. The Raney Gold Project is underlain by felsic to intermediate volcaniclastics to the south, and mafic volcanics to the north. The felsic volcaniclastics host the gold zones.
Minor mafic intrusives and quartz-feldspar porphyry sills and dikes occur all through the Raney Gold Project. While the porphyries are usually large, they can be hydrothermally altered, sheared, and veined in places.
An intensely sheared and altered quartz-feldspar porphyry body measuring 100 m wide is situated close to the south of the main Raney gold showing. At the Raney Gold Project, gold mineralization exposed on surface and intersected in drill holes is characteristic of the lode gold class of gold deposit, which happens to be the main 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 where quartz veining exists.
Source: http://www.rockridgeresourcesltd.com/