Rubicon takes key step at Red Lake gold project

Rubicon Minerals Corp. (RMX-TSX, RBYCF-OTC) said it has commenced processing bulk sample mineralized material taken from the F2 deposit at its Pheonix gold project near Red Lake, Ontario.

The company said it anticipates processing between 25,000 and 30,000 tonnes of mineralized material from three test stopes. The company said the results of the test trial mining will be reconciled to an updated mineral resource estimate in the fourth quarter of this year.

The Pheonix Gold Project is an underground exploration project located in the district of Red Lake, in northwestern Ontario. The project is located 265 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Rubicon owns 100% of the Pheonix Gold Project which consists of the high-grade F2 Gold Deposit, more than 9,000 metres of underground development, including a commissioned shaft that goes down approximately 730 metres below surface and surface infrastructure that includes a 1,250 tonne-per-day mill, a completed tailings management facility, electric power supply and substation.

The property is centred on the historical McFinley Shaft (now called the Pheonix Shaft) and hosts a 200-person camp.

Since acquiring the Pheonix gold project in 2002, Rubicon has conducted an extensive exploration program, which includes geological mapping, relogging of selected historic boreholes, digital complication of available historical data, ground and airborne magnetic surveys, mechanical trenching, channel sampling, along with numerous drilling programs.

During the past several weeks, the company said it commissioned its 1,250 tonne-per-day mill, work that included the processing of approximately 5,000 tonnes of development material to bed in the mill.

Meanwhile, the company has completed 10,000 metres of the infill and step-out drilling of a planned 20,000-metre program. Assay results are pending, the company said. The purpose of the exploration drilling is to potentially improve the classification and grow the mineral resources at the Pheonix Gold Project.

“With the commencement of bulk sample processing, we enter an important step towards improving the confidence of, and evaluating, the 2018 mineral resource estimate at the Phenoix Gold Project,” said Rubicon President and Chief Executive Officer George Ogilvie.

“We plan to update the markets on the progress of our bulk sample processing and exploration activities in due course,” he said.

Aside from its holdings in the Red Lake camp, Rubicon controls more than 900 square kilometres of mineral property interests in the emerging Long Canyon gold district that straddles the Nevada-Utah border.

On Friday, Rubicon shares advanced 0.79% or $0.01 to $1.28. The 52-week range is $1.88 and $1.05.