Rue Gold expands high-grade intercepts at depth at Auld Creek, New Zealand

Rua Gold Inc. [TSXV: RUA; OTCQB: NZAUF; WKN: A40QYC] provided an update on its gold-antimony exploration at the Auld Creek Project in the Reefton Goldfield on the South Island of New Zealand, reporting improved gold grades from current drilling in diamond drillholes ACDDH026, ACDDH027, ACDDH028.

Highlights: Following up on the last high-grade results from the company, the next holes intersected broader zones of gold in hole ACDDH027 and narrow but strong gold-stibnite (antimony sulphide) mineralization in ACDDH028.

Assay results show: ACDDH026: 2.1 metres at 1.25 g/t Au from 175 metres depth. ACDDH027 returned 9 metres of 5.9 g/t AuEq (5.2 g/t Au & 0.16% Sb) from 159 metres depth. ACDDH028 returned 1.25 metres of 48.3 g/t AuEq (13.3 g/t Au & 8.1% Sb) from 210 metres depth.

ACDD024,025 confirmed higher grade antimony mineralization on the Fraternal shoot, the recent drilling ACDDH27,28 indicates an improvement in gold grade with depth. The gold grades on the Fraternal shoot plunge to the south, current drilling is testing 80-100 metres below the current resource envelope, before pivoting to testing the northerly extensions of the Fraternal ore body.

Auld Creek has an inferred resource hosted by two ore shoots, Bonanza and Fraternal. This resource outcrops at surface and is continuous to 160 metres vertically and open at depth.

Surface soil geochemistry strongly endorses extensions to the Fraternal north prospect and Bonanza northeast prospect, confirming the system is traceable over a 2.5km length.

Robert Eckford, CEO, commented: “It is encouraging to see an improvement in gold grades with depth on the Fraternal lode, and the continuation of high-grade antimony accompanying the gold in narrow plunging shoots.

“Drilling to date on Auld Creek antimony-gold prospect has increased confidence in the existing gold-antimony resource and highlighted higher-grade plunging shoots that remain open to the south. We are focused on expanding the Auld Creek resource both north and south, with intensified surface exploration showing early promise in identifying additional mineralization over its 2.5km length.”

Antimony is a critical metalloid primarily sourced from the mineral, stibnite. Due to its limited supply, predominantly controlled by China, Russia & Tajikistan, antimony is considered a strategic material essential for supply chain security, particularly during periods of geopolitical instability. This was heightened in August 2024, when China announced export controls on processed antimony products. In response to these controls, nations have accelerated their efforts to secure alternative sources of antimony to mitigate the risk of significant supply chain vulnerabilities.

The US, EU, UK, Japan, Canada and Australia all designate antimony as a critical mineral. On January 31, 2025, New Zealand also announced their Critical Mineral List which included antimony.

Reflecting heightened demand, the price of antimony has reached new highs, currently trading over US$50,000 per tonne, a significant increase from US$11,350 per tonne at the start of 2024. This market shift has intensified interest in the strategic antimony potential held by RUA GOLD.

RUA GOLD commenced drilling at Auld Creek in December 2024. It has a targeted program to drill four mineralized shoots identified from historical surface exploration work interpreted by the Rua Gold team over the past three months.

Auld Creek is situated between two past-producing mines: Globe Progress mine, and the Crushington Group of mines which collectively produced 933,000oz at 14.0g/t Au (Barry 1993). Auld Creek has three historic adits but no commercial production from the reefs.

RUA GOLD has an Inferred resource at Auld Creek indicating 700,000 tonnes at 3.1 g/t Au and 1.1% Sb for 67,000 oz gold and 8,000 tonnes of antimony (AuEq 110,000 oz). The resource is restricted to two of the four known shoots. Soil geochemistry indicates the potential for discovery of additional mineralized shoots over a strike length of 2.5km.

Four of the eight holes completed to date intersected 4-5m of strong visible stibnite (antimony sulfide) mineralization in the Fraternal-Bonanza structure.

Results from ACDDH024, ACDDH025 confirm the approximate average gold grades, but report higher antimony grades than the current resource estimate. Results from ACDDH027, ACDDH028 highlight above average gold grades with narrow but high-grade antimony in ACDDH028.

Ongoing drilling is targeting the southern plunging Fraternal gold-antimony shoot which remains open along strike and at depth.

Intensified surface exploration is showing encouraging strong trends both north and north-west confirming additional targets on the Fraternal North and Bonanza north-west extensions.

The company controls the Reefton Gold District as the dominant landholder in the Reefton Goldfield on New Zealand’s South Island with over 120,000 hectares of tenements, in a district that historically produced over 2Moz of gold grading between 9 and 50 g/t.

The company’s Glamorgan Project solidifies Rua Gold’s position as a leading high-grade gold explorer on New Zealand’s North Island. This highly prospective project is located within the North Islands’ Hauraki district, a region that has produced an impressive 15Moz of gold and 60Moz of silver. Glamorgan is adjacent to OceanaGold Corporation’s biggest gold mining project, Wharekirauponga.