Red Pine Exploration Inc (TSX-V:RPX, OTCQB:RDEXF) told investors that its 2021-2022 surface exploration drilling program at its Wawa gold project in Ontario had "successfully" expanded high-grade gold mineralization and shown the potential to further expand the resource.
In a wide-ranging update, the company shared the highlights of over 47,000 metres (m) of drilling conducted since it consolidated 100% ownership of the asset in the Michipicoten greenstone belt.
"The exploration story continues to unfold with a known strike length that has tripled since 2021 and demonstrates that the Surluga and Minto resources are open down-dip and down-plunge," said Quentin Yarie, the CEO of Red Pine Exploration, in a statement.
"Our 2021-2022 exploration drilling campaigns across multiple targets on the Wawa Gold Project have consistently delivered significant high-grade gold intersections, highlighting the expansion potential of the existing Surluga and Minto Mine Mineral Resources, and the significant blue-sky targets that exist across the Wawa gold project.
"Results have prioritized our focus to increasing the size of the Surluga/Minto resources and exploiting those targets with a hybrid open-pit and underground project."
READ: Red Pine Exploration welcomes latest exploration findings from Wawa gold project in Michipicoten greenstone belt
Among the highlights of the work was confirming the presence of gold mineralization in the Jubilee Shear Zone (which hosts the Surluga deposit) over 6.5 kilometres (km) in strike length from 1.8 km originally, said Red Pine.
There was also a 600m extension of mineralization in the Surluga South area and 325m extension in the Surluga North area.
There were also high-grade intersections in the Minto Mine Shear Zone, including 68.71 g/t gold over 3.45 m (true width (TW)) in a gap in the existing resource of the Minto mine deposit.
Further, there was confirmation that high-grade gold mineralization extends in the Minto Mine shear zone (host to the Minto mine deposit) at least 110m outside the extent of the current resource.
The highest grade intersection in the Minto Mine Shear Zone was 109.35 g/t gold over 2.68 m (TW) in a 110 m step-out hole of the Minto Mine deposit resource.
Red Pine also noted that it was funded to continue drilling in 2023 and Alamos Gold has validated the project by its continued participation in financings.
"Results suggest the potential for a hybrid pit and underground development scenarios for a future resource update," it added.
The company continues exploration drilling at the Surluga deposit focusing on infilling known gaps within the Surluga structure, as well as defining mineralization in the hanging wall above the resource.
More than 2,000 gold assays are pending from the ongoing drill program, and Red Pine said it expects continued near-term news-flow receipt of around 300 assays a week.
The Wawa gold project sits in a region which has seen major investment by several producers in the last five years. The company's land package hosts numerous historic gold mines and is over 6,900 hectares.
Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com