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Rubicon optimistic over gold-deposit results (6/03)

By ANDREW WAREING Officials at Rubicon Minerals Corp. are optimistic recent findings of high-grade gold deposits on their McFinley Gold project in Red Lake could potentially lead to the development of a mine within the next five years.

By ANDREW WAREING

Officials at Rubicon Minerals Corp. are optimistic recent findings of high-grade gold deposits on their McFinley Gold project in Red Lake could potentially lead to the development of a mine within the next five years.

“The bottom line is that we’ve hit high-grade gold and we’re expecting even more results, shortly,” says Bill Cavalluzzo, vice-president investor relations. “This is our key project so we’re prepared to do lots of drilling. We have a good treasury because we recently did a refinance and raised about $6.2 million.”

Red Lake is in northwestern Ontario, approximately 200 kilometres from the Ontario/Manitoba border. Placer Dome and Goldcorp both operate mines in the Red Lake area and it has been an active gold mining area since 1926.

As of April 2003, Rubicon reports results from the project’s MAC-1 zone for two out of five drill holes testing a 1,200-strike length to vertical depths of up to 800 feet reported multiple gold intercepts, with abundant visible gold. Results include 1.34 oz/ton gold over 3.28 feet, 0.71 ounces per ton over 1.48 feet and 0.51 oz/ton over 1.64 feet in hole MF03-16 and 1.93 oz/ton over 0.98 feet in hole MF03-30a, drilled approximately 500 feet (150 m) to the south of MF03-16. Hole MF03-19, drilled 650 feet to the south has intersected 0.97 oz/ton gold over 0.98 feet, along with a number of anomalous gold values suggesting the potential for expanding the MAC-1 zone.

MAC-2 and MAC-2 target areas showed similarly high gold deposits. The Red Lake Camp is proving to be an extremely rich gold territory, Cavalluzzo says.

“Goldcorp, which has one of the highest grade and most profitable gold mines in the world, around 1996 discovered their high-grade zone with only nine drill holes. Hopefully, we’ll be that lucky.”

Further drilling is expected to begin in June to locate deposits and refine their quantities.

“There’s a small resource on the property now, but we hope to develop it into a large resource and that’s what we’re working towards,” says Cavalluzzo. “In three to five years, we could be developing a mine. That’s what we’re hoping for.”