
Initial near-surface drilling intersects wide zone of alteration containing 14.51 g/t Au over 4.81 m including 90.40 g/t Au over 0.67 m
Red Pine Exploration Inc. (TSX-V: RPX) (OTCQB: RDEXF) is pleased to announce initial results of its near-surface drilling program focused on evaluating the potential of an open pit operation in two areas of the Jubilee Shear (See press release announced May 8, 2025). This drilling is a portion of the ongoing, fully funded 25,000 metres drill program at the Wawa Gold Project, Ontario.
Highlights
Michael Michaud, President and CEO of Red Pine commented: “We are excited that our initial near-surface drilling has already intersected wide zones of alteration, quartz veining and significant gold grades. This drilling is designed to not only improve our confidence in the gold distribution, but also to expand gold mineralization in this relatively underexplored area. This drilling is the first step in assessing the potential of a near-term open pit operation that would provide an incremental approach to move towards a larger operation to mine the existing open-pit and underground mineral resource base outlined in the 2024 MRE.
We are also pleased with the positive results from deeper drilling as we continue to gain more knowledge on the geology and the potential to intersect gold mineralization in large step-outs from the 2024 MRE. Of importance, we have now intersected a gabbro unit at depth that is known to be a critical control on mineralization as identified closer to surface where we have already defined a large open-pit and underground resource.
The Company intends to update the 2024 MRE with the completion of the drilling program, with the objective to concurrently work towards a preliminary economic assessment anticipated for completion in H1 2026.”
1The MRE is described in the National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report dated September 30, 2024 (with a mineral resource effective date of August 28, 2024) entitled “National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report for the Wawa Gold Project”.
Ongoing Drilling Program
Red Pine is currently drilling with 2 rigs and completed approximately 65% of the fully funded 25,000 m exploration program. The ongoing drilling at depth continues to intersect gold mineralization with large step outs designed to expand the mineral resource base. In parallel, near-surface testing of the Jubilee Shear has started in two areas identified as having high potential for open-pits within the near-surface portion of the 2024 MRE.
The near-surface drilling program consists of closely spaced drill holes aiming to increase confidence in the 2024 MRE and extend gold mineralization within the crown pillar of the former Surluga and Jubilee mines where historic drilling was limited. Between 8,000 and 9,000 m of drilling is allocated to evaluate the two areas and is expected to take 3 months to complete.
Near-Surface Drill Testing of the Jubilee Shear for Potential Open-Pit Operation (Tables 1 and 2 and Figures 1 to 3):
In addition to the strong results obtained in SD-25-552, previous drilling supports the potential of the areas considered for potential open-pits (Figure 1). Significant historical results included in the 2024 MRE in each area include:
Jubilee Deep Drilling (Tables 1 and 2 and Figure 2):
Deep drilling in the Jubilee Shear that consists of large step-outs from the 2024 MRE, continues to uncover indications of high-grade gold mineralization at depth and is vectoring towards new zones of high-grade gold mineralization. Additional drill testing of the deeper extension of the Jubilee Shear is planned to continue in parallel with the drill testing of the near-surface extension of the Jubilee Shear.
Key highlights of the deep drilling in the Jubilee Shear include:
Table 1 Drilling results from the 2024-2025 drilling program
Hole (#) |
From (m) |
To (m) |
Length (m)* |
Gold (g/t) |
Zone (name) |
SD-25-533 | 658.88 | 659.68 | 0.80 | 2.24 | Jubilee Shear – Main |
672.00 | 673.09 | 1.09 | 5.01 | ||
SD-25-535 | 211.46 | 213.00 | 1.54 | 7.23 | Vein Network |
SD-25-536A | 968.00 | 969.06 | 1.06 | 2.56 | Jubilee Shear – Main |
SD-25-538 | 741.00 | 742.00 | 1.00 | 5.32 | Jubilee Shear – Upper |
788.32 | 798.31 | 9.99 | 1.95 | Jubilee Shear – Main | |
including | 795.20 | 796.40 | 1.20 | 8.50 | |
SD-25-539 | 93.80 | 95.56 | 1.76 | 3.00 | Mickelson Vein Network |
480.34 | 483.61 | 3.27 | 2.92 | Jubilee Shear – Main | |
Including | 481.43 | 483.61 | 2.18 | 4.12 | |
643.50 | 644.78 | 1.28 | 3.96 | ||
SD-25-552 | 64.64 | 69.45 | 4.81 | 14.51 | Jubilee Shear – Main |
Including | 65.75 | 66.42 | 0.67 | 90.40 | |
67.27 | 68.12 | 0.85 | 7.93 |
*Intercepts are calculated using a 0.40 g/t Au cut-off and a maximum of 6.0 m of internal dilution with no capping applied and are reported over core lengths. True widths are estimated to vary between 70 to 95% of the reported core length in the Jubilee and undefined in the vein networks. The reported assay results represent 4,614.23 m of assayed core from the 2025 drilling program in the extension at depth of the Jubilee Shear and 16.88 m from near-surface drilling in the Northern Area for consideration for Phase 1 open-pits.
Quality Assurance/Quality Control Measures
Individual drill core samples are labelled and split in half along a pre-marked cutting line using a diamond saw. A consistent half-core sample is then placed in an individual plastic sample bag that is sealed. The remaining half-core samples are kept at the core storage facility of the Company located on the Wawa Gold project. Quarter-core duplicates are taken from certain samples to define the variability of gold distribution. Groups of samples are then placed into durable rice bags sealed with security seals to be transported using a commercial carrier for analysis to Actlabs in Ancaster, Ontario. NQ core assays were obtained by 50-gram fire-assaying-AA finish or by 1-kilogram screen fire assay. The 1-kilogram screen assay method is selected for samples anticipated to contain coarse gold and when the fire-assay-AA finish return results greater or equal to 2.25 g/t Au. The residual coarse reject portions of the samples remain in storage for a minimum 90-day period if further work or verification is needed.
As part of its QA/QC program, Red Pine inserts external gold standards (low- to high-grade) and blanks every 20 samples and routinely insert blanks immediately after samples with visible gold. Quarter core duplicates are routinely inserted to evaluate the natural variability of gold mineralization. Assay certificates are sent to at least three members of the senior management team, and they are directly accessible from the WebLIMS portal of Actlabs. Approximately 5% of the pulps and coarse rejects analyzed at Actlabs are sent to Agat Laboratories in Thunder Bay for umpire testing.
Table 2 – Drill hole location
Hole (#) |
UTM E (m) |
UTM N (m) |
Elevation (masl) |
Azimuth (°) |
Inclination (°) |
Length (m) |
Assays Status |
Area |
SD-25-533 | 668713 | 5314807 | 346.0 | 303.0 | 60.1 | 873.0 | Complete | Jubilee Deep |
SD-25-534A | 668713 | 5314807 | 346.0 | 303.0 | 60.1 | 1116.0 | Complete | Jubilee Deep |
SD-25-535 | 668859 | 5315950 | 370.5 | 267.0 | 70.0 | 841.0 | Complete | Jubilee Deep |
SD-25-536A | 668713 | 5314807 | 346.0 | 300.0 | 66.0 | 1149.0 | Complete | Jubilee Deep |
SD-25-537 | 668859 | 5315950 | 370.5 | 300.0 | 65.3 | 785.0 | Complete | Jubilee Deep |
SD-25-538 | 668708 | 5315808 | 370.0 | 218.0 | 73.1 | 858.0 | Complete | Jubilee Deep |
SD-25-539 | 668582 | 5315801 | 368.5 | 323.0 | 70.9 | 696.0 | Complete | Jubilee Deep |
SD-25-540 | 668922 | 5315725 | 353.3 | 240.0 | 70.4 | 1002.0 | Pending | Jubilee Deep |
SD-25-541 | 668219 | 5317008 | 359.6 | 295.0 | 45.2 | 390.0 | Pending | Northern area |
SD-25-542 | 668258 | 5317118 | 364.0 | 295.0 | 45.2 | 399.0 | Pending | Northern area |
SD-25-543 | 668283 | 5317185 | 359.3 | 302.0 | 45.0 | 57.0 | Pending | Northern area |
SD-25-544 | 668267 | 5317163 | 362.0 | 302.0 | 45.0 | 162.0 | Pending | Northern area |
SD-25-545 | 668562 | 5315305 | 370.8 | 283.0 | 83.2 | 1033.0 | Pending | Jubilee Deep |
SD-25-546 | 668233 | 5317053 | 363.9 | 295.0 | 49.2 | 150.0 | Pending | Northern area |
SD-25-547 | 668289 | 5317260 | 346.6 | 290.0 | 47.3 | 126.0 | Pending | Northern area |
SD-25-548 | 668328 | 5317385 | 371.3 | 290.0 | 45.2 | 264.0 | Pending | Northern area |
SD-25-549 | 668363 | 5317459 | 375.1 | 290.0 | 45.0 | 135.0 | Pending | Northern area |
SD-25-550 | 668362 | 5317460 | 375.3 | 290.0 | 45.0 | 135.0 | Pending | Northern area |
SD-25-551 | 668362 | 5317460 | 375.3 | 290.0 | 89.1 | 132.0 | Pending | Northern area |
SD-25-552 | 668331 | 5317415 | 373.8 | 290.0 | 45.2 | 135.0 | Partial | Northern area |
SD-25-553 | 668331 | 5317415 | 373.8 | 290.0 | 70.1 | 141.0 | Pending | Northern area |
SD-25-554 | 668331 | 5317415 | 373.8 | 110.0 | 85.0 | 132.0 | Pending | Northern area |
SD-25-555 | 668344 | 5317441 | 374.9 | 290.0 | 45.0 | 148.0 | Pending | Northern area |
Qualified Person
Jean-Francois Montreuil, P.Geo. and Vice President, Exploration of Red Pine and the Qualified Person, as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release.
About Red Pine Exploration Inc.
Red Pine Exploration Inc. is a gold exploration company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Wawa Gold Project is in the Michipicoten Greenstone Belt of Ontario, a region that 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 7,000 hectares in size. Red Pine is building a strong position as a major mineral exploration and development player in the Michipicoten region.
Figure 1 – 3D view showing conceptual pits, select previous drilling and existing underground workings.
Figure 2 – Longitudinal view of Jubilee Shear showing the interpreted steeper plunging zones of overlying quartz veins that have enriched the shallow, south plunging shoot / gabbro. The intersected gabbro at depth is interpreted to be similar to the gabbro closer to surface that provides control on the gold mineralization.
Figure 3 – A and B) Photographs of SD-25-552 showing the zone of strong alteration, quartz veining and mineralization in the Jubilee Shear with B) a close view of the high-grade quartz vein. C) Variably sheared and veined gabbro dyke identified at depth below the Jubilee Shear in SD-25-540. The core pictures are from NQ-sized drill core with a diameter of 47.6 mm
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