Newmont drops RDN (December 31, 2001)

Vancouver — Disappointing results from a second round of drilling on the RDN gold-silver property in northern British Columbia have prompted Newmont Mining (NEM-N) to stop its work program.

The property is wholly owned by Rimfire Minerals (RFM-V), though Newmont has been exercising an option to acquire a 51% interest in return for making cash payments of $140,000 and spending $3.5 million on exploration by the end of 2003.

The latest 1,140 metres of drilling consisted of five holes sunk on the 1.5-km-long Wedge zone conductor, where, earlier this year, hole 17 returned up to 1.5 metres grading 3.8 grams gold per tonne and 0.18% zinc from 111 metres down-hole. The highest values came from hole 20, which cut 1 metre grading 3.88 grams gold, 0.14% copper, 1.62% lead and 5.6% zinc from 90.3 metres down-hole, and 6.2 metres grading 0.44 gram gold, 0.07% lead and 0.22% zinc from 139.8 metres down-hole.

Situtated 40 km north of the high-grade Eskay Creek gold-rich massive-sulphide mine, the 21-km-long property is underlain by early-to-middle Jurassic stratigraphy, which is similar in age, lithology and alteration to that hosting the Eskay Creek deposit.

Rimfire will seek a new partner for the project.