At the end of August, Red Pine Exploration (TSXV: RPX; US-OTC: RDEXF) completed its earn-in for a 30% stake in the Wawa gold project, which hosts eight past-producing gold mines with average grades of 8.9 grams gold per tonne, 2 km southeast of the historic mining town of Wawa in northern Ontario.
The Toronto-based junior has moved quickly since then, setting up a technical advisory committee to help it advance the project with the help of heavyweights Mackenzie “Mac” Watson — who was inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame in January — James Franklin and Jean-Philippe Desrochers.
Watson received Canada’s Prospector of the Year Award in 1991 for his contribution to the discovery of the Harker Holloway gold mine and the Long Lake zinc mine in Ontario, and the Icon-Sullivan copper mine, Ellison gold deposit and Hébécourt copper deposit in Quebec. He won it again in 2009 as part of the team responsible for chromite discoveries in northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire.
Franklin is an expert on gold and volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits in the Churchill and Superior provinces of the Canadian Shield, and Desrochers specializes in the field of structural geology applied to ore deposits in the search for Archean lode gold, VMS, porphyry copper, skarn and epithermal deposits.
“The fact that they attach themselves to this project speaks well of it,” Red Pine’s president and CEO Quentin Yarie says.
It’s also a huge win for the company. “We have a geologist in Mac, a geochemist in Franklin and a structural geologist in Desrochers — so that covers all three bases,” Yarie adds.
The company also recently closed a non-brokered financing, raising $885,789, of which $80,000 was subscribed by insiders and employees of the company. The proceeds will be used for exploring Wawa to expand the inferred resource by defining gold mineralization in the hangingwall and footwall of the Surluga deposit, and by connecting that deposit with other historical mines on the property.
“Our ability to raise funds in this tough market also speaks to the quality of the project,” Yarie says. “We plan on beginning a drill program this month — probably 3,000 metres.”
In June, Red Pine updated the resource estimate for the Surluga deposit, outlining a 19.8-million-tonne inferred resource grading 1.71 grams gold per tonne for 1.1 million contained oz. gold. Surluga was last mined in 1989.
Compared with the previous resource estimate, the numbers marked a 14.7% improvement in grade and a 1.5% increase in gold content, all within less tonnes of ore. Surluga is also open at depth and along strike.
Red Pine is the operator and its joint-venture partners are Citabar LLP, with a 40% stake; and Augustine Ventures (CNSX: WAW; US-OTC: AUGF), with a 30% stake.
The Wawa project is 40 km from Richmont Mines’ (TSX: RIC; NYSE-MKT: RIC) Island Gold gold mine and 100 km from Wesdome Gold Mines’ (TSX: WDO; US-OTC: WDOFF) Eagle River gold mine.
The project’s attributes include nearby road access, a rail line and a 230-kilovolt power line, which crosses the southern part of the property. A second power line intersects the western part of the property.
At press time, Red Pine’s shares traded at 5¢ within a 52-week range of 2.5¢ to 17.5¢. The junior has 69 million shares outstanding.
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