Rubicon to drill Lewis Lake

Rubicon Minerals (RMX-V) has begun drill-testing eight targets at the Lewis Lake massive sulphide property in north-central Newfoundland.

The program is being funded by Billiton Exploration Canada, which can earn a half-interest in Lewis Lake and Rubicon’s nearby Point Leamington property. This can be increased to 60% by funding a feasibility study, and then to 70% by funding Rubicon’s share of production costs.

Both properties are underlain by similar felsic rocks of the Ordovician Wild Bight Group. At Lewis Lake, Billiton identified 15 targets based on a deep-penetrating airborne geophysical survey. Eight of these were confirmed by ground geophysics and will be further tested by up to 2,000 metres of drilling.

Discovered by Noranda in 1971, the Point Leamington deposit hosts a resource of 13.2 million tonnes grading 2.25% zinc and 0.48% copper, plus 0.89 gram gold and 20.57 grams silver.

Rubicon holds a sizable land package in various mineral districts in North America, including ground recently optioned by South African mining giant AngloGold (AU-N) in Ontario’s Red Lake camp. The ground includes a geological feature believed to be the northwestern extension of a structure hosting several operating gold mines.