"Golden Rose" gold slab recovered as mining resumes in Father's Day Vein
Final estimates of gold content for large specimen stones confirm among largest gold specimens ever found
TORONTO, Oct. 24, 2018 /CNW/ - RNC Minerals Corporation ("RNC") (TSX: RNX) is pleased to announce record quarterly gold production of 31,360 mined gold ounces in third quarter of 2018, a 199% increase versus third quarter of 2017 production and a 135% increase versus second quarter of 2018. Gold production for the first nine months of 2018 totaled 58,460 ounces compared to 24,305 for the comparable prior year period. The large increase in high grade specimen and coarse gold production led to a 198% improvement in the mined grade for the quarter to 6.67 g/t, as compared to 2.24 g/t in third quarter of 2017 and a 112% increase as compared to second quarter of 2018.
Mark Selby, President and CEO of RNC, commented, "Clearly, the highlight of the third quarter was the significant high grade gold discovery at the Beta Hunt Mine. As a result of the Father's Day Vein discovery, the company will be in a substantial net cash position to fully fund our upcoming activities. With the arrival of the first drill at site during the past week, exploration activities will begin to ramp up as part of an aggressive exploration campaign. The technical team is continuing to advance their work on understanding the sediment structures in the mine which have the potential for additional high grade coarse gold."
Mr. Selby continued "We are also pleased to announce the final gold content estimates for the large specimen stones, which would rank them among the largest ever found. The "King Henry" specimen stone, at 1,402 ounces, would rank amongst the largest gold specimens in existence. With multiple large scale and spectacular specimens coming from a single area, we believe the Father's Day Vein may rank among the richest and most prolific gold veins ever found."
A total of 199 kt of material was processed at an average grade of 5.26 g/t, for a total of 33,725 ounces of gold, a 185% improvement from prior quarter milled production and 158% higher than the third quarter of 2017. Milling grades were 62% higher in the third quarter of 2018 compared to the prior quarter, and 136% higher than the third quarter of 2017, mainly as a result of higher grade mined material and specimen grade material processed in September.