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(All references to dollars herein are in Canadian dollars ("$") unless otherwise specified)
TSX: RMX | OTCQX: RBYCF
Rubicon Minerals Corporation (TSX: RMX | OTCQX: RBYCF) ("Rubicon" or the "Company") announces that it has filed its interim Financial Statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") for the quarter ended March 31, 2020. The Company confirms that copies of these filings can be obtained at www.rubiconminerals.com or www.sedar.com
Financial Highlights from the quarter ended March 31, 2020
-- Cash position: As of March 31, 2020, the Company had cash and
cash equivalents and short-term investments of approximately
$15.8 million.
On February 27, 2020, the Company closed a public flow-through
share offering of 6,294,000 common shares on a "flow-through"
basis under the Income Tax Act (Canada) at a price of $1.43 per
flow-through share for aggregate gross proceeds of
approximately $9.0 million (the "Offering"). The proceeds from
the Offering will be used to incur Canadian exploration
expenses (within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada),
"CEE") related to Rubicon's Phoenix Gold Project, McFinley
Zone, Pen Zone, and other regional exploration targets in
Ontario. The Company will renounce such CEE to the purchasers
of the flow-through common shares under the Offering with an
effective date of no later than December 31, 2020.
-- Exploration and evaluation expenditures: For the quarter ended
March 31, 2020, the Company spent approximately $3.2 million in
expenditures related to drilling, maintenance and technical
consulting fees, including work on the Feasibility Study for
the Project. Expenditures were lower by $0.3 million compared
to the same period in 2019 as the Company did not incur
expenditures on underground development as part of its 2020
drilling campaign focused on infill and exploratory drilling
and potential updates to the 2020 Mineral Resource Estimate to
support the ongoing feasibility study work.
-- General and administrative expenses (including salaries and
benefits, and consulting and professional fees): The Company
spent approximately $0.9 million on expenditures related to
general and administrative, salaries and benefits, and
consulting and professional fees in Q1/2020, marginally lower
than expenditures in Q1/2019.
Outlook
As of May 7, 2020, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $14.3 million. The Company has sufficient financial resources to carry out the Company's planned activities:
-- Additional safety measures in response to COVID-19: as of March
12, 2020, the Company had implemented additional precautionary
measures aimed at enhancing the health and safety for its
employees (see the Company's
March 23, 2020 news release
for further details). In March 2020 and updated April 3, 2020,
all non-essential businesses were ordered to close their
physical workplaces by the Government of Ontario. To-date
mining is considered an essential business under guidelines of
the Government of Ontario and the Company continues to operate.
At the present time, Rubicon's exploration activities and
feasibility study work have not been impacted. It is not
possible to reliably estimate the financial impact of the
length or severity of COVID-19.
-- Feasibility Study remains on track for H2/2020 completion: The
Company commenced feasibility work on the Project in the fourth
quarter of 2019. Rubicon estimates that it has completed
approximately 59% of the feasibility study. Much of the stope
design and mine planning has substantially progressed. Request
for proposals ("RFP") for various surface and underground work
and equipment, including tailings management facility upgrades,
have either been sent out to vendors or received and are under
review. An RFP related to the underground development is
currently being finalized. Ammonia treatment plant designs are
currently being evaluated.
-- Lower Level Infill Drilling to Upgrade Inferred Mineral
Resource estimates to the Measured and Indicated Mineral
Resource Categories: The 2020 Mineral Resource Estimate between
the 976- and 1,098-m Levels, includes approximately 190,000
ounces of estimated Inferred Mineral Resources. The Company
intends to infill drill this area with the goal of upgrading
those Inferred Mineral Resource estimates to at least the
Indicated Mineral Resource category. If successful, Rubicon
could potentially include any of such potentially upgraded
Mineral Resource estimates in the mine plan to be contemplated
by the anticipated feasibility study. The Company plans to
drill up to 7,500 m of orientated diamond drilling with the
goal of expanding the Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource
estimates. Assay results are pending for infill drilling
incurred to-date.
-- Exploring McFinley and Close Proximity Targets: Rubicon plans
to complete more than 5,000 m of underground diamond drilling
to determine the Mineral Resource potential of the historic
McFinley Zone ("McFinley") (approximately 420 m west of the F2
Gold Zone) and the Pen Zone (approximately 500 m northwest of
the F2 Gold Zone). The drilling will follow-up on the historic
high-grade drill intercepts that were intersected in these two
targets. Rubicon expects to deliver Mineral Resource estimates
for both McFinley and the Pen Zone in 2020 and 2021,
respectively. Due to the proximity of these targets to the
existing underground and surface infrastructure of the Phoenix
Gold Project, mineralized material at McFinley and the Pen Zone
areas have the potential to augment the conceptual production
profile of the Phoenix Gold Project. The Company has completed
back sampling of target areas at McFinley (results pending) and
has commenced drilling. Rubicon has completed 1 of 4 holes
planned for the Pen Zone, with assay results pending.
About Rubicon Minerals CorporationRubicon Minerals Corporation is an advanced gold exploration company that owns the Phoenix Gold Project, located in the prolific Red Lake gold district in northwestern Ontario, Canada. Additionally, Rubicon controls the second largest land in Red Lake consisting of over 285 square kilometres of prime, strategic exploration ground, and more than 900 square kilometres of mineral property interests in the emerging Long Canyon gold district that straddles the Nevada-Utah border in the United States. Rubicon's shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (RMX) and the OTCQX markets (RBYCF). For more information, please visit our website at www.rubiconminerals.com.
RUBICON MINERALS CORPORATIONGeorge Ogilvie, P.Eng.President, CEO, and Director
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