13.9 g/t Gold & 353.3 g/t Silver Intercepted Over 4.5 Metres in 17 East Extension Zone
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 05/16/11 -- Rainy River Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: RR) (the 'Company' or 'Rainy') is pleased to announce assay results from the Rainy River Gold Project in northwest Ontario where the Company is completing 170,000m of diamond drilling in 2011. Results are summarized in Table 1.
Highlights
-- 17 Zone Eastern Extension continues to expand significantly with high-
grade gold and silver at depth
-- NR10621E intersects 13.9 g/t gold and 353.3 g/t silver over 4.5 metres
-- NR10627E intersects 69.7 g/t gold and 17.7 g/t silver over 1.5 metres
-- HS & 433 Zones return significant gold and silver values from infill
program
17 East Extension Zone
Deep Exploration on the recently discovered 17 East Extension Zone continues to intersect encouraging gold results with a significant silver component, making this one of the most exciting new areas for resource expansion. Drill hole NR10621E intersected a wide zone of high-grade gold and silver mineralization at a vertical depth of approximately 600 metres. Assay results for the hole report 2.1 g/t gold and 53.4g/t silver over 33.0m, including 13.9 g/t gold and 353.3 g/t silver over 4.5m. Drill hole NR11677 returned a 6.0m intersection grading 2.2 g/t gold and 66.7 g/t silver at a vertical depth of 704 metres, while drill hole NR11676 intersected gold and silver mineralization at a vertical depth of 572 metres, including 28.5m grading 1.1 g/t gold and 11.9 g/t silver, and including 9.0m grading 2.5 g/t gold and 19.3g/t silver. Assay results also include hole NR11627E which returned values of 69.7 g/t gold & 17.7 g/t silver over 1.5 metres, at a vertical depth of 674 metres. Intercepts reported for holes NR11676 and NR11677 lie 175m up-dip, and 60m west of hole NR11653, respectively. That hole had returned values of 4.6 g/t gold over 13.5 metres (see press release dated March 30, 2011).
To date, six widely spaced holes have intersected significant gold and silver mineralization in the deep extension of the 17 East Extension Zone. Six diamond drills have now been deployed to this new zone, which is open down-plunge and represents excellent potential to add high-grade underground ounces to the Rainy River Gold Project.
HS Zone
Several intersections within the HS Zone are reported from the last round of infill drilling. Notable intercepts include drill hole NR11663 which intersected 12.9 g/t gold and 187.0 g/t silver over 1.5m, including a second intersection of 4.3 g/t gold and 8.1 g/t silver over 1.6m at a depth of approximately 110 metres. Further results from the HS Zone include 7.2 g/t gold and 44.3 g/t silver over 1.5m in hole NR11659, and a 10.5m-wide intercept grading 2.8 g/t gold and 2.0 g/t silver (including 15.3 g/t gold and 3.8 g/t silver over 1.5m) in drill hole NR11684. Near surface, drill hole NR 11681 returned 3.5 g/t gold and 24.4 g/t silver over 1.5m, while deeper in the Zone, drill hole NR11673 intersected 1.5m grading 6.8 g/t gold and 6.3 g/t silver.
433 & ODM Zones
Notable intersections include drill hole NR11656, which intersected 6.6 g/t gold and 137.0 g/t silver over 1.2 metres within the 433 Zone, and drill hole NR11666, which returned 2.5 g/t gold and 25.9 g/t silver over 1.5 metres within the ODM Zone. Both intercepts were encountered at depths at vertical depths within 100 metres from surface.
District Exploration
The Company's district exploration program is ongoing, with two drill rigs following up on gold-in-till anomalies identified from past reverse circulation drill programs. Exploration drilling north of the main deposit area returned encouraging results including drill hole NR11689 with 15.1 g/t gold reported over 0.8m, drill hole NR11690 with 1.0 g/t gold and 11.1 g/t silver reported over 3.2m, and drill hole NR11683 which intersected 0.7 g/t gold over 10.5m.
Exploration near the Western Area also returned some encouraging results over narrow widths at shallow depths. Drill holeNR11672 intersected 33.0 g/t gold over 0.5m at 48 metres below surface. Other drill hole results include NR11671 with 1.3 g/t gold returned over 6.0m, and NR11661 with 8.1 g/t gold over 1.5mat similar depths of approximately 50m.
Commentary
Raymond Threlkeld, President and CEO, adds 'The 17 East Extension discovery announced in late March, and subsequent wide-spaced exploration of that zone are demonstrating the exciting potential that the Rainy River district contains. The new zone not only contains significant gold values, but high silver values over a widespread and continuous area that is open in all directions. We will continue to aggressively drill in 2011 to define the district-wide and depth potential at Rainy River, in addition to advancing with our planned Preliminary Economic Assessment of the current resource.'
Qualified persons
Rainy River's exploration program in Richardson Township is being supervised by Kerry Sparkes, P.Geo., Vice-President Exploration, a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Garett Macdonald, P.Eng., Vice President Operations and Kerry Sparkes P.Geo. are the persons responsible for the content of this news release. The Company continues to implement a rigorous QA/QC program to ensure best practices in sampling and analysis of drill core. All drill core is marked for sampling and then split in half with a diamond saw blade. Samples are placed in sealed bags with security tags. All samples were assayed using a standard fire assay, 30 gram nominal sample weight with an AA finish. Over-limit samples were re-assayed with a gravimetric finish. Samples with visible gold were automatically analyzed for Ore Grade by 1000g screen fire assay, with coarse and fine fractions being combined proportionately and the fine fraction being assayed twice. Standards, blanks and duplicates are inserted every 25 metres. ALS Canada Ltd. performed primary assaying, with duplicates being analyzed at Activation Laboratories Ltd. ALS Canada Ltd. and Activation Laboratories Ltd. implements independent QA/QC protocols that include the insertion of certified blanks and standards as part of their routine analysis.
About Rainy River Resources Ltd.
Rainy River Resources is a Canadian precious metals exploration company whose key asset is the Rainy River Gold Project. With over $130 million in cash and short term investments, the Company is well funded to conduct a dual-focused drilling program consisting of:1) definition diamond drilling of the main gold resources in preparation for scoping and pre-feasibility studies, and 2) selective diamond drill testing of high-priority gold targets defined primarily by RC drilling within the large gold system centered in Richardson Township. The Company's property is extremely well located in the southwestern corner of northern Ontario near the U.S. border. It is accessed by a network of roads and is close to hydro-electric infrastructure. The Rainy River district has a skilled labour force and is one of the lowest-cost areas for mineral exploration and development. The Company is also working to advance the early-stage discoveries at its TPK Joint Venture Property, also in Ontario, where it can earn a 51% interest in the property from Northern Superior Resources Inc. Ontario has low political risk and, according to the annual Fraser Institute global survey of the mining industry, has consistently ranked as one of the top jurisdictions embracing mineral development.
RAINY RIVER RESOURCES LTD.
Raymond W. Threlkeld, President & CEO
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be 'forward-looking statements'. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical fact, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words 'expects', 'plans', 'anticipates', 'believes', 'intends', 'estimates', 'projects', 'potential' and similar expressions, or that events or conditions 'will', 'would', 'may', 'could' or 'should' occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include gold prices, results of exploration and development activities, regulatory changes, defects in title, availability of materials and equipment, timeliness of government approvals, continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. The Company cautions that the foregoing list of important factors is not exhaustive. Investors and others who base themselves on the Company's forward-looking statements should carefully consider the above factors as well as the uncertainties they represent and the risk they entail. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct. Please see the public filings of the Company at www.sedar.com for further information.
Table 1 Summary of Results
FROM LENGTH AU
HOLE SECTION ELEVATION (m) TO (m) (m) g/t AG g/t COMMENTS
NR10621E 426317 603 753.0 786.0 33.0 2.1 53.4 17 EAST
INCL 426316 600 763.5 768.0 4.5 13.9 353.3 17 EAST
INCL 426316 599 763.5 765.0 1.5 17.2 538.0 17 EAST
AND 426316 600 765.0 766.5 1.5 12.3 241.0 17 EAST
AND 426316 601 766.5 768.0 1.5 12.2 281.0 17 EAST
426322 623 798.0 799.5 1.5 7.6 5.7 17 EAST
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NR10627E 426229 663 727.0 733.0 6.0 0.9 33.3 17 EAST
INCL 426230 665 731.5 733.0 1.5 2.8 90.3 17 EAST
426231 674 742.0 743.5 1.5 69.7 17.7 17 EAST
426234 690 755.5 767.5 12.0 1.7 12.2 17 EAST
INCL 426235 692 763.0 764.5 1.5 3.7 13.7 17 EAST
AND 426235 693 764.5 766.0 1.5 3.2 37.7 17 EAST
AND 426235 694 766.0 767.5 1.5 1.2 29.9 17 EAST
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NR11656 425270 95 115.0 118.0 3.0 0.4 1.7 ODM
425258 344 440.4 441.6 1.2 6.6 137.0 433 WEST
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NR11659 424939 191 239.0 239.6 0.6 3.0 8.1 HW BP
424941 268 335.0 344.0 9.0 0.8 2.6 BP
424942 284 360.5 362.0 1.5 7.2 44.3 HS
424951 410 529.0 530.0 1.0 3.0 4.9 HS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NR11661 424110 28 38.0 39.5 1.5 1.1 0.5 WESTERN AREA
424110 51 68.0 69.5 1.5 8.1 1.9 WESTERN AREA
424110 55 74.0 75.5 1.5 1.7 0.3 WESTERN AREA
424111 61 81.5 83.0 1.5 1.4 0.3 WESTERN AREA
424112 92 123.5 125.0 1.5 1.5 0.4 WESTERN AREA
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NR11663 425147 99 117.0 118.5 1.5 12.9 187.0 HS
425146 120 142.4 144.0 1.6 4.3 8.1 HS
425140 210 258.0 259.5 1.5 1.5 0.7 HS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NR11664 425246 101 121.5 123.0 1.5 1.7 0.9 HS
425246 105 126.0 127.5 1.5 1.3 0.5 HS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NR11666 425219 52 60.5 62.0 1.5 2.5 25.9 ODM
425217 103 120.5 128.0 7.5 0.7 6.7 ODM
425215 369 468.0 469.0 1.0 3.6 1.6 HS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NR11667 425297 195 243.0 244.5 1.5 6.9 3.8 433 WEST
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NR11668 424998 207 249.5 251.0 1.5 2.5 3.0 BP
425001 237 287.0 288.5 1.5 3.5 6.3 BP
425016 420 518.0 519.5 1.5 9.1 2.9 HS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NR11669 425174 96 115.5 117.0 1.5 6.0 1.0 HS
425172 136 166.5 168.0 1.5 1.4 1.1 HS
425168 184 229.5 231.0 1.5 2.2 9.5 HS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NR11670 425210 63 75.0 76.5 1.5 0.7 0.3 HS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NR11671 424179 46 65.0 71.0 6.0 1.3 0.3 WESTERN AREA
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NR11672 424288 48 64.7 65.2 0.5 33.0 0.4 WESTERN AREA
424287 50 66.5 68.0 1.5 2.5 0.1 WESTERN AREA
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NR11673 425098 158 198.0 199.5 1.5 6.8 6.3 HS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NR11674 424732 42 54.0 55.5 1.5 1.1 3.3 HW BP
NR11674 424751 240 316.5 318.0 1.5 1.8 1.4 BP
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NR11675 425376 89 125.0 126.5 1.5 1.5 0.4 DISTRICT
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NR11676 426113 511 598.5 600.0 1.5 3.4 4.1 HW 17
426117 530 622.5 624.0 1.5 2.1 6.2 HW 17
426126 572 652.5 681.0 28.5 1.1 11.9 17 EAST
INCL 426126 572 672.0 681.0 9.0 2.5 19.3 17 EAST
426134 610 726.0 727.8 1.8 7.0 5.6 17 EAST
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NR11677 426026 648 716.8 718.5 1.7 2.9 1.8 17 EAST
426033 704 781.5 787.5 6.0 2.2 66.7 17 EAST
INCL 426033 703 781.5 783.0 1.5 4.0 93.6 17 EAST
AND 426033 704 783.0 784.5 1.5 1.1 33.8 17 EAST
AND 426033 705 784.5 786.0 1.5 2.8 103.0 17 EAST
AND 426033 706 786.0 787.5 1.5 1.1 36.3 17 EAST
426037 732 813.0 819.5 6.5 1.3 8.7 17 EAST
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NR11678 424096 144 176.0 177.5 1.5 2.9 2.5 WESTERN AREA
424096 151 185.0 188.0 3.0 1.3 0.7 WESTERN AREA
424097 168 206.0 207.5 1.5 1.7 0.3 WESTERN AREA
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NR11679 NSA
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NR11680 425440 82 117.5 119.0 1.5 0.9 0.7 DISTRICT
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NR11681 425300 44 51.0 52.5 1.5 3.5 24.4 HS
425305 218 270.0 271.5 1.5 1.0 0.3 433 WEST
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NR11683 425243 61 89.0 99.5 10.5 0.7 0.4 DISTRICT
NR11683 425243 101 147.5 149.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 DISTRICT
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NR11684 425529 62 53.0 89.0 36.0 0.5 4.0 ODM
425527 164 188.0 189.5 1.5 1.9 8.4 HS
425527 193 218.0 228.5 10.5 2.8 2.0 HS
INCL 425527 193 222.5 224.0 1.5 15.3 3.8 HS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NR11685 425152 137 194.0 197.0 3.0 1.4 0.4 DISTRICT
425153 158 222.5 224.0 1.5 1.9 0.3 DISTRICT
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NR11686 425148 73 109.6 110.6 1.0 2.0 0.6 DISTRICT
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NR11687 425336 150 184.5 186.0 1.5 3.6 4.4 HS
425336 159 195.0 196.5 1.5 1.3 0.3 HS
425329 278 345.0 346.5 1.5 5.3 1.9 433 WEST
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NR11688 425401 63 76.0 77.5 1.5 2.5 1.0 HS
425404 179 221.5 223.0 1.5 1.1 11.0 433 WEST
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NR11689 425152 103 141.0 141.7 0.7 1.1 0.6 DISTRICT
425152 104 142.2 143.0 0.8 15.1 0.5 DISTRICT
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NR11690 425150 54 69.5 72.7 3.2 1.0 11.1 DISTRICT
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To view the figures associated with this release, please visit the following links:
http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/RRfig1.pdf
http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/RRfig2.pdf
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept the responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
Contacts:
Rainy River Resources Ltd.
Nicholas Nikolakakis
Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer
(416) 645-7281
nnikolakakis@rainyriverresources.com