Investor Insight
Rua Gold offers a compelling investment opportunity driven by its highly promising gold assets in New Zealand’s historic gold-producing regions, and supported by the government’s renewed focus on fast tracking economic growth.
Overview
Rua Gold (TSXV:RUA,OTC:NZAUF,WKN:A4010V,OTCQB:NZAUF) is a gold exploration company focused on two prolific, historic gold-producing regions in New Zealand: Hauraki Goldfield and Reefton Goldfield. Both these regions boast of previous high-grade gold production, with more than 15 million ounces (Moz) produced in the Hauraki district and over 2 Moz in the Reefton Goldfield. New Zealand is a tier 1 mining jurisdiction with highly prospective geology, and a skilled workforce. The new government of New Zealand has committed to promoting economic growth through mining- and business-friendly policies, such as the Fast Track Approval Bill, which proposes quicker approval timelines for a range of projects, including mining.
New Zealand has a rich history of gold production from orogenic deposits (+9 Moz), epithermal sources (+15 Moz), and alluvial deposits (+22 Moz). The country has low sovereign risk with no corruption, making it an attractive destination for mining investment.
The company has launched a fully funded exploration program at its properties. This includes a 2,500-meter diamond drill program focused on the Pactolus prospect at Reefton Goldfield.
Rua Gold solidified its position as the dominant Reefton Goldfield explorer with the acquisition of Reefton Resources, a 100 percent owned subsidiary of Siren Gold (ASX:SNG). The completion of the transaction expands Rua Gold's tenement package to cover over 95 percent of the Reefton Goldfield.
New Zealand’s critical minerals list includes both gold and antimony, enhancing the significance of Rua Gold’s ongoing exploration campaign which revealed promising antimony potential. Rua Gold sits on the majority of New Zealand’s known antimony inventory, a strategic advantage that positions the Reefton Project to contribute substantial economic value while strengthening New Zealand’s critical mineral supply.
Rua Gold benefits from a team of professionals boasting extensive expertise in geology and mining. The company’s board of directors is led by Oliver Lennox-King (Fronteer, Roxgold), who has a successful track record developing projects and companies.
Company Highlights
- Rua Gold is a gold exploration company with two highly prospective land packages in New Zealand’s historic gold districts – Hauraki Goldfield and Reefton Goldfield.
- New Zealand is a tier 1 mining jurisdiction boasting highly promising geological formations and a significant history of gold production, with orogenic deposits (+9 Moz), epithermal sources (+15 Moz), and alluvial deposits (+22 Moz).
- The company’s two key assets include the Reefton Goldfield on New Zealand’s South Island and Glamorgan on New Zealand’s North Island.
- The new government is focused on stimulating economic growth, as evidenced by the recent Fast Track Approval Bill, which proposes fast-track approvals for a range of projects, including mining.
- Rua Gold has high-quality orogenic and epithermal gold prospects, boasting historical production grades ranging from 16 to 50 g/t gold.
- Rua Gold is fully permitted and fully financed with significant near-term catalysts. The company has launched an exploration program at its two properties. Drilling is ongoing at the company’s properties in the Reefton district.
- The company completed the acquisition of Siren Gold’s Reefton assets with tenements adjacent to Rua Gold’s suite of properties in New Zealand’s prolific Reefton Goldfield.
- A seasoned board and management team is at the helm of Rua Gold, with extensive regional knowledge and a proven track record of successful discoveries. With full financing and permits in place, the company is well-positioned to capitalize on growth prospects.
Key Projects
Reefton Goldfield
Rua Gold holds six project areas at the Reefton Goldfield – Northern, Capleston, Murray Creek, Ajax, Crushington and Southern. The Reefton district has a rich history of gold production with over 2 Moz of gold recovered at 24.5 g/t. Among the noteworthy findings from recent years of exploration is the greenfield discovery of the Pactolus quartz vein. Assays have unveiled significant high-grade gold concentrations in this vein.
Rua Gold’s systematic exploration has highlighted the potential for the rejuvenation of this district in renewed opportunities around the historic high-grade gold deposits. Rua Gold completed an extensive assessment of the historical mines situated within the company's tenements in the Reefton Goldfield, yielding five targets in the Murray Creek area.
Ongoing drill campaign at the Murray Creek prospects revealed all three drill holes intercepted visible gold within down-dip extensions of the historical Victoria lode, confirming vertical continuity over 100 meters, with the system remaining open at depth. Gold results in four of the six drill holes at Capleston, with the northernmost intercept showing an average of 4.8g/t gold over 3.3 m. Rua Gold implemented the Devico Navi-drilling technology which enhanced drilling accuracy and cost efficiency during the resource definition phase.
Glamorgan Project
The Glamorgan project comprises over 4,600 hectares in the Hauraki district on New Zealand’s North Island. Hauraki boasts of a substantial presence of high-grade gold and silver mining, with approximately 50 epithermal deposits mined since the 1860s. These deposits have yielded over 15 Moz of gold and 60 Moz of silver. Glamorgan has a 3.8 km zone displaying indications of gold mineralization, backed by soil and rock samples, suggesting the presence of an epithermal gold mineralized system at the property.
Glamorgan is located 2.8 kms north of Oceana Gold’s recent significant discovery at Wharekirauponga. The company has applied for a minimum impact access agreement with the New Zealand Department of Conservation. Once granted, the company will commence an exploration program that includes soil sampling, magnetic and resistivity geophysical surveys, and geological mapping.
Rua Gold completed the
first phase of surface exploration on its Glamorgan epithermal gold prospect which identified two significant soil anomalies over 4 kms in length. Significant gold grades (8 to 43 ppm gold) were recorded in rock float and in situ rock samples from detailed geological mapping. Controlled source audio-frequency magnetotellurics (CSAMT) ground geophysics has commenced as a precursor to the company’s targeted diamond drilling.
Management Team
Oliver Lennox-King – Non-executive Chairman
Oliver Lennox-King boasts a distinguished and extensive career within the mineral resource sector, encompassing a broad experience in financing, research and marketing. Since 1992, he has occupied senior executive and board roles in various junior exploration and mining enterprises. Most recently, Lennox-King was the chairman of Roxgold from 2012 until July 2021 when it was sold for $1.2 billion to Fortuna. In addition to Roxgold, he also served as chairman of other notable firms, including Pangea Goldfields, Aurora Uranium and Fronteer Gold.
Robert Eckford – CEO and Director
Robert Eckford is a certified professional accountant with significant expertise in mergers and acquisitions, accounting, finance and commercial management within the mining sector. Most recently he was co-founder and head of finance for Aris Mining, and prior to that, has worked with international mining companies, including Barrick Gold, Yamana Gold and Leagold Mining.
Simon Henderson – COO and Director
Simon Henderson is an exploration specialist and has over 40 years of experience, most of which is in New Zealand. He was part of the discovery team for several significant gold finds in New Zealand, such as Wharekirauponga. He maintains robust connections with key local stakeholders and the country's permitting authorities.
Zeenat Lokhandwala – CFO and Corporate Secretary
Zeenat Lokhandwala brings over a decade of expertise in mergers and acquisitions, finance, accounting and taxation. She is the former CFO of Great Bear Royalties and director of finance at Great Bear Resources.
Brian Rodan - Director
Brian Rodan has more than 43 years of experience who is currently serving as Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Rodan is the founding director of Dacian Gold (ASX:DCN)
Mario Vetro - Director
Mario Vetro has extensive experience structuring and providing guidance to resource companies. He is the co-founder of K92 Mining and the proprietor of Commodity Partners.
Paul Criddle - Director
Paul Criddle has extensive experience constructing and overseeing gold mines in Australia and West Africa. He was formerly a chief operating officer for West Africa at Fortuna and also served as the COO for Azimuth and Perseus. He was previously the managing director at Matador Mining.
Tyron Breytenbach – Director
Tyron Breytenbach is a geologist with operational and capital markets experience. He is currently the CEO of Lithium Africa Resources. Previously, he was senior vice-president of Capital Markets at Aris Mining and served as managing director at Cormark Securities. Before transitioning to capital markets, Breytenbach spent a decade in the mining sector as a geologist, focusing on orogenic and epithermal
gold deposits and specializing in resource estimation. He earned his BSc (Honours) degree from Rand Afrikaans University in South Africa and is a designated professional geologist in Ontario.
View original content: https://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/December2020/30/c1740.html 
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