New Zealand Government Publishes Its Critical Minerals List – Naming Gold and Antimony. RUA GOLD Provides Exploration Update on the Reefton Project’s Extensive Antimony Potential

Rua Gold Inc. (TSXV: RUA) (OTCQB: NZAUF) (WKN: A40QYC) (‘Rua Gold’ or the ‘Company’) executives attended the launch event for the Minerals Strategy for New Zealand to 2040 and Critical Minerals List event hosted by New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals in Waihi on January 31, 2025. Honorable Shane Jones, Resource Minster for New Zealand, presented the critical minerals list that included both gold and antimony.

Furthermore, Rua Gold is pleased to provide an update from the exploration campaign underway at the Reefton Project on the South Island of New Zealand with significant added potential of antimony within the project.

Highlights:

Byproduct credit that antimony brings the potential to add considerable economic value to the Reefton Project and New Zealand’s strategic mineral inventory.

Antimony spot price increased 250% in 2024 and has held at all time high levels of over US$40,000 ton.

Auld Creek already has an antimony resource, and the Company is focused on expanding this in 2025. The resource is restricted to two of the four known shoots. Soil geochemistry indicates the potential for discovery of additional mineralised shoots over a strike length of 2.5km.

Drilling of Auld Creek commenced in December 2024, holes ACDD024, ACDD025 intersected 4-5m of strong stibnite (antimony sulphide) mineralization. Assays pending in the lab.

Rock chips have been found in several areas across the Reefton District with grades with up to 40.3% antimony (and gold grades up to 74.3g/t).

It is common for high grade gold and stibnite (antinomy ore mineral) to be co-located and the stibnite it is often used as a pathfinder for gold.

Robert Eckford, CEO of Rua Gold commented: ‘Having New Zealand’s largest known antimony presence on our property is extremely encouraging, especially with it trading at all time high’s and with it being announced on New Zealand’s first ever critical minerals list.

We commenced drilling on Auld Creek antimony-gold prospect which already has an antimony resource. Rock chips across the other projects on the property increase our confidence this gold-antimony occurrence is consistent across the Reefton Goldfield. We are focused on expanding the Auld Creek resource and we will have assay results from the latest holes coming out in February.

This all comes on the back of the government’s launch event for the Minerals Strategy for New Zealand to 2040 and Critical Minerals List, where both gold and antimony in Reefton Goldfield was called out as being one of the key focus points of the critical minerals strategy for New Zealand.’

Figure 1: Overview of the Reefton Goldfield.

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GLOBAL SUPPLY AND VALUE OF ANTIMONY

Antimony, is a critical metalloid primarily sourced from the mineral, stibnite. It is highly valuable and increasing in demand due to its versatility and has essential applications across renewable energy, liquid battery metals, defence and technological sectors.

Due to its limited supply, predominantly controlled by China, Russia & Tajikistan, antimony is considered a strategic material essential for supply chain security, particularly during periods of geopolitical instability. This was heightened in August 2024, when China announced export controls on processed antimony products. In response to these controls, nations have accelerated their efforts to secure alternative sources of antimony to mitigate the risk of significant supply chain vulnerabilities.

The US, EU, UK, Japan, Canada and Australia all designate antimony as a critical mineral. On January 31, 2025, New Zealand also announced their Critical Mineral List which included antimony.

Reflecting heightened demand, the price of antimony has reached new highs, currently trading over US$40,000 per tonne, a significant increase from US$11,350 per tonne at the start of 2024. This market shift has intensified interest in the strategic antimony potential held by Rua Gold.

EXPLORATION POTENTIAL

Auld Creek Focus

Rua Gold commenced drilling at Auld Creek in December 2024. It has a targeted program to drill four mineralised shoots identified from historical surface exploration work interpreted by the Rua Gold team over the past 3 months.

Auld Creek is situated between two past producing mines, Globe Progress mine, and the Crushington Group of mines which collectively produced 933,000oz at 14.0g/t Au (Barry 1993). Auld Creek has three historic adits but no commercial production from the reefs.

 

Rua Gold has an inferred resource indicating 700,000 tonnes at 3.1g/t Au and 1.1% Sb for 67,000oz of gold and 8,000 tonnes of antimony1 (AuEq 110,000oz2). The resource is restricted to two of the four known shoots. Soil geochemistry indicates the potential for discovery of additional mineralised shoots over a strike length of 2.5km.

Two of the four holes completed to date intersected 4-5m of strong visible stibnite (antimony sulfide) mineralization in the Fraternal-Bonanza structure. Logging and assaying are in progress.

Previous diamond drilling by Siren Gold Limited (‘Siren’) confirmed the presence of significant antimony, with notable drill holes including:

ACDDH011: 8.1m @ 2.73g/t Au and 4.33% Sb (AuEq of 11.0g/t) 80m below the surface.
ACDDH015: 12.4m @ 5.19g/t Au and 13.65% Sb (AuEq of 31.3g/t) 75m below the surface.

Full table of results in Table 1 in the appendix below. 

Figure 2: Extent of drilling and mapping at Auld Creek with four main reef tracks overlain on arsenic soil geochemistry.

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Other Reefton Prospects

With the increased interest in antimony over 2024, the exploration team widened its focus to include testing for stibnite (antimony) mineralization across other known targets of the Reefton Goldfield.

In the early 1900’s, the Fiery Cross lode, within Capleston, reported significant antimony mineralisation associated with the gold-bearing quartz reef, but at the time, in common with many other Reefton Goldfield mines, mining this posed a problem for gold recovery and the material was discarded on the tip head. Re-sampling of this mined material from the tip head (float), and from an insitu quartz reef of the old mine at surface has returned exceptionally high results including:

Sample GER3721 with 23.5g/t gold and 20.6% antimony
Sample GER3725 with 7.53g/t gold and 16.7% antimony
Sample GER3726 with 52.3g/t gold and 16.0% antimony

Refer to Table 2 in the appendix below for a complete list of rock samples.

Murray Creek hosts the Golden Treasure mine, 350m south south-west of the Victoria-Inglewood mines. Gold recovery at the Golden Treasure was also hindered by the presence of stibnite. In parts of the mine where the shoot consisted of 30-40 % antimony the ore was stacked in the workings for future sale (Downey, 1928a).

Rua Gold conducted both channel samples on surface and assayed a suite of rocks from the tip head of the mine workings. This has provided firsthand evidence of the tenor of the antimony has returned exceptionally high results including:

GERS6027: Trench with 1m wide with 10.8g/t gold and 1.7% antimony
GERS6028: Trench with 1m wide with 3.66g/t gold and 3.8% antimony
GERS3714: Rock sample with 2.29g/t gold and 40.3% antimony
GERS3716: Rock sample with 6.72g/t gold and 26.9% antimony
GERS3720: Rock sample with 4.77g/t gold and 23.3% antimony

Refer to Table 3 and 4, respectively, in the appendix below, for a complete list of trench and rock samples.

With results from this surface exploration work, the exploration team are encouraged that the stibnite mineralization is demonstrated throughout the Reefton Goldfield and further work will form part of the surface exploration campaign in 2025.

Figure 3: Location of known antimony locations.

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ABOUT Rua Gold

Rua Gold is an exploration company, strategically focused on New Zealand. With decades of expertise, our team has successfully taken major discoveries into producing world-class mines across multiple continents. The team is now focused on maximizing the asset potential of Rua Gold’s two highly prospective high-grade gold projects.

The Company controls the Reefton Gold District as the dominant landholder in the Reefton Goldfield on New Zealand’s South Island with over 120,000 hectares of tenements, in a district that historically produced over 2Moz of gold grading between 9 and 50g/t.

The Company’s Glamorgan Project solidifies Rua Gold’s position as a leading high-grade gold explorer on New Zealand’s North Island. This highly prospective project is located within the North Islands’ Hauraki district, a region that has produced an impressive 15Moz of gold and 60Moz of silver. Glamorgan is adjacent to OceanaGold Corporation’s biggest gold mining project, Wharekirauponga.

For further information, please refer to the Company’s disclosure record on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

Simon Henderson CP, AUSIMM, a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and Chief Operating Officer and a director of Rua Gold, has reviewed and approved the technical disclosure contained herein. Mr. Henderson has participated in the geochemical sampling, and mapping programs to verify that they have been conducted in accordance with standard operating procedures. Mr. Henderson has verified the data disclosed by running checks on the location, analytical, and test data underlying the information in the technical disclosure herein.

QA/QC ROCK SAMPLES AND CHANNEL SAMPLES

Veins were sampled in 1 m intervals. Before sampling, outcrops were cleared of debris and alluvial sediments with shovels and hammers to uncover the full extent of the veins. 1m intervals were measure with a tape and marked with flagging tape or spray paint. A line was made along the outcrop, then chips were taken continuously along that line. Each 1m interval sample is 1.5kgs of material.

Rock samples were sent to SGS Laboratories, Westport for sample preparation. Samples were crushed and pulverized to 85% passing 75 µm. The pulverized rock-chips were split into two samples: a ~50 g sent for laboratory analysis, and the reject returned to RGL for pXRF analysis and storage. Pulverized rock-chip samples were analyzed for gold (Au) by 50-g fire assay with AAS finish at SGS Waihi (SGS Code FAA505); and for antimony (Sb) by Sodium Peroxide Fusion Analysis by ICP-MS at SGS Waihi.

This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed ‘forward-looking statements’. All statements in this new release, other than statements of historical facts, 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 and specifically include statements regarding: the Company’s strategies, expectations, planned operations or future actions, including but not limited to exploration programs at its Reefton and Glamorgan projects and the results thereof. 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 the forward-looking statements.

Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. A variety of inherent risks, uncertainties and factors, many of which are beyond the Company’s control, affect the operations, performance and results of the Company and its business, and could cause actual events or results to differ materially from estimated or anticipated events or results expressed or implied by forward looking statements. Some of these risks, uncertainties and factors include: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; risks related to the effects of the Russia-Ukraine war; risks related to climate change; operational risks in exploration, delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration projects or capital expenditures; the actual results of current exploration activities; conclusions of economic evaluations; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; changes in labour costs and other costs and expenses or equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry, including but not limited to environmental hazards, flooding or unfavorable operating conditions and losses, insurrection or war, delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing, and commodity prices. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company’s forward-looking statements and reference should also be made to the Company’s short form base shelf prospectus dated July 11, 2024, and the documents incorporated by reference therein, filed under its SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca for a description of additional risk factors.

Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company’s management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management’s beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

Table 1: Significant drilling intercepts for Auld Creek, full mineralized zone composites (1.5 g/t Au cut-off)1.

 

Full drilling results are available in the Company’s technical report entitled, ‘Technical Report on Reefton Project, New Zealand’, dated October 30, 2024.

Table 2: Fiery Cross Rock Sampling

 

Table 3: Golden Treasure trench results outcropping Antimony lode

 

Table 4: Golden Treasure rock chip sampling from tip head and creek float adjacent to level 1.

 

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