Red Pine Continues to Expand Footprint of Gold Mineralization at its Wawa Gold Project

TORONTO, April 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Red Pine Exploration Inc. (TSX-V: RPX) ("Red Pine" or the "Company") announces new drilling results from its delineation and exploration drilling in the Wawa Gold Corridor that includes the Surluga Deposit (“Surluga” or the “Deposit”). The Surluga Deposit¹ is one of two (2) known resources, identified to date, on the large 6,519 hectares Wawa Gold Property, located near Wawa, Ontario.  These latest results will be included a revised NI 43-101 resource estimate for the Deposit that is expected to be issued in Q2 2019.

Quentin Yarie, President and Chief Executive Officer of Red Pine stated, "Our exploration and in-fill drilling program in the Wawa Gold Corridor continues to show that multiple zones of gold mineralization exist on the property. Our results indicate that these zones contain higher-grade mineralization. The results of our deeper drilling in the Jubilee Shear Zone confirm the down-dip extension of the structure and intersected a noticeable thickening of the shear zone. The results in the deeper holes drilled are typical of the “halo” of lower grade mineralization adjacent to the zones of higher-grade mineralization observed at shallower depths.”

Highlights from the discovered gold zones in the Wawa Gold Corridor (Table 1):

• Discovery of high-grade gold in delineation holes of the Surluga Deposit:
  ° Hole SD-18-258 contains 1.6 g/t gold over 41 m (true width) including 5.2 g/t gold over 3.1 m and 4.6 g/t gold over 6.2 m (true width).
  
• New gold zones discovered in the Wawa Gold Corridor:
  ° Near-surface zone of mineralization discovered in hole SD-18-256 contains 3.2 g/t gold over 6.5 metres including 9.0 g/t gold over 2.2 metres;
  ° Minto B Shear Zone contains 2.1 g/t gold over 10.6 metres, including 3.7 g/t gold over 5.6 metres;
  ° Hole SD-18-264 contains 0.7 g/t gold over 12.1 metres, including 3.2 g/t gold over 2.2 metres.
• New results from infill drilling in the Jubilee Shear Zone:
  ° SD-18-236 contains 1.9 g/t gold over 19.8 metres (true width), including 4.8 g/t gold over 5.8 metres (true width).
• New results from deeper exploration drilling in the Jubilee Shear Zone Deposit:
  ° SD-18-253 contains 3.5 g/t gold over 3.2 metres (true width) including 6.4 g/t gold over 1.7 metres (true width);
  ° SD-18-262 contains 0.5 g/t gold over 49.8 metres (true width), including 0.8 g/t gold over 20.3 metres (true width).

The results of Red Pine’s 2018 exploration program continue to indicate the existence of many zones of gold mineralization in the Wawa Gold Corridor where, so far, resources have been estimated in two structures – 1) the Jubilee Shear Zone that hosts the Surluga Deposit, and 2) the Minto Mine South Shear Zone that hosts the Minto Mine South Deposit².

Results from the 2016 to 2018 exploration drilling in the Wawa Gold Corridor have defined and continue to expand the geological footprints of the gold-bearing structures in the Wawa Gold Corridor. The recent 2018 exploration drilling results indicate that there is continuity in gold mineralization in the new gold-bearing structures. Results also suggest that additional infill and exploration drilling could convert the conceptual exploration targets into mineral resources.
                                                                                                  
Infill and confirmation drilling in the Jubilee Shear Zone
Red Pine’s 2018 diamond drill program, from July to early January 2019, targeted strategic areas in the Surluga Deposit where geological modelling suggested that high-grade mineralization would be discovered. Drilling results to date support the potential for the Surluga Deposit to host a higher-grade gold resource, accessible using the existing underground developments of the Surluga Mine. Recent drilling is also confirming that additional gold zones exist below the Jubilee Shear Zone (host of the Surluga Deposit) and that higher-grade mineralization can be found in those gold zones. The Company remains on track to deliver an updated resource estimation for the Surluga Deposit in Q2 2019.

Table 1. Highlights of the 2018 drilling results in the Jubilee Shear Zone and Wawa Gold Corridor

*Results in the Minto B Shear Zone, Hornblende Shear Zone and newly discovered structures are presented as core length. Because of the complex superimposition of different tectonic fabric in the Minto B structure, additional drilling is required to define the geometry of the mineralized zones contained in the Minto B Shear Zone.

Figure 1. Plan map of drilling results 
http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e131b080-9107-4b54-9a14-449d3976e943

Wawa Gold Project Background
Since December 2014, Red Pine's exploration work has involved the ongoing sampling of 42,000 m of historic core that was never sampled by previous operators of the project, and exploration drilling campaigns. To date, the Company has completed over 59,000 m of drilling and made four discoveries along the extension of the Surluga Deposit: the Surluga North Zone; the Hornblende-William Zone; the Minto Mine South Zone and; the Grace-Darwin Zone. These are part of the Wawa Gold Corridor, a gold-mineralization zone that extends for more than 5 kilometres.

Red Pine’s on-going exploration program is designed to potentially expand the size of the existing inferred gold resource and connect the other zones of gold mineralization along the Wawa Gold Corridor.

On-site Quality Assurance/Quality Control (“QA/QC”) Measures

Drill core samples were transported in security-sealed bags for analyses to Activation Laboratories Ltd. in Ancaster, Ontario. Individual samples are labeled, placed in plastic sample bags and sealed. Groups of samples are then placed into durable rice bags and then shipped. The remaining coarse reject portions of the samples remain in storage if further work or verification is needed.

Red Pine has implemented a quality-control program to comply with best practices in the sampling and analysis of drill core. As part of its QA/QC program, Red Pine inserts external gold standards (low to high grade) and blanks every 20 samples in addition to random standards, blanks, and duplicates.

Qualified Person
Quentin Yarie, P Geo. is the qualified person responsible for preparing, supervising and approving the scientific and technical content of this news release.

About Red Pine Exploration Inc.
Red Pine Exploration Inc. is a gold and base-metals exploration company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Company's common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "RPX".

Red Pine has a 60% interest in the Wawa Gold Project with Citabar LP. holding the remaining 40% interest. Red Pine is the operating manager of the Project and is focused on expanding the existing gold resource on the property.

For more information about the Company visit www.redpineexp.com

Or contact:  
Quentin Yarie, President & CEO, (416) 364-7024, qyarie@redpineexp.com

Or Mia Boiridy, Investor Relations, (416) 364-7024, mboiridy@redpineexp.com

¹NI 43-101 inferred resource of 1,088,000 ounces of gold at a 1.71 grams per tonne (g/t) using a 0.40 g/t gold cut-off grade for pit-constrained and 2.50 g/t gold cut-off grade for underground-constrained resources, contained in 19.82 million tonnes open along strike and at depth. The Cut-off grades are based on a gold price of US$1,250 per once and a gold recovery of 95 percent (Mineral Resource Statement, Surluga-Jubilee Gold Deposit, Wawa Gold Project, Ontario, SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc (effective May 26, 2015)).

²NI 43-101 maiden resource of 100,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 6.8 g/t using a cut-off grade of 3.5 g/t gold (Initial Technical Report for the Minto Mine South Property, Golder Associates Ltd.  (effective Nov. 7, 218)).

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This News Release contains forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may”, “should”, “expects”, “plans”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “estimates”, “predicts”, “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our or our industry’s actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law.