Red Pine Intersects 4.9 g/t Gold Over 16.3 Metres (True Width), including 16.1 g/t Gold over 2.7 Metres (True Width) at its Wawa Gold Project

TORONTO, Feb. 12, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Red Pine Exploration Inc. (TSX-V: RPX) ("Red Pine" or the "Company") announces new results from its exploration/infill drilling in the gaps in the Surluga Deposit (“Surluga” or the “Deposit”), and from its confirmation drilling in the higher grade zones of the Deposit. The Surluga Deposit is one of two (2) known deposits, identified to date, on the large 6,519 hectares Wawa Gold Project, located near Wawa, Ontario. The Surluga Deposit currently hosts a NI 43-101 Inferred Resource of 1,088,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 1.71 g/t (using a 0.5 g/t cut-off) contained within 19.82 million tonnes¹.  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.

Red Pine’s understanding of the geological factors that control higher-grade gold mineralization in the Surluga Deposit, has enabled the Company to identify gaps in the historic drilling as well as areas where potentially significant zones of new gold mineralization could to be discovered. Hole SD-18-241 targeted one of these historical gaps that appear to be typically located near the existing underground infrastructure of the Surluga Mine.

Drilling highlights (Table 1):

• Discovery of high-grade gold in drilling gaps in the Surluga Deposit:
  • Hole SD-18-241 contains 4.9 g/t gold over 16.3 metres (true width) including 16.1 g/t gold over 2.7 metres (true width).
• Confirmation drilling supports the current resource defined in the Surluga Deposit
  • Hole SD-18-235 contains 1.9 g/t gold over 38.5 metres (true width) including 5.0 g/t gold over 8.7 metres (true width)

Quentin Yarie, President and Chief Executive Officer of Red Pine stated, "The discovery of significant mineralization in exploration gaps of the Surluga Deposit validates our model that significant zones of gold mineralization remain to be discovered and quantified. The addition of these discoveries has the potential to add higher-grade ounces to the Surluga Deposit, accessible by the historical underground workings of the Surluga Mine. We expect pending results from the remainder of our infill drilling program to fall in line with what we’ve observed so far, and we’re on track to issue a revised NI 43-101 for Surluga in Q2 2019.”

Table 1. Highlights of results from the 2018 drilling in the Jubilee Shear Zone

Figure 1. Plan map of drilling results

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ffaf5456-95c1-48f7-ba81-a9de2a9ab351

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 could 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. Gold assays results for 40 holes completed in the Surluga Deposit are still pending.

Follow-on Financing
In a non-brokered private placement financing, Red Pine issued 1,000,000 non-flow-through units (“Units”) of the Company, each priced at $0.05, for gross proceeds of approximately $50,000.  Each Unit consists of one common share of the Company and one-half of one common share purchase warrant of the Company, which is exercisable to acquire one additional common share for a period of 24 months from the issuance thereof at a price of $0.075 per share. No finders fee was paid. All securities issued in the financing carry a restricted period of four months and one day from the date of issuance. The financing is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

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 newly-discovered Wawa Gold Corridor. The Company issued a maiden resource for the Mint Mine South Deposit in November 2018² and plans to issue a revised NI 43-101 for the Surluga Deposit in Q2 2019.

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 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.