Rugby Mining Limited announced that a drilling and exploration permit has been issued for its Mabuhay project, including the Mother Lode gold target, in the Philippines. Rugby’s earlier permits, although covering a large area, specifically excluded the old gold mine area and consequently it had previously been unable to drill the Mother Lode target. The Mother Lode, located in the centre of the broader Mabuhay project area comprising 878 hectares, is situated 12 kilometres south of Surigao City, the capital city of the province of Surigao del Norte. The Mother Lode (formerly the “Mindanao Mother Lode Gold Mine”) is a high-grade epithermal vein system. Production from 1937 to 1953 is reported to have been some 500,000 ounces of gold at a recovered grade of 14 g/t. As such, the deposit was considered one of the Philippines’ grade gold producers. The Mother Lode vein system was mined over 765 metres (“m”) in length and to a vertical depth of 245m. Both the strike and depth extensions are the subject of Rugby’s interest in the area.