11:09 AM EST, 11/16/2017 (MT Newswires) -- Rubicon Minerals (RMX.TO) rose 3.5% to $1.49 apiece Thursday as it gave an update of its 2017 Exploration Program at the Phoenix Gold Project with additional drill results and observations and said that it has commenced exploratory underground development.

In a statement, Rubicon said it is currently awaiting assay results from the final 4,592 m of drilling.

Among the highlights was the intersection of 11.1 grams per tonne of gold ("g/t Au") over 3.6 m and 10.12 g/t Au over 3.1 m. The company is observing 'higher gold grade composites' at the F2 Gold Deposit, and recent observations appeared to support historical drilling results that indicated higher gold grades from deeper drilling, according to a statement.

Chief Executive Officer George Ogilvie said: "We are further encouraged by the data that we have gathered from the completed 23,500-metre drill program. We continue to see assay grades that, in most instances, are higher compared to the 2016 Mineral Resource block model."

He added: "Given the encouraging results from the deeper drilling and that we are under budget and on schedule with our plans, we have elected to drill an additional 5,000 m from the 610- and 685-metre levels before year-end."