Rugby Provides 2019 Year End Exploration Update

VANCOUVER, Dec. 19, 2019 - Rugby Mining Ltd. (“Rugby” or the “Company”) (TSX-V: RUG) is pleased to provide an update on its exploration activities to December 2019.

Argentina Update - El Zanjon
Rugby recently completed a first pass ground magnetic survey on the prospective El Zanjon epithermal gold-silver project in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. The project was acquired for its regional geologic and geophysical similarities to the Cerro Moro and Cerro Vanguardia gold systems located to the north.

The magnetic survey was conducted at a line spacing of 320 metres (“m”) (Figure 1). Follow up work will reduce the line spacing to 160m and 80m. Of particular interest are flexures where the major faults deflect from the dominant northwest trend to an easterly trend (Figure 2). The high-grade veins at both Cerro Moro and Cerro Vanguardia are located on such easterly flexures.

Very early in 2020, Rugby plans to complete in-fill ground magnetics and low detection level geochemical sampling of the overlying sedimentary veneer to test for responses related to underlying mineralization.

Colombia Update
Rugby continues to conduct sampling on the Pastora and El Playon gold projects in the Bucaramanga gold belt in north central Colombia. This program is anticipated to continue through Q1, 2020 with the expectation that the Agencia Nacional de Mineria (ANM) will be granting exploration titles in the near term.

The Company is undertaking the sampling program at Pastora ahead of induced polarization (“IP”) surveying. The IP program is to define specific targets within extensive, strong gold-silver anomalies generated by Soratama, the company acquired by Rugby from a major gold company.

Separately, the Company continues to work with environmental and legal advisors to address Department of Forestry’s concerns that stand in the way of a drilling approval for the Cobrasco porphyry copper project.

Motherlode and Otway Project Updates
Rugby intends to test both projects in Q1, 2020 for potential large scale copper-gold systems using magnetotelluric (“MT”) geophysical surveying. At the Motherlode, a strong ~ 2 kilometer IP anomaly has been defined at +700m depths, which is close to the limits of IP surveys. Consequently, our geophysical consultant has recommended a MT survey to assist in defining drill targets for deeper, potentially high grade copper porphyry mineralization. Support for the targets was returned from Rugby’s drilling in 2019 that intersected 584m of modest grade copper-gold mineralization at 0.3% copper and 0.3g/t gold. That intercept is considered to potentially occur within a very much larger porphyry system.

At Otway in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, Rugby’s target is a large copper-gold deposit. Shear controlled oxide copper mineralization and nearby gold in rock chips ranging from 0.2 to 15.8g/t could reflect leakage from a large deeper copper-gold deposit. This target will also be evaluated in Q1, 2020 using MT geophysics.

Paul Joyce, Rugby’s Chief Operating Officer, Director and a “qualified person” (“QP”) within the definition of that term in National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has verified the technical information that forms the basis for this news release.

About Rugby
Rugby is an exploration company conducting “discovery stage” exploration on highly prospective targets in Colombia, Argentina, the Philippines and Australia. Importantly, Rugby controls a large portfolio of projects and applications in Colombia that have considerable potential for significant gold-copper discoveries.

The Company benefits from the experience of its directors and management, a team that has either been directly responsible for world-class mineral discoveries or have been part of the management teams responsible for such discoveries. Prior companies under their management included Exeter Resource Corp. and Extorre Gold Mines Ltd., which held significant projects in South America. These companies were taken over by Goldcorp (Newmont) and Yamana respectively.

For additional information you are invited to visit the Rugby Mining Ltd. website at www.rugbymining.com.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT
Certain of the statements made and information contained herein is “forward-looking information” within the meaning of the British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario Securities Acts. This includes statements concerning the Company’s plans at its projects including the expected timing of the grant of exploration concessions, timing of exploration programs including geophysical surveys and drilling programs, prospectivity, high grade potential and potential for mineral discoveries, the style or occurrence of the mineralization and drilling costs which involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. In addition the Company holds certain of its projects under option agreements, which require expenditure and/ or drilling requirements in order to maintain its interest. Should the Company not be able to meet its obligations or renegotiate the agreements it will lose its rights under the option agreement. Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking information, including, without limitation, the effect on prices of major mineral commodities such as copper and gold by factors beyond the control of the Company; events which cannot be accurately predicted such as political and economic instability, terrorism, environmental factors and changes in government regulations and taxes; the shortage of personnel with the requisite knowledge and skills to design and execute exploration programs; difficulties in arranging contracts for drilling and other exploration services; the Company’s dependency on equity market financings to fund its exploration programs and maintain its mineral exploration properties in good standing; political risk that a government will change, interpret or enforce mineral tenure, environmental regulations, taxes or mineral royalties in a manner that could have an adverse effect on the Company’s assets or financial condition and impair its ability to advance its mineral exploration projects or raise further funds for exploration; risks associated with title to resource properties due to the difficulties of determining the validity of certain claims as well as the potential for problems arising from the interpretation of laws regarding ownership or exploration of mineral properties in the Philippines and Colombia and in the sometimes ambiguous conveyancing characteristic of many resource properties, currency risks associated with foreign operations, the timing of obtaining permits to conduct exploration activities, the ability to conclude agreements with local communities and other risks and uncertainties, including those described in each of the Company’s management discussion and analysis and those contained in its financial statements for the year ended February 28, 2019 filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators and available at www.sedar.com. In addition, forward-looking information is based on various assumptions including, without limitation, assumptions associated with exploration results and costs and the availability of materials and skilled labour. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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