Up to 4.9% Copper Equivalent Demonstrated
Abitibi Metals (CSE:AMQ / FSE:FW0) demonstrates with another high-grade drill result from depths of around 350 meters below the surface directly beneath the planned open-pit mine that the polymetallic B26 deposit in Quebec’s Abitibi mining camp has significant growth potential. This extends well beyond the recently published resource estimate of 18.5 million tonnes at 2.17% copper equivalent.
Drill hole 1274-24-346 yielded 4.9% CuEq over 5.1 meters within 2.1% CuEq over 13.6 meters, starting from 367 meters depth. Jonathon Deluce, CEO of Abitibi Metals, commented: “These results reinforce our thesis that we can expand the underground resource beyond the current ~850 million pounds of contained copper equivalent. Our goal is to define a deposit in the range of 30 to 50 million tonnes.”
The new intersection from drill hole 1274-24-346 is part of a 5,257-meter section with seven drill holes from the Phase II program, designed to explore the polymetallic lenses along strike that form the southeastern edge of the B26 system. Results from six drill holes targeting the 652750E to 653150E section over a strike length of 500 meters and covering vertical depths from 200 meters to 800 meters are still pending. The ongoing drilling aims to expand the known lenses and further define the higher-grade mineralization. All drilling is part of a 16,500-meter Phase II drilling program currently underway on the project.
Drill hole 1274-24-346 was intended to close a 100-meter gap in the drill grid and intersect the true width of drill hole 1274-17-252. The company also plans an electromagnetic borehole program (EM) to explore depth extensions and potentially larger mineralized sources near the B26 deposit.
Figure 1: Phase II B26 Deposit with Location of Significant Assay Results in 1274-24-346
Conclusion: Abitibi Metals is fully funded with $11.5 million USD to complete the remaining work program for 2024 and drill an additional 20,000 meters in 2025 to complete the purchase option agreed with the semi-state company SOQUEM. SOQUEM is a subsidiary of Investissement Québec. According to the option agreement dated November 16, 2023, Abitibi has the right to acquire 80% of the project for $7.5 million CAD in exploration and development expenditures within 7 years. In fact, the earn-in will be completed by the end of next year. The latest resource contains approximately 550 million pounds of copper, 370,000 ounces of gold, and significant zinc and silver components. All results will culminate in a preliminary economic assessment of the deposit planned for the coming year.
