FireFly Metals has identified significant copper, gold, silver and zinc results at its Green Bay project in Newfoundland, Canada, after expanding the analysis of historic drill results.
Re-assessment of holes previously tested solely for copper identified significant new potential in its studies of 18 historic diamond drill holes completed in 2022 by the previous operator of the Ming mine.
Formerly known as Auteco Minerals, the re-branded and rejuvenated company only acquired Green Bay in October this year.
The project has a resource of 39.2 million tonnes at 2.1% for 811,000t of copper equivalent.
Mineralisation remains open
Managing director Steve Parsons said the Green Bay mineralisation remains open and FireFly’s immediate aims are in planning for an extensive drilling program designed to grow the inventory rapidly.
“These latest assays confirm there is extensive high-grade mineralisation well outside the existing resource,” he said.
“We are well into a major 40,000m underground drilling program designed to continue extending this known mineralisation. The underground exploration drive now being constructed will enable us to do this even faster, more accurately and more efficiently.
“This strategy is aimed at achieving rapid growth in the resource, which will in turn confirm Green Bay is a major high-grade copper-gold project with extensive existing infrastructure in a tier-one location.”
Building on previous work
The program of drill holes undertaken by the previous owners was designed to test down-plunge continuity of the high-grade upper volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS)-style and stringer mineralisation in the footwall immediately adjacent to the VMS contact.
The successful program not only proved continuity of the VMS zone but demonstrated the significant concentration of precious and base metals in the system in addition to the high-grade copper.
Notable results include drill hole RM22-795-10, which returned an intersection of 16.8m at 11.2% copper equivalent, consisting of 6.7% copper, 3.5g/t gold, 24.8g/t silver and 4.9% zinc.
Proven management team
FireFly is being led by a management team with a proven track record, including recent success in taking Bellevue Gold from discovery to production in only four-and-a-half years.
The company resumed underground diamond drilling at the Green Bay project in late October 2023 and it expects to receive the first assay results in coming weeks.
Meanwhile, it has commenced mining of a 750m exploration drill drive, with the platform to be positioned to test both the VMS and footwall zone mineralisation extensions at optimal drill angles.
FireFly is planning to bring in two further drill rigs in the near future.
Diverse portfolio
The company also holds a 70% interest in the high-grade Pickle Crow gold project in Ontario, Canada.
That project has a current inferred resource of 11.9Mt at 7.2g/t for 2.8 million ounces of gold.
Located in a 500 sq km tenement in an area of proven gold prospectivity, that project is considered to have exceptional discovery potential.
As well, FireFly holds a 90% interest in the Limestone Well vanadium-titanium project in Western Australia.
