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The first 12 holes Intrepid Metals (TSXV: INTR) drilled since February on its Corral copper project in Arizona have returned grades as high as 6.8% in triple-digit-metre cores, the company reported Wednesday. The shares jumped 11%.
As part of a 5,000-metre program focusing on a 3 km trend including the Holliday, Earp and Ringo zones, Intrepid reports hole CC24-011 returned 193.15 metres of 0.68% copper and 0.33 grams gold per tonne for 0.83% copper-equivalent from 27 metres depth. The hole included 105.2 metres grading 1.17% copper and 0.55 grams gold for 1.42 % copper-equivalent, and another of 3.9 metres of 6.8% copper and 1.02 grams gold per tonne for 6.54% copper-equivalent.
“The results returned long runs of robust carbonate replacement-style mineralization punctuated by highly attractive high-grade intervals of copper-gold-silver-zinc, which confirms our confidence in the economic potential of the property,” CEO Ken Brophy said in a news release.
The Vancouver-based explorer’s shares traded closed on Wednesday at C$0.82 apiece, valuing the company at C$37.2 million. They’ve traded in a 52-week range of C$0.22 to C$0.94.
Intrepid’s latest results occur in a district that’s seen a resurgence in exploration activity, with Aztec Minerals (TSXV: AZT) and its 25% joint venture partner, Dragoon Resources, recently identifying new targets and resuming drilling for gold-silver, particularly near the historical Contention pit of their Tombstone project outside of town.
Corral is less than 7 km south of Tombstone, once a bustling mining town in the late 1800s. It was also the site of the infamous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral involving Wyatt Earp, a key figure in American frontier law enforcement.
Among the other highlight drill results Intrepid reported Wednesday was hole CC24-001, which cut 124 metres of 0.52% copper and 0.35 grams gold for 0.73% copper equivalent from 134 metres depth, and hole CC24-012 returned 159.65 metres at 0.57% copper and 0.22 grams gold for 0.64% copper equivalent from 188 metres depth.
That hole’s gold content intrigues Intrepid’s consulting geologist, Chris Osterman, who says the quantity and tenor of gold in the intersections sets Corral Copper apart from typical Arizona copper deposits.
“The economic geology of the Ringo zone is significant because drilling has yielded tens of metres of massive and semi-massive magnetite and hematite below the copper zones that open new possibilities on the origin of the deposit, as well as providing opportunities to guide future geophysical work and drill targeting,” he said in the release.
While the initial results will help guide future drill plans, Brophy says ongoing drilling will seek to expand the three zones along strike and towards depth to find the underlying porphyry copper source for this deposit.
The Corral copper property features precious and base metal mineralization in sedimentary rocks like Bolsa quartzite and Abrigo limestone, notably affected by Jurassic intrusions such as the Star Hill and Copper Bell porphyries, the company said.
The company has since February completed 18 drill holes for 3,300 metres of the planned 5,000 metres at Corral. A total of 23 holes are planned within the three main zones.
The company has other early-stage copper assets in the state, including the Tombstone South project, which Intrepid says is geologically similar to the Taylor deposit, which South32 (LON: S32; ASX: S32) in 2028 bought for $1.3 billion, and the Mesa Well project in the Laramide porphyry belt – both in Cochise county.
