Ivanhoe’s Kipushi zinc mine in DRC officially reopens
The restart marked exactly a century since the mine first went into production.
First results of Fireweed Metals‘ (TSXV: FWZ) drilling season this year at its Macpass project has extended mineralization of the Boundary zone 45 metres west beyond the existing resource pit shell of Boundary, the target with the most contained zinc at Macpass, in eastern Yukon.
A highlight result, in hole NB24-001, cut 92.1 metres grading 8.61% zinc, 2.6% lead and 42.7 grams silver per tonne, from 428.05 metres depth, and included 11.2 metres grading 21.40% zinc, 6.66% lead and 107.6 grams silver.
“We are looking forward to the additional results from Boundary zone, Tom and Jason, as well as the outcomes from the large regional exploration program that we embarked upon this year along the Macpass prospective corridor,” Peter Hemstead, Fireweed Metals interim president CEO said in a release on Thursday.
The drill results come almost one month after Fireweed released a resource update for the zinc-lead-silver project which boosted its indicated tonnage and contained zinc more than four times over a previous estimate.
The company says the style of mineralization associated with this high-grade result, drilled into the western side of Boundary indicates potential for a feeder system within this part of the deposit.
Another hole, NB24-008, cut 3.1 metres of 2.23% zinc, 6.16% lead and 80.3 grams silver, alongside additional mineralized zones.
The mineralization intersected in that hole was a step out 160 metres west of previous drilling, and the stratiform massive sulphide cut in NB24-001 was a 65-m intercept west of previous drilling, both part of Fireweed’s 16,000-metre drill program aimed at extending known mineralization.
Macpass hosts 56 million indicated tonnes grading 5.49% zinc, 1.58% lead and 24.2 grams silver per tonne, for 6.7 billion lb. zinc, 1.9 billion lb. lead and 43.5 million oz. silver, according to the resource updated released on Sept. 5. That contrasts with the 11.2 million indicated tonnes and 1.6 billion lb. of contained zinc in the 2018 preliminary economic assessment (PEA).
That study comprised only the Tom and Jason deposits at Macpass, while the update includes those deposits as well as initial estimates for the Boundary and End zones, all located in eastern Yukon near the Northwest Territories border.
Boundary holds the most contained zinc of the targets with 3.6 million lb., one of the most globally significant zinc discoveries in the last 15 years. The addition of Boundary’s initial resource to the update marks Macpass as potentially the largest undeveloped zinc resource in the world, the company said.
Macpass is located about 200 km from Ross River and within the traditional territories of the Kaska Dena Nation and the First Nation of Na-cho Nyäk Dun.
Fireweed shares gained 2.2% on Monday to C$1.35 apiece, valuing the company at C$238 million. Its shares traded in a 52-week range of C$0.92 and C$1.40.
