Abitibi Metals drills 2.68% CuEq over 25.5 metres at B26, Quebec
Abitibi Metals Corp. [CSE-AMQ; OTCQB-AMQFF; FSE-FW0] reported results from the 13,500-metre maiden drill program at the B26 polymetallic deposit, Quebec, completed under the first phase of a fully financed 30,000-metre 2024 field season.
Abitibi Metals is fully financed, with $18 million to complete the remaining 16,500 metres planned for the 2024 work program, as well as an additional 20,000 metres in 2025, which will be incorporated into a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) to complete the option. On November 16, 2023, the company entered into an option agreement on the B26 deposit to earn 80% over seven years from Soquem Inc.
Jonathon Deluce, CEO of Abitibi Metals, commented: “We are excited to announce results from the eastern sector of the B26 deposit, intercepting 2.68% CuEq [copper equivalent] over 25.5 metres in No. 313. We have successfully better defined the mineralized zone at the eastern limit of the B26 deposit. These are the starting results from the eastern drilling, where extensional holes are still outstanding from No. 315, 320 to 323, where we have seen positive visuals. With the copper price continuing to break out, projects like B26, located in the world-class jurisdiction of Quebec, stand out globally for their potential to deliver critical metals at a time when there is a clear rising need for copper.”
Deluce continued: “We are in an excellent position for the coming months, with $18 million in our treasury. This funding will support the 16,500 metres of drilling planned at B26, as well as an additional 20,000 metres in 2025. We expect to continue to have plenty of news in the coming weeks, including results from the remaining 19 holes.”
B26 eastern extension: The B26 Main deposit has a continuous strike length of 1 km and mineralization has been drilled to 850 metres in vertical depth, with limited drill coverage below 500 metres.
Holes 1274-24-312 to 1274-24-313 were drilled as part of a series of holes planned to fill 50 m to 100 m gaps in the section to better define the deposit at its eastern margin. Other objectives covered by newly drilled holes were to open ground up-dip from known mineralization to cover from bedrock surface to a depth of 100 metres. Also, the use of longer holes in this area of the deposit, when compared with historical drilling, has tested the mineralized corridor footwall.
The best intercept in drill hole 1274-24-313 was 2.68% CuEq over 25.5 metres, beginning at 189 metres. It was drilled at close range to 1274-13-87 to expand the known mineralization downhole. Hole 1274-24-312 intercepted 1.31% CuEq over 23.55 metres and was drilled up-dip to test the bedrock interface extension about 15 metres above historical hole 1274-13-89.
B26 West: Holes 1274-24-331 and 1274-24-332 were drilled on the western limit of the B26 deposit to test the lateral continuity of the main lens near surface. A spacing of 25 metres was used to infill the actual grid. Three pluri-metric mineralized intercepts were obtained from hole 1274-24-332 at different positions in the hole, from 117 metres to 262 metres downhole. The company’s program-wide interpretation will investigate the relation of all components of the system.
Abitibi Metals is a Quebec-focused mineral acquisition and exploration company focused on the development of quality base and precious metal properties that are drill ready with high upside and expansion potential. Abitibi’s portfolio of strategic properties provides target-rich diversification and includes the option to earn 80% of the high-grade B26 polymetallic deposit, which hosts a historical resource estimate1 of seven million tonnes at 2.94% CuEq (indicated) and 4.4 Mt at 2.97% CuEq (inferred), and the Beschefer gold project, where historical drilling has identified four historical intercepts with a metal factor of over 100 g/t gold highlighted by 55.63 g/t gold over 5.57 metres and 13.07 g/t gold over 8.75 metres amongst four modelled zones.