Abitibi Metals expands maiden drill program at B26 deposit, Québec

Abitibi Metals Corp. [CSE-AMQ; OTCQB; AMQFF; FSE-FW0] reported that due to continued positive visuals, the company has expanded its maiden drill program at the B26 Polymetallic Deposit in Québec to approximately 13,500 metres. On November 16, 2023, the company entered into an option agreement on the B26 Polymetallic Deposit to earn 80% over 7 years from SOQUEM Inc., a subsidiary of Investissement Québec.

The increase in the drill program follows the addition of a third rig and the company’s recent release of some of the highest-grade intercepts in the Project’s history, including 11.4% CuEq over 10.6 metres beginning at 135 metres depth in Drillhole 1274-24-294 and 6.3% CuEq over 10.6 metres beginning at 120 metres depth in Drillhole 1274-24-293.

The company anticipates completing the drill program by late April and resuming in late May following the conclusion of winter break-up.

Jonathon Deluce, CEO, commented, “We are excited to expand our maiden drill program to 13,500 metres at the B26 Polymetallic Deposit, where we continue to observe exceptional copper mineralization and the recent release of some of the highest-grade intercepts in the Project’s history. Given our ongoing success in the field and the recent closing of oversubscribed $7.1 million financing bringing our total treasury to approximately 19 million, expanding the program further was an easy decision as we work to aggressively develop the deposit. With assays from over 40 holes at B26 to be released in the coming weeks, and a simultaneous on-going drill program at the high-grade Beschefer Gold Project, the Spring will continue to be a very exciting time for Abitibi.”

Located within the prolific Abitibi Greenstone Belt, B26 comprises 66 claims covering 3,328 hectares in the Eeyou Istchee Baie-James territory and represents a substantial opportunity to develop a copper, zinc, gold, and silver Polymetallic Deposit in a region with a rich history of base and precious metal production, which includes the Detour and Casa Berardi Mines. There is year-round road access with a power line running through the Project.

Abitibi is the first public company with the option to earn into the B26 Deposit. With a strike length of 1 km and depth extent of 0.8 km, both of which are open to expansion, Abitibi will focus on delivering shareholder value with an aggressive exploration approach which includes a fully financed approximate 50,000 metres of drilling in 2024 and 2025 that will focus on advancing the historical 2018 resource 1 while testing its open-pit potential.

Property highlights include: Historical 2018 resource prepared by SGS Canada Inc. for SOQUEM Inc. that includes 254 holes over 115,311 metres, advancing the asset to a significant resource that includes, across all categories, 400 million pounds of copper, 286,000 ounces of gold, and significant zinc, silver exposure.

B26 Historical Resource Summary 1 (2018) – Indicated: 6.97 Mt at 2.94% CuEq (1.32% Cu, 1.80% Zn, 0.60 g/t Au and 43 g/t Ag); Inferred: 4.41 Mt at 2.97% CuEq (2.03% Cu, 0.22% Zn, 1.07 g/t Au and 9 g/t Ag).

Historical drilling by SOQUEM has established the continuity down to a vertical depth of 800 metres and the deposit remains open at depth and laterally with strong historical intercepts including 2.32% CuEq over 89.5 metres (1274-13-117); 3.05% CuEq over 48.1 metres (1274-16-224) and 8.95% CuEq over 11.5 metres (1274-14-152).

Drilling by Abitibi has identified the following notable intercepts: 2.6% CuEq over 37.0 metres, including 6.3% CuEq over 10.6 metres (1274-24-293) and 2.5% CuEq over 61.3 metres, including 11.4% CuEq over 10.6 metres (1274-24-294).

Within 7 km of the historical Selbaie Mine, a similar Polymetallic Copper Deposit with a variety of mineralization styles and element combination, that had a historical resource of 56.9 Mt of 0.87% Cu, 1.85% Zn, 0.55 g/t Au, 39 g/t Ag.

The company has entered into a service agreement for LFG Equities Corp. to provide marketing consulting services to the company to communicate to the financial community information about the company by way of newsletters. The marketing campaign is planned for approximately 30 days with a total campaign budget of up to CAD$100,000. The majority of the campaign budget will be disbursed by LFG in order to satisfy its obligations under the agreement. The company and LFG act at arm’s length, and LFG has no present interest, directly or indirectly, in the company or its securities.

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 estimate 1 of 7.0MT of 2.94% CuEq (Ind) & 4.4MT of 2.97% Cu Eq (Inf), and the Beschefer Gold Project, where historical drilling has identified 4 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.