Lundin family leads $27 million Fireweed financing
Fireweed Metals Corp., [FWZ-TSXV, FWEDF-OTCQB, 20F-FSE] has announced details of a $27.5 million non-brokered private placement financing that includes lead orders from the Lundin family and other key shareholders.
The announcement comes after Fireweed recently said it was drilling its flagship Macmillan Pass zinc-lead-silver project, which is located in the eastern edge of the Yukon, 350 kilometres northeast of Whitehorse. Macmillan Pass is thought to be one of the world’s leading undeveloped zinc projects.
Fireweed said the offering will consist of three parts, including 28.3 million shares, priced at $0.74 per share, 3.0 million flow-through common shares priced at 88 cents per share, and 3.3 million premium flow-through common shares priced at $1.20 per share via a charitable donation arrangement.
The Lundin’s participation in the offering makes them collectively Fireweed’s largest shareholder, Fireweed said in a press release that came after the close of trading on November 29, 2022, when Fireweed shares closed at 79 cents. The shares are currently trading in a 52-week range of 88 cents and 50 cents.
The Lundins are a well-known group of Swedish-Canadian mining financiers with interests in companies like Lundin Mining Corp. [LUN-TSX; LUMI-Sweden], NGEx Minerals Ltd. [NGEX-TSXV], and Lucara Diamond Corp. [LUC-TSX, LUCRF-OTC].
The $27.5 million being raised includes in excess of $5 million via additional orders from other key shareholders. Fireweed said the offering will provide it with capital to make 2023 the most significant program ever completed on the company’s projects.
Aside from Macmillan Pass, Fireweed has a binding letter of intent to acquire a 100% interest in the 37.6 square kilometre Mactung Tungsten project, which lies adjacent to MacMillan Pass. It also owns 100% of the Gayna River zinc-lead-gallium-germanium project, located 180 kilometres north of Macmillan Pass.
Back in late July, 2022, he company said it expects to complete over 7,000 metres of drilling using 4.0 drills, making it the largest drill program that Fireweed has ever carried out at Macmillan Pass. Fireweed was originally planning to complete 8,000 metres, but had to scale back its plans due to the late start, and will target four zones.
According to a NI 43-101 technical report, the Macmillan Pass project hosts an indicated resource in the Tom and Jason zones of 11.21 million tonnes of 9.61% zinc equivalent or 6.59% zinc, 2.48 g/t silver, including 1.63 billion pounds of zinc, 610 million pounds of lead and 7.69 million ounces of silver.
On top of that is an inferred resource of 39.47 million tonnes of 10% of zinc equivalent, including 5.845 zinc, 3.14% lead, 38.15 g/t silver or 5.08 billion pounds of zinc, 2.73 billion pounds of lead and 48.41 million ounces of silver.
A preliminary economic assessment announced in May, 2018, says that material can sustain a mining operation for 18 years, one where average yearly contained metal production would be 85,000 tonnes of zinc, 48,000 tonnes of lead and 2 million ounces of silver.