FireFly Metals extends Green Bay core with 16.4 metres at 9.2% CuEq
A resource update and feasibility study are due by March 2027, following drilling above and outside the current resource.
Mara Quinlan
FireFly Metals Ltd ASXFFM TSEFFM reported on Sunday that hole MUG26-173 returned 16.4 metres grading 9.2 per cent copper equivalent outside the August resource at Green Bay in Newfoundland and Labrador. The up-dip extension could add accessible mineralization to the planned mining area for the 1.8 million-tonne annual base case being assessed in a feasibility study.
Shares closed higher at C$1.31 on the Toronto Stock Exchange at 4:00 p.m. EST on Nov. 6, before the announcement, according to the TSEFFM quote.
The Nov. 8 release highlighted three lateral-extension holes completed after the August resource cutoff. FireFly said the intersections extend the high-grade core sideways and higher in the Ming mine, potentially adding copper tonnes per vertical metre.
Six underground rigs are combining extension drilling with infill work to upgrade inferred resources. The company says only measured and indicated material can enter the feasibility mine plan and economic analysis, with the study due by March 2027.
The headline interval contained 6.2 per cent copper and 2.9 grams per tonne gold. Another extension hole, MUG26-164, returned 6.9 metres at 10.0 per cent copper equivalent. Hole MUG26-176 returned 5.1 metres at 6.5 per cent copper equivalent.
Infill hole MUG26-167 returned 15.5 metres at 12.4 per cent copper equivalent. A separate infill intersection in MUG26-166 graded 14.2 per cent over 9.8 metres. FireFly described these and the extension intervals as approximate true thicknesses.
"The intersections effectively extend the known high-grade core sideways, meaning it can be easily accessed and creating potential for economic mining," managing director Steve Parsons said in the release.
The high-grade core remains open laterally and at depth. FireFly is continuing to test extensions alongside drilling intended to upgrade inferred material.
FireFly is a copper-gold explorer and developer focused on Green Bay. Its Aug. 25 resource contains 60.2 million tonnes of measured and indicated material grading 2.4 per cent copper equivalent. A further 23.5 million tonnes are inferred at 2.5 per cent; the new assays have yet to enter an updated estimate.
The company reported approximately A$349.7 million in unaudited cash and liquid investments at Sept. 30. Its fiscal 2027 regional exploration budget is C$16.7 million.
Read more: Mundoro Capital gets Centerra Gold backing for C$4.08M placement
The drilling announcement's equivalent-grade calculation assumes copper at US$11,000 a tonne and gold at US$3,600 an ounce. It also uses silver at US$35 an ounce and zinc at US$2,700 a tonne. Assumed recoveries are 95 per cent for copper, 85 per cent for precious metals and 50 per cent for zinc.
FireFly targets the updated resource and definitive feasibility study for completion by the end of March 2027.
