FireFly Metals ups Newfoundland copper-gold resource by 42%
Shares surged on the ASX following the announcement
Rowan Dunne· Oct 31, 2024
Australia’s mining company FireFly Metals Ltd ASXFFM has boosted its Newfoundland copper-gold project’s resource immensely.
The advanced-stage explorer announced Tuesday that its flagship Green Bay project now has 42 per cent more of the two metals at 1.2 million tonnes of copper equivalent (CuEq). The new estimate follows an extensive 2023-2024 drill program.
“The amazing thing about it is that we only bought the project 12 months ago,” Managing Director, Steve Parsons, said in an interview with Proactive Investors this week. “We’re now moving up to a very large, globally significant copper-gold operation.”
Green Bay is comprised of three assets: the Ming underground mine, the “Little Deer” exploration project 40 kilometres to the south and the Nugget Pond processing plant. It is situated in the province’s Baie Verte mining district.
The Ming mine has been shut down since early 2023 after its former owner, Rambler Metals & Mining, entered bankruptcy proceedings. It produced about 7,000 tonnes of copper annually before its developer’s financial troubles. FireFly acquired the operation last fall when it operated under the name AuTECO Minerals.
Canaccord Genuity Group Inc TSECF upped its share target from C$1.28 to C$1.79 after the new estimate was unveiled. Perth’s investment firm Argonaut now has the same target price for the stock. Canaccord’s analyst Tim McCormack has predicted that Little Deer could churn out 46,000 tonnes of copper per annum alone.
The Canadian financial firm says the operation is valued at approximately C$789.2 million. Production is expected to commence in the third quarter of 2028. It is estimated to hold 550,000 gold ounces and will produce about 22,000 ounces of the yellow metal per year.
Green Bay gets serious scale 🔥 latest Canaccord research on @FireFly_Metals following the company announcing a Resource increase of 42% to 1.2Mt of contained metal at 2% Copper Eq at its Green Bay Copper-Gold Project in Canada 🇨🇦 Analysts Tim McCormack and Tyson Kestel have Show more
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BlackRock ups its stake in FireFly
Larry Fink’s asset management behemoth increased its stake in the Canada-focused miner from 5.1 per cent to 6.3 per cent in May.
New York-based BlackRock Inc NYSEBLK currently manages the BlackRock World Mining Trust Plc LONBRWM. This British fund is comprised of major operators like Glencore PLC OTCMKTSGLCNF, Newmont Corporation TSENGT and BHP Group Ltd NYSEBHP.
In addition to FireFly, Newfoundland mining companies like Calibre Mining Corp TSECXB OTCMKTSCXBMF and New Found Gold Corp CVENFG have been attracting attention from investors.
Calibre Mining is a sponsor of Mugglehead news coverage
rowan@mugglehead.com
