Selkirk Copper drills 9.27% copper over 5.4 metres at Minto North
The 35-metre step-out was absent from the 2026 resource model, and Selkirk expects a Phase 2 resource update in early 2027.
Mara Quinlan
Selkirk Copper Mines Inc. CVESCMI OTCMKTSSKRKF reported on Tuesday that hole 26SCM209 cut 5.4 metres grading 9.27 per cent copper at Minto North in Yukon. The 35-metre step-out targeted the 202 Lens; Phase 2 results are slated for a resource update in the first quarter of 2027.
Selkirk shares CVESCMI were unchanged at C$1.36 at 4 p.m. EDT on Sept. 29 on the TSX Venture Exchange. Selkirk is seeking to restart the past-producing Minto copper-gold-silver mine, with first concentrate production targeted for the second half of 2028 in its September preliminary economic assessment.
The 5.4-metre interval also averaged 7.43 grams per tonne gold and 54.9 grams per tonne silver. Selkirk calculated a copper-equivalent grade of 15.11 per cent and placed the intercept's grade in the 99th percentile of more than 4,300 significant historical Minto intercepts.
The same hole returned a separate nine-metre interval averaging 0.97 per cent copper and 2.58 grams per tonne gold. At Minto North, six of seven reported holes targeting the 202 Lens intersected what Selkirk called significant mineralization.
Five of those holes were drilled for infill, while two targeted resource expansion. The preliminary economic assessment excludes Phase 2 results from its resource estimate and mine plan, so these assays do not change its published inventory.
"The results of this drill program demonstrate that considerable potential still exists at Minto for discovery and delineation of high-grade copper, gold, and silver mineralization," Selkirk director of geoscience and exploration Leif Bailey said in the Sept. 29 release.
As of Sept. 28, Phase 2 had drilled 52,485 metres in 224 holes. The program has passed its 50,000-metre target, and Selkirk expects drilling to run until mid-October.
Selkirk reduced the active drill rigs to two from four in late August. The company said it could drill beyond the initial target while staying on its original schedule and budget.
The remaining work focuses on geotechnical data, water-monitoring wells and recently identified geophysical targets. Selkirk said the results released Tuesday came from holes drilled in June, with laboratory turnaround of about eight weeks.
It expects further assays through the fall and winter of 2026. The company plans to use material collected in Phase 2 for a geometallurgical test program to assess expected copper, gold and silver recoveries.
At Area 118, Selkirk said hole 26SCM216 returned a three-metre interval. It averaged 2.54 per cent copper and 1.25 grams per tonne gold.
Selkirk said the zone lies within 100 metres of past underground workings. Results from Area 118 and Minto North will inform the company's feasibility-level mine planning and metal recovery tests.
Selkirk will host an investor update on Friday, Oct. 2, at 11 a.m. EDT to discuss the preliminary economic assessment.
