Selkirk Copper drills 44.7m at 2.12% copper ahead of Minto resource update
The Yukon infill interval also contains gold and silver, while Phase 2 drilling is due to finish Oct. 20.
Mara Quinlan
Selkirk Copper Mines Inc. CVESCMI OTCMKTSSKRKF FRAIO20 reported on Thursday that Minto North drilling returned 2.12 per cent copper over 44.7 metres. The infill interval also averaged 1.16 grams per tonne gold and 10.7 grams per tonne silver, supporting work toward an updated Minto resource estimate in the first quarter of 2027.
Shares CVESCMI fell C$0.06 to C$1.13 at the 4:00 p.m. EDT close on the TSX Venture Exchange on Wednesday, before Thursday's release.
Selkirk had completed 54,711 metres in 223 holes as of Wednesday, exceeding its original 50,000-metre Phase 2 target. The program began in May and targets resource expansion, infill and geotechnical data collection, while cost and logistical efficiencies allowed extra metres on schedule and budget, Selkirk says.
Phase 2 results were excluded from the current resource estimate and September's preliminary economic assessment of restarting the Yukon copper-gold-silver mine. Selkirk is evaluating a restart using existing open-pit and underground workings, along with its processing infrastructure.
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Hole 26SCM237 combines two higher-grade runs with moderate-grade shoulders and an internal waste interval that Selkirk says was unusual among previous holes in this lens. Selkirk plans to investigate bulk extraction and more selective mining of higher-grade material during feasibility work.
Three infill holes tested a north-northwest structural trend in the Minto North lens, and all intersected mineralization. Selkirk says the lens remains open northwest and southeast, with further drill results pending.
At Area 118, expansion drilling returned 2.14 per cent copper over 8.7 metres in a 50-metre step-out. Selkirk says the mineralized trend remains open to the north.
Hole 26SCM242 at Copper Keel returned 2.02 per cent copper over 12.4 metres. The interval also averaged 0.65 grams per tonne gold and 4.8 grams per tonne silver, according to Thursday's release.
"The drills, guided by our exploration team, continue to deliver high-grade copper-gold-silver intercepts across several mineralized zones on the mine site property," president and chief executive M. Colin Joudrie said in the release.
The batch covers holes drilled in July, and assay turnaround is about eight weeks, with results expected through fall and winter. Across Phase 2, assays had been reported for 67 of the 223 completed holes as of Wednesday.
Selkirk's Sept. 22 assessment outlined feasibility work and permit amendment applications in late 2026, ahead of a potential restart decision in the second half of 2027. Its proposed restart schedule targets first concentrate production in the second half of 2028.
Selkirk expects drilling to finish Oct. 20, with logging, core cutting and sample shipping completed by early November.
