KEY POINTS
- Abitibi Metals boosts B26 resource by 62 percent.
- Inferred resources increase by 63 percent, promising growth.
- Company prioritizes underground mining with expansion potential.
Abitibi Metals announced a 62 percent increase in indicated resources at its B26 polymetallic deposit in Quebec.
The update follows a Phase 1 drill program that included over 13,500 meters across 44 drill holes.
The indicated resources now total 11.3 million tonnes (Mt) at grades of 1.23 percent copper, 1.27 percent zinc, 0.46 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, and 31.9 g/t silver, translating to a copper equivalent grade of 2.13 percent.
This has increased from previous estimations and can be seen as a positive outlook of growth for the company’s project..
Resource upgrades and expansion potential
In addition to the 62 percent boost in indicated resources, inferred resources increased by 63 percent, reaching 7.2 Mt.Â
The inferred resources are graded at 1.56 percent copper, 0.17 percent zinc, 0.87 g/t gold, and 7.4 g/t silver, or a copper equivalent grade of 2.21 percent.Â
Abitibi’s updated estimates reflect increases of 38 percent in contained copper, 15 percent in zinc, 29 percent in gold, and 22 percent in silver relative to the 2018 estimate.
According to Mining.com, the company holds 9.9 percent of the B26 project and is working to earn up to 80 percent ownership over the next seven years through an agreement with Soquem, a subsidiary of Investment Quebec.
Recently, Abitibi identified a new copper target west of B26, presenting further expansion potential.
Underground mining focus and long-term plans
Following an evaluation of open-pit and underground mining scenarios, Abitibi CEO Jonathon Deluce announced that the company favors an underground-only mining model.
Nevertheless he also pointed to the prospects of open-pit development as a result of lower-grade, near-surface mineralization.
Deluce stressed that the company is aimed at the property’s value creation on the B26 project and conducting further work for further development research.
The company is fully funded for its remaining 2024 Phase 2 work program, which includes a further 16,500 meters of drilling and an additional 20,000 meters in 2025.
These efforts will contribute to a preliminary economic assessment.
Abitibi Metals closed the day with a 2.5 percent increase in stock on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE), giving the company a market capitalization of C$44 million.
