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FireFly Metals Reports Extremely high-grade copper-gold Core Zone to drive early production

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FireFly Metals Reports Extremely high-grade copper-gold Core Zone to drive early production

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exceptional intersections in the Core Zone will be included in the imminent resource update and PEA/Scoping Study; FireFly joins the S&P/ASX 200 Index

 

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Exceptional drilling results from the high-grade core zone (Core Zone) included 42.0m @ 6.1% Copper Equivalent1 (including a Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide zone of 9.8m @ 16.5% CuEq) and 51.5m @ 4.9% CuEq (including 17.0m @ 9.1% CuEq) (see ASX announcement dated 2 July 2026)
  • These results highlight the Core Zone’s potential to underpin early, high-margin production (see ASX announcement dated 2 July 2026)
  • Given the strength of these results, FireFly will incorporate them into an updated Mineral Resource Estimate, which will then feed into the economic studies
    • The current Green Bay Mineral Resource Estimate stands at 50.4Mt @ 2.0% CuEq in the Measured & Indicated categories plus 29.3Mt @ 2.5% CuEq in Inferred
  • The Preliminary Economic Assessment /Scoping Study, which is on track for completion in August 2026,2 will assess development scenarios for an upscaled restart of copper-gold production at Green Bay
  • The latest results, generated primarily from infill drilling, are expected to be reflected in the M&I Mineral Resource categories, which is central to the economic studies
  • Upper VMS zones also continue to deliver high-grade copper-gold intersections, including 20.7m @ 7.7% CuEq and 13.6m @ 6.8% CuEq (see ASX announcement dated 2 July 2026)
  • Six underground rigs operated throughout the quarter (four conducting infill drilling, and two conducting step-out drilling), with underground diamond drilling at Green Bay totalling 197,714m from acquisition until 30 June 2026
  • Regional exploration continues, with two surface rigs testing geophysical targets near the Ming Mine and a third rig conducting maiden drilling at the Tilt Cove project
  • FireFly completed the sale of its Ontario Gold Assets to Bellavista Resources (ASX: BVR), simplifying the portfolio to focus on Green Bay (see ASX announcements dated 29 April 2026 and 11 May 2026)
  • FireFly was promoted to the S&P/ASX 200 Index, effective 22 June 2026, reflecting the Company’s growing market capitalisation and institutional profile
  • FireFly remains well-funded, with ~A$196.4 million (unaudited) in cash and liquid investments as at 30 June 2026

 

FireFly Managing Director Steve Parsons said: “The outstanding results we are seeing from the high-grade Core Zone continue to exceed our expectations, both in scale and in grade, reinforcing our view that this zone can underpin early production at Green Bay.

“Given the strength of these results, we have decided to incorporate them into an updated Mineral Resource Estimate ahead of our economic studies. This means the PEA/Scoping Study will now be completed in August this year.

“This was also a quarter of portfolio simplification. Completing the sale of our Ontario Gold Assets to Bellavista allows FireFly to focus on Green Bay.

“Promotion to the S&P/ASX 200 reflects the growing recognition of the Company among institutional investors.

“Eight rigs continue to run at Green Bay, and we head into the second half of the year well-funded and with real momentum behind both the drill bit and the economic studies”.

 

 

FireFly Metals Ltd (ASX:FFM) (TSX: FFM) is pleased to report on its outstanding drilling results and other key achievements during the quarter ended 30 June 2026.

 

During the period, the Company continued its multi-rig underground drilling campaign at the Green Bay Copper-Gold Project in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, delivering further outstanding results that reinforce the scale and continuity of the high-grade Core Zone. The Company also completed the sale of its 70% interest in the Pickle Crow Gold Project and 100% of the Sioux Lookout Project (Ontario Gold Assets), was promoted to the S&P/ASX 200 Index and continued to advance economic studies for an upscaled restart of production at Green Bay, now expected to be completed in August 2026.

 

GREEN BAY COPPER GOLD PROJECT

 

DRILLING RESULTS AND EXPLORATION PROGRESS

 

FireFly’s underground drilling program at the Ming Mine, the flagship deposit within the Green Bay Copper-Gold Project, continued at pace through the quarter. Six rigs remained active throughout the period, with four dedicated to infill resource conversion drilling and two to step-out extension drilling, taking cumulative underground diamond drilling since the Project’s acquisition in October 2023 to 197,714m as at 30 June 2026.

 

A further tranche of assay results, announced post quarter-end on 2 July 2026, built on this momentum, extending the high-grade Core Zone and reinforcing that mineralisation remains strong and continuous where the copper and gold-rich Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide system meets the broad Footwall Zone stringer mineralisation, as well as in the surrounding VMS lenses. Headline intercepts include:3

  • 42.0m @ 6.1% CuEq (4.7% Cu & 1.4g/t Au) including a high-grade VMS zone of 9.8m @ 16.5% CuEq (12.7% Cu & 4.0g/t Au) (~ true thickness) in hole MUG26-053
  • 51.5m @ 4.9% CuEq (4.0% Cu & 0.9g/t Au) including an upper zone grading 17.0m @ 9.1% CuEq (7.5% Cu & 1.7g/t Au) (~ true thickness) in hole MUG26-054
  • 70.8m @ 4.0% CuEq (3.4% Cu & 0.6g/t Au), including an internal high-grade stringer zone of 19.2m @ 7.5% CuEq in hole MUG25-096, demonstrating continuity of the Core Zone where the VMS transitions into the thick, high-grade FWZ
  • 53.3m @ 4.1% CuEq (3.4% Cu & 0.8g/t Au), including an upper zone of 18.2m @ 5.8% CuEq in hole MUG25-209, confirming the convergent Core Zone
  • 50.2m @ 4.0% CuEq (3.5% Cu & 0.4g/t Au) in hole MUG26-036
  • Upper VMS zones also delivered exceptional thick intersections, including 20.7m @ 7.7% CuEq (5.9% Cu & 1.9g/t Au) in hole MUG26-013, 13.6m @ 6.8% CuEq (5.7% Cu & 1.1g/t Au) in hole MUG26-029, 11.9m @ 8.1% CuEq (6.0% Cu & 2.3g/t Au) in hole MUG25-219, 25.7m @ 7.8% CuEq (4.4% Cu & 3.5g/t Au) in hole MUG25-187, and 16.3m @ 7.7% CuEq (4.3% Cu & 3.5g/t Au) in hole MUG25-206

 

Figure 1: Long section through the Green Bay Ming underground mine highlighting the location of select drill results from the ASX announcement dated 2 July 2026. Results from both the high-grade copper-gold VMS zone and broad copper Footwall Zone are shown. The large scale DHEM conductor (green) beyond the edge of the current Mineral Resource highlights strong potential for the Mineral Resource to continue. Drill assays >0.5% copper are shown in red. All intersections are downhole thickness. Refer to Appendix B in the ASX announcement dated 2 July 2026 for all drill results and locations.

 

The 805L drill drive, from which all drilling reported on 8 April 2026 and 2 July 2026 was sourced, remains the primary platform for this phase of exploration. Beyond its current exploration role, this development is expected to become an important part of the mine infrastructure supporting any future upscaled operation. Figure 2 sets out the location of the drill platforms and holes covered by the 2 July 2026 announcement. Further development from the drive has since positioned rigs to test for high-grade extensions of the 1806 and 1807 VMS lodes.

 

Figure 2: Isometric view of the Ming Mine 805L Exploration Drive showing the location of drill platforms and drilling reported in the ASX announcement dated 2 July 2026. Assay results greater than 0.5% Cu are shown in red.

 

The drilling achieved the following objectives during the quarter:

 

  • Infill drilling from Crosscuts 3 and 4 of the 805L Exploration Drive focused on upgrading Inferred Mineral Resources to M&I categories ahead of the upcoming Mineral Resource Estimate update and economic studies
  • Drilling completed from the 880L 1807 Remuck was designed to test down-plunge extents of the western margin of the VMS lodes
  • Drilling completed from the 880 Remuck bays 1 and 2 focused on infill drilling of the eastern high-grade VMS zones, with select holes continued deeper into the footwall stringer mineralisation
  • Work completed from the 900L crosscuts 7 and 8 focused on infilling and extending the western margins of the Ming North VMS lode, successfully demonstrating both down-plunge and lateral continuity, highlighted by intersections including 20.7m @ 7.7% CuEq, 9.3m @ 7.0% CuEq and 17.8m @ 6.7% CuEq4
  • Drilling completed from the 900L crosscuts 5 and 6, the northernmost drill positions in the 805L exploration drive, focused on the conversion of Inferred Mineral Resources to the higher-confidence M&I categories for inclusion in the upcoming economic studies

 

The high-grade Core Zone, which has a current Mineral Resource of 8.8Mt @ 3.9% CuEq M&I and 10.9Mt @ 3.8% CuEq Inferred,5 remains open down-plunge (the deepest hole to date returned 49.0m @ 6.1% CuEq)6 and continues to be viewed as a key early-production feed source in the upscaled restart scenarios being evaluated in the economic studies.

 

REGIONAL EXPLORATION

 

FireFly’s surface exploration team continued to build its pipeline of targets across the 346km² Green Bay land package, drawing on geophysical interpretation, prospecting and a review of historic datasets. Two surface rigs tested geophysical anomalies south of the Ming Mine for the duration of the period.

 

Maiden drilling at the Tilt Cove project, located within the Green Bay tenure, commenced during the quarter with the mobilisation of a surface rig to the project.7

 

PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND STUDIES

 

Following the exceptional high grade Core Zone results received during and after the quarter, FireFly has elected to incorporate an updated Mineral Resource Estimate into the PEA/Scoping Study for a potential upscaled restart at Green Bay, with completion now expected in August 2026 (previously mid-2026). The study is being prepared to satisfy the requirements of a Scoping Study under the 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (JORC Code 2012) and a Preliminary Economic Assessment under Canadian National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and will assess development scenarios including haulage method, annual production rate, and life-of-mine metal output.

 

Supporting technical work for the PEA/Scoping Study, including mine design, scheduling, process plant configuration, geotechnical and tailings studies, and metallurgical testwork, continued to progress during the quarter.

 

The Company also progressed regulatory approvals and permitting. On 29 April 2026, FireFly satisfied the conditions of release from the provincial Environmental Assessment process required to commence early works activities. FireFly is continuing to advance the remaining conditions required to commence construction. Construction permit applications are underway and seasonal early works have commenced.

 

Ongoing engagement continues with potential offtake partners and export credit agencies.

 

2026 FORWARD WORK PLANS

 

Near-term priorities are aligned with advancing the Green Bay Project towards the resumption of upscaled copper and gold production:

  • Upgrading the Mineral Resource: Infill drilling to convert Inferred material to the M&I confidence required for early-stage economic studies is central to unlocking near-term value at Green Bay
  • Mineral Resource Growth from Ming: Extension drilling is testing down-plunge continuations of the high-grade VMS channels parallel to the Ming North lode, where the 1806 VMS is confirmed to continue at depth, offering further upside to the Mineral Resource base
  • PEA/Scoping Study: Targeted for August 2026, the study will consider development scenarios for an upscaled production restart at Green Bay
  • Advancement of permitting, engineering and early works to support future development scenarios
  • Regional exploration: Testing the camp-scale potential beyond Ming Mine, with surface drilling ongoing south of the Ming Mine and maiden drilling now underway at the Tilt Cove project, providing organic growth optionality alongside the core Mineral Resource base

 

Figure 3: Timeline of key activities at the Green Bay Copper-Gold Project.

  1. Timeframes are indicative and may be subject to change.

 

SALE OF ONTARIO GOLD ASSETS

 

On 29 April 2026, FireFly announced the completion of the sale of the Ontario Gold Assets, which occurred under the share sale and purchase deed with Bellavista Resources Ltd (ASX: BVR) entered into and announced on 2 February 2026.

 

The transaction pursuant to the Sale Agreement involved FireFly:

  • selling its interests in the tenements comprising the Pickle Crow Project and Sioux Lookout Project by way of the sale of all of the issued share capital in Auteco Minerals (Canada) Pty Ltd to Bellavista; and
  • assigning its rights and interests in certain intercompany loans receivable due by Auteco Minerals to Bellavista,

 

for total upfront consideration of 60 million Bellavista shares and contingent consideration of 50 million Bellavista performance rights, the terms of which are detailed further in FireFly’s announcement of 2 February 2026.

 

Following completion, the pro-rata in-specie distribution of Bellavista shares to eligible FireFly shareholders occurred on 11 May 2026, with a record date of 4 May 2026.

 

LIMESTONE WELL VANADIUM-TITANIUM PROJECT

 

No field activities were undertaken at the Limestone Well Vanadium-Titanium Project in Western Australia during the quarter. FireFly holds a 90% interest in the project.

 

FINANCIAL OVERVIEW

 

CASH FLOW

 

At 30 June 2026, FireFly had a cash balance of A$184.3 million (unaudited).

 

During the quarter, the Company incurred net cash outflows from operating activities of A$1.3 million, investing activities of A$20.4 million and financing activities of A$0.2 million. Key movements by activity classification are provided below.

 

Operating Activities

 

The net cash outflow from operating activities for the quarter of A$1.3 million comprised:

  • A$0.6 million payments for care and maintenance and site costs associated with the Green Bay Copper-Gold Project;
  • A$2.8 million payments for staff, administration and corporate costs in both Australia and Canada,

 

offset by:

    • A$2.3 million receipts of interest income;
    • A$0.1 million receipts of grant income; and
    • A$0.2 million receipts of rental and other income;
  • A$0.3 million payments for Ontario Gold Assets strategic review and divestment transaction costs; and
  • A$0.2 million net payments of GST/HST.

 

Investing Activities

 

The net cash outflow from investing activities for the quarter of A$20.4 million comprised:

  • A$18.7 million for payments associated with underground development, exploration drilling, and project and engineering studies expenditure at the Green Bay Copper-Gold Project; and
  • A$1.7 million relating to the acquisition of plant, equipment and support infrastructure.

 

Financing Activities

 

Net cash outflows from financing activities for the quarter of A$0.2 million comprised payments associated with the lease of equipment for the Green Bay Copper-Gold Project and Corporate office space.

 

PAYMENTS TO RELATED PARTIES

 

During the quarter, the Company made payments to related parties of A$459,000 comprising executive directors’ salaries and superannuation, non-executive directors’ fees, and payments to Exia IT Pty Ltd for information technology (IT) support services and IT equipment.8

 

OTC MARKETS

 

The Company’s OTC Markets ticker symbol changed from MNXMF to FFMFF on 9 June 2026. The new OTC ticker symbol more closely aligns with the Company’s ASX and TSX trading symbol, FFM, providing greater consistency across the markets on which FireFly’s shares are traded and improving visibility for U.S.-based investors.

 

S&P DOW JONES ASX 200 INDEX INCLUSION

 

Effective 22 June 2026, FireFly was added to the S&P/ASX 200 Index following the June quarterly review. The inclusion reflects the Company’s growing market capitalisation and broadens the Company’s reach with global institutional investors tracked against S&P/ASX200 benchmarks.

 

ABOUT FIREFLY METALS LTD

 

FireFly Metals Ltd is an emerging copper-gold company focused on advancing the high-grade Green Bay Copper-Gold Project in Newfoundland, Canada. The Green Bay Copper-Gold Project currently hosts 50.4Mt of Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources at 2.0% for 1,016Kt copper equivalent (CuEq) and 29.3Mt of Inferred Mineral Resources at 2.5% for 722Kt CuEq, prepared and disclosed in accordance with the 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves and Canadian National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. The Company has a clear strategy to rapidly grow the copper-gold Mineral Resource to demonstrate a globally significant copper-gold asset.

 

The Company also holds a 90% interest in the Limestone Well Vanadium-Titanium Project in Western Australia.

 

 

Posted July 28, 2026

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