FIREWEED METALS CORP. (TSX-V: FWZ; OTCQX: FWEDF) is pleased to report the initial results of the 2024 drill campaign, announce the appointment of Graham Richardson as the Company’s CFO, and provide an update on the exploration program at its Macpass Project, Yukon, Canada.
Highlights
CEO Statement
Peter Hemstead, Interim President and CEO, stated, “We are excited to report the first results of the season with an excellent intercept on the far-western side of Boundary Zone. The style of mineralization associated with this high-grade result indicates there is potential for a feeder system within this part of the deposit, and an extension of the known mineralization to the west, 45 m beyond the existing MRE pit shell. We are pleased to expand the drill program to over 16,000 m and are looking forward to the additional results from Boundary Zone, Tom, and Jason, as well as the outcomes from the large regional exploration program that we embarked upon this year along the Macpass prospective corridor.”
Summary
The drill holes in this release comprise intervals of vein and replacement style mineralization as well as massive (>50% sulphides) to stratiform (layer-parallel) sulphides on the extreme western side of Boundary Zone. Massive sulphide mineralization at Boundary is split into three primary domains based on location and geochemistry: BZFL (Boundary Zone Fuller Lake), BZUZ (Boundary Zone Upper Zone) and BZPZ (Boundary Zone Prime Zone). This wide intersection of massive sulphides in NB24-001, which expands the known mineralization to the west, represents the broadest high-grade intercept of mineralization seen to date in BZUZ, and the high silver and lead grades are indicative of feeder style mineralization seen in the thickest and highest-grade portions of the Prime Zone.
Results
Drill holes in this release are located on the western side of Boundary Zone and were targeting stratiform to massive sulphides with a focus on extending mineralized domains to the west and down dip of the recently published Mineral Resource Estimate (see Map 2 and Figure 1). Both holes NB24-001 and NB24-008 intersected vein and replacement style mineralization in the upper portions of the hole, with NB24-001 intersecting a broad zone of feeder-style massive to stratiform sulphides rich in sphalerite and galena.
Table 1: Assay highlights for holes included within this release for the 2024 drilling program, Boundary Zone
Drillhole | Interval | From (m) | To (m) | Interval Width (m) |
Est. True Width (m) † |
Zinc (%) | Lead (%) | Silver (g/t) | Bulk Density (t/m3) |
NB24-001 | Primary | 186.52 | 207.98 | 21.46 | N/A | 2.25 | 0.01 | 4.7 | 2.73 |
NB24-001 | Primary | 428.05 | 520.20 | 92.15 | 37 | 8.61 | 2.60 | 42.7 | 3.02 |
NB24-001 | Including | 430.49 | 441.70 | 11.21 | 4.5 | 21.40 | 6.66 | 107.6 | 3.90 |
NB24-008 | Primary | 179.13 | 189.50 | 10.37 | N/A | 2.86 | 0.01 | 3.3 | 2.72 |
NB24-008 | Primary | 454.00 | 488.00 | 34.00 | N/A | 1.56 | 0.59 | 8.3 | 2.63 |
NB24-008 | Primary | 764.73 | 767.78 | 3.05 | 1.5 | 2.23 | 6.16 | 80.3 | 3.66 |
N/A: Not Applicable due to the variable shapes of breccia and vein mineralization.
† See “Data Verification” for a description of true width calculations
Fireweed successfully intersected stratiform and massive sulphides in both NB24-001 and NB24-008 (Photos 1 and 2). Summaries of the intercepts from these two holes are as follows:
See Tables 1 to 4, Cross Section T–T’ and Map 2 below for further details.
NB24-001 and NB24-008 are step-out holes that tested the vein and breccia mineralization, laminated stratiform mineralization, and massive sulphide zones on the far western portion of Boundary Zone stepping vein and replacement mineralization 160 m west of previous intercepts and intersecting massive sulphides 65 m west of previous intercepts. The geometry and stratigraphic sequence intersected in these holes continue to support the idea that the laminated and massive sulphide mineralization are part of the same discrete geological layers at Boundary Zone, forming tabular stratiform zones. Drilling prior to 2024 identified a massive sulphide domain referred to as BZPZ (Boundary Zone Prime Zone) extending from surface to at least 450 m down-dip, over 550 m in strike with a variable true thickness thinning around the edges and reaching thicknesses of up to 50 m at its widest point. The zone remains open for extension along strike and at depth. Step-out drilling along strike from previous intersections in a second zone, stratigraphically above BZPZ designated as BZUZ, intersected abundant sphalerite and galena, supporting the presence of the conceptual feeder zone.
Extensive vein and breccia mineralization at Boundary Zone occurs both stratigraphically above and below the main stratiform laminated massive sulphide zones. This mineralization forms within a halo approximately 100 m to 150 m wide on both sides of the stratiform laminated zones and is interpreted as a stockwork of randomly oriented veins and breccia zones that are contained within broadly stratiform bodies. Many wide intervals of vein and breccia style sphalerite mineralization were encountered in 2023 step-out holes and were subsequently captured within the 2024 resource2.
2024 Drill Program
The 2024 drill program achieved over 16,000 m of drilling focused on Boundary Zone, Tom, Jason, and regional exploration targets (Map 1). Similar to 2023, the 2024 program has utilized directional drilling to save an estimated 1,727 m of drilling compared to traditional drilling of multiple new holes from surface, for an approximate equivalent metreage of 17,740 in 2024 to date.
As part of this season’s program, 49 step-out and exploration drill holes have been completed and results for 2 have been released. Twenty-six holes were drilled at Boundary Zone, 6 at Tom South, 2 at Jason, and 15 at exploration targets around the property.
The assay results for additional completed drill holes will be released as they are received, analyzed and confirmed by the Company.
Regional Exploration
In addition to the significant drill program at Macpass in 2024, a comprehensive regional exploration program was conducted to provide extensive coverage of geochemical (soil sampling and rock sampling) and geophysical data (ground-based gravity survey, airborne Versatile Time Domain Electromagnetic (VTEM) survey along the prospective corridor and supplementary LiDAR and Orthophoto surveys to provide complete coverage of the entire 977 km2 Macpass district.
Appointment of New CFO
Fireweed is pleased to announce the appointment of Graham Richardson, who will be replacing Cindy Chiang, effective September 30, 2024, as Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Richardson is a Canadian CPA, with over 15 years of experience in the mining sector. Since October 2021 he has been and continues to be CFO of Faraday Copper Corp., and previously held progressively senior finance roles with Fortuna Mining Corp, Newmont Corporation and Goldcorp Inc. Mr. Richardson started his career with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited in their mining practice in Vancouver, and subsequently Melbourne. Throughout his career he has gained diverse experience working with corporate offices and operations across Canada, Australia, USA, Mexico, and West Africa. Mr. Richardson has a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting from the University of British Columbia, Sauder School of Business.
Paul Harbidge, Board Chair, stated, “On behalf of the Board, I would like to welcome Graham to the team and thank Cindy for her diligent work with Fireweed. We wish her all the best for her future endeavours.”
Qualified Person Statement
Technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Fireweed Metals Senior Geologist, Ian Carr, P.Geo. (BC), a ‘Qualified Person’ as defined under Canadian National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Carr is not independent of the Company in accordance with NI 43-101.
About Fireweed Metals Corp.
Fireweed Metals Corp. is an exploration company unlocking significant value in a new critical metals district located in Yukon, Canada. Fireweed is 100% owner of the Macpass District, a large and highly prospective 977 km2 land package. The Macpass District includes the Macpass zinc-lead-silver project and the Mactung tungsten project, both characterized by meaningful size, grade and opportunity. At Macpass, Fireweed owns one of the largest undeveloped zinc resources worldwide1,3, in a region with enormous exploration upside potential. The Mactung project is a strategic critical metals asset that hosts the world’s largest high-grade tungsten resource4 – a potential long-term supply of tungsten for North America. A Lundin Group company, Fireweed is strongly positioned to create meaningful value.
Map 1: Macpass Project and Mactung Project locations
Map 2: Mineralized intervals in 2024 drilling and pre-2024 drilling, projection of 2024 resource extents to surface, 2024 resource pit shell extent, and cross section line T–T’.
Figure 1: Cross section T to T’ NB24-001 and NB24-008
Photo 1: Galena and sphalerite rich massive sulphides in NB24-001 435.3 to 440.7 m
Photo 2: Galena rich massive sulphides in NB24-008 764.0 to 769.1 m
Table 2: NB24-001 and NB24-008 drill results
Drillhole | Interval | From (m) | To (m) | Interval Width (m) |
Est. True Width (m) ‡ |
Zinc (%) | Lead (%) | Silver (g/t) | Bulk Density (t/m3) |
NB24-001 | Entire Hole† | 0.00 | 685.00 | 685.00 | N/A | 1.39 | 0.43 | 7.7 | 2.80 |
NB24-001 | Primary | 186.52 | 207.98 | 21.46 | N/A | 2.25 | 0.01 | 4.7 | 2.73 |
NB24-001 | Primary | 428.05 | 520.20 | 92.15 | 37 | 8.61 | 2.60 | 42.7 | 3.02 |
NB24-001 | Including | 430.49 | 441.70 | 11.21 | 4.5 | 21.40 | 6.66 | 107.6 | 3.90 |
NB24-008 | Entire Hole† | 0.00 | 826.00 | 826.00 | N/A | 0.33 | 0.09 | 2.0 | 2.72 |
NB24-008 | Primary | 157.18 | 160.00 | 2.82 | N/A | 4.19 | 0.02 | 5.7 | 2.83 |
NB24-008 | Primary | 179.13 | 189.50 | 10.37 | N/A | 2.86 | 0.01 | 3.3 | 2.72 |
NB24-008 | Primary | 454.00 | 488.00 | 34.00 | N/A | 1.56 | 0.59 | 8.3 | 2.63 |
NB24-008 | Primary | 764.73 | 767.78 | 3.05 | 1.5 | 2.23 | 6.16 | 80.3 | 3.66 |
† Entire hole intervals contain large continuous sections of low grade or non-mineralized material (below 2% zinc)—intersections of continuous higher-grade material (>1.41% zinc) are listed as Primary and Included intervals and represent mineralized material.
‡ See “Data Verification” for a description of true width calculations
Table 3: 2024 Drilling Summary
Hole ID | Length (m) |
Target | Significant Intersection | Type |
NB24-001 | 460 | Boundary | Wide Zone Encountered | Step Out |
NB28-008 | 351 | Boundary | Narrow Zone Encountered | Step Out |
Table 4: Drill Hole Collar Information
Drillhole | Zone | Length (m) |
Easting | Northing | Elevation (m.s.l) |
Azimuth (°) |
Dip (°) |
NB24-001 | Boundary | 685 | 422105.7 | 7010813 | 1274.161 | 197.76 | -68.95 |
NB24-008 | Boundary | 826 | 422106.2 | 7010814 | 1274.226 | 196.43 | -81.81 |
Coordinates listed in NAD83 UTM Zone 9N.
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