Power Metallic drills best Lion copper hit

Power Metallic Mines (TSXV: PNPN; US-OTC: PNPNF) drilled its best copper interval yet at the Lion zone in Quebec as it works toward a resource estimate this year. Shares rose.

A new intercept assayed 16.55 metres at 1.64 grams gold per tonne, 47.4 grams silver, 10.08% copper, 5.54 grams palladium, 1.13 grams platinum and 0.42% nickel, for a copper-equivalent grade of 15.11% from 147 metres depth, Power Metallic said Tuesday in a statement.

“The market certainly has not fully appreciated just how productive this discovery has become,” CEO Terry Lynch said in the news release. “Despite current analyst estimates, the very high metallurgical recoveries, and the ongoing high-grade assays at Lion, Power Metallic is still heavily discounted vis-a-vis our peers.”

The company is tightening drill spacing at Lion ahead of a planned resource estimate and preliminary economic assessment. The infill work is confirming the zone’s geometry and could help lift parts of the deposit into the indicated category, the company said.

Power Metallic’s Toronto-traded shares closed more than 10% higher at $1.18 on Tuesday. Shares are down about a quarter over the past 12 months, giving the company a market capitalization of $273.6 million (US$201.5 million).

Discovery drilling

Lion and Nisk are part of a larger polymetallic system in Quebec, Power Metallic said. The highlight hole hit massive to brecciated sulphides near surface. Other holes extended a deeper high-grade lode on Lion’s west side and stepped 100 metres west of 25-049 tracing a shallow trend.

Hole 25-049 also expands a shallow high-grade area that may suit early open-pit mining in any future development. Power Metallic, which is fully funded through the year, is planning to drill 100,000 metres by year-end with six rigs, according to company documents.

Beyond Lion, exploration holes west and east of the main zone returned weaker grades but kept both target areas in play. Power Metallic said true widths are about 85% of reported lengths.

Lion expands

Holes PML-25-037 and PML-25-044, drilled 500 metres west of Lion into an airborne electromagnetic anomaly, cut the target horizon and thick ultramafic rocks with signs of Lion-style mineralization above it. The grades were narrow and modest, so neither hole appears to explain the anomaly on its own. The company has run borehole electromagnetic surveys on both holes to guide follow-up drilling.

East of Lion, holes PML-25-035 and PML-25-038, drilled 700 metres and 250 metres from the zone, passed through the Lion horizon into ultramafic rocks. Hole 25-035 returned narrow palladium anomalies, while hole 25-038 cut one narrow interval of Lion-style mineralization. Power Metallic said more borehole electromagnetic work is to help steer the next round there as well.

Laboratory metallurgical testing has shown encouraging results. These include locked-cycle recoveries of 98.9% for copper, 93.9% for palladium, 96.8% for platinum, 85% for gold and 88.9% for silver.