Callinex intersects more high-grade copper at Rainbow deposit

Since Callinex Mines (TSXV: CNX; US-OTC: CLLXF) resumed drilling in mid-February at the Rainbow deposit at its Pine Bay project in Manitoba’s Flin Flon district it has completed 10,005 metres of a 30,000 metre drill program and continues to intersect high-grade copper mineralization.

Highlights reported today from Rainbow were 4.87 metres grading 14.94% copper starting from 862 metres, including 2.76 metres of 21% copper and 3 metres of 2.26% copper, in drill hole PBM-129-W1; and 5.20 metres of 2.71% copper from 560 metres in drillhole PBM 128; and 2 metres of 1.12% copper from 496 metres in drillhole PBM-122.

There are two rigs operating at Rainbow, one closer to surface and one at depth, and the company has completed 16 holes in its fully funded drill program.

Max Porterfield, Callinex’s president and CEO, noted in a press release that the rigs will continue to drill through the summer focusing on the vertical and lateral expansion of the deposit, and underscored Rainbow’s high-grade compared with other copper deposits around the world.

“To put our exploration results in context, the global average copper grades for copper mines is just over 0.50% and to be in the top ten highest grade copper mines in the world a deposit needs to average 4% copper or more,” he said. “The mineralization intersected in the Rainbow to date are indicative of the high-grade deposits that the Flin Flon district is famous for.”

The company released another batch of assay results at the end of April, which included 7.55 metres grading 4.13% copper starting from 545 metres in drill hole PBM-121; 7.77 metres grading 3.30% from 622 metres in drillhole PBM118; and 5.60 metres of 2.02% copper from 609 metres in hole PBM-119.

Other work at Rainbow includes two deep penetrating geophysical surveys along the trend that hosts the project’s Rainbow and Sourdough deposits as well as the past-producing Centennial mine.

Rainbow lies in a mineral lease that is less than 250 metres from a high-voltage hydroelectric power-line and 550 metres from a historic shaft with direct road access to Hudbay’s (TSX: HBM: NYSE: HBM)  Flin Flon processing facilities, about 16 km away.

The Pine Bay project consists of claims covering more than 6,000 sq. hectares along a 10 km long trend in the Flin Flon Greenstone belt, and contains four volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits over a 10 km trend.  The Pine Bay deposit is the largest of the four historic deposits, and has a 212-metre vertical shaft with significant underground workings from previous exploration.

The drill results sent shares of Callinex up 14% or 46¢ to $3.75 in early afternoon trading.

Over the last year Callinex has traded in a range of 67¢ and $6.50 per share. The junior explorer has about 11.8 million common shares outstanding for a market cap of about $44 million.