Canterra grows Newfoundland copper-zinc resource 55% as grades fall

Canterra Minerals (TSXV: CTM; US-OTC: CTMCF) has increased the indicated resource at its Lundberg copper-zinc deposit in Newfoundland by 55%, delivering the “higher-confidence tonnes” it was seeking even as grades declined.

The updated Lundberg resource, part of Canterra’s Buchans project, contains 26.1 million indicated tonnes grading 0.36% copper, 1.31% zinc, 0.56% lead, 5.02 grams silver per tonne and 0.06 gram gold, the company said Tuesday. It contains 94,800 tonnes copper, 341,600 tonnes zinc, 146,200 tonnes lead, 4.2 million oz. silver and 51,400 oz. gold.

Another 870,000 inferred tonnes grading 0.48% copper, 2.21% zinc, 1.13% lead, 20.87 grams silver and 0.28 gram gold contain 4,200 tonnes copper, 19,200 tonnes zinc, 9,900 tonnes lead, 580,000 oz. silver and 7,800 oz. gold.

“The higher-confidence resource confirms Lundberg as a large open pit copper-zinc resource at a brownfields past-producing site,” Atrium Research mining analysts Riley Venton and Nicholas Cortellucci said in a note. “Lundberg is expected to form the foundation of Cantera’s district development strategy at its Buchans project.”

Shares in Canterra Minerals gained 4% to 13¢ apiece on Tuesday morning in Toronto, valuing the company at $51.7 million (US$37 million). They’ve ranged from 12¢ to 24¢ over the past year. Atrium Research raised its target price on Canterra to 35¢ from 30¢ while maintaining a “buy” rating

2024 acquisition

The project lies about 50 km north of Equinox Gold’s (TSX, NYSE-A: EQX) Valentine gold mine and about 35 km southeast of Teck Resources’ (TSX: TECK.A, TECK.B; NYSE: TECK) past-producing Duck Pond copper-zinc operation.

“This update confirms the Lundberg deposit as a large, pit-constrained copper-zinc resource in one of Newfoundland’s most prolific mining districts and a cornerstone for development of the Buchans District, including Canterra’s other hub-and-spoke deposits,” CEO Chris Pennimpede said in the release.

The Lundberg expansion follows almost 4,800 metres of drilling by Canterra since it acquired Buchans in 2024. It also reflects an optimized pit shell using much higher metal-price assumptions than the previous estimate. Indicated copper-equivalent grade fell 13% to 0.87% from 1% in the 2019 resource.

The lower grades mean contained metal grew more slowly than tonnage. Indicated contained copper rose 34% to 94,800 tonnes from 70,500 tonnes, while zinc increased 33% to 341,600 tonnes and lead rose 36% to 146,200 tonnes. Silver climbed 37% to 4.2 million oz. and gold rose 36% to 51,400 ounces.

Copper grade declined 14% from the previous estimate, while zinc fell 14%, lead 13% and silver 12%. Gold grade dropped 14%.

Higher prices

The new resource uses U.S. dollar prices of $4.97 per lb. copper, $1.35 per lb. zinc, $0.95 per lb. lead, $42.30 per oz. silver and $3,285.90 per oz. gold. The 2019 estimate assumed $3 per lb. copper and $1,250 per oz. gold, among other lower prices.

The pit shell has a strip ratio of 3.16:1 and contains 97% of the resource tonnage in the indicated category. Canterra cautioned that the shell is a resource-reporting constraint rather than a proposed mine plan.

Canterra had been targeting both resource growth and improved confidence at Lundberg. In June drilling, the company said the deposit remained open for expansion and grade enhancement after drill hole H-26-3561 returned 57.2 metres grading 0.57% copper equivalent.

A subsequent September program returned a much broader 144-metre interval grading 0.75% copper equivalent, including 76 metres at 1%.

Two Level

Canterra is now shifting more attention to higher-grade mineralization at the Two Level zone and elsewhere along the 2.5-km Buchans mine trend.

Two Level contributes to the inferred resource and remains open to the north, east and west. Drill hole H-25-3542 reported last year cut 4.45 metres grading 1.11% copper, 11.38% zinc, 7.02% lead, 125.5 grams silver and 1.24 grams gold.

The company said it plans further drilling aimed at expanding the zone and increasing resource confidence.

Lundberg is intended to anchor a wider hub-and-spoke concept involving several deposits around the former Buchans mining operation. Canterra’s project portfolio includes seven resource-stage deposits across the district.

Lemarchant

One of the most important satellites is Lemarchant, which hosts a historical resource of 2.4 million indicated tonnes grading 0.68% copper for about 16,500 tonnes contained copper, plus 560,000 inferred tonnes grading 0.45% copper for about 2,500 tonnes contained copper.

Drilling has moved there as part of a roughly 6,000-metre district program, with results expected through the rest of this year and into 2027.

The Buchans district was one of Canada’s richest volcanogenic massive sulphide camps. Asarco mined about 16.1 million tonnes there between 1935 and 1981, producing unusually high-grade zinc, lead, copper, silver and gold ore.