Constantine Hits Big With Stepouts At Palmer Project

VANCOUVER — Solid drill results kept Constantine Metal Resources (CEM-V, CNSNF-O) afloat on a day when investors decided to pummel the mining sector: drill results from the Palmer project in Alaska kept the junior’s share price unchanged on Aug. 17, while the TSX and Venture boards each fell almost 3%.

Constantine is exploring the Glacier Creek prospect at Palmer where, over the last two years, the company has hit strong grades at the South Wall and RW zones. The South Wall, which includes three stacked sulphide lenses, occurs on the steep limb of a large anticlinal fold; the RW zone is on the opposite side of the fold.

The copper-zinc-gold-silver zones provided several high-grade intercepts in 2007 and 2008. Now, the South Wall zone has once again shown its strength, returning significant intercepts in two stepout holes to the west and at depth.

Hole 23 intersected 29.8 metres of stringer and semi-massive sulphide mineralization grading 2.1% copper, 0.85% zinc, 0.09 gram gold per tonne and 8 grams silver, starting 350 metres down-hole and including 11.1 metres of 3.86% copper. This intercept extends the known South Wall zone 40 metres downdip of hole 08-17, previously the westernmost hole drilled, which last year returned 27.5 metres of 2.52% copper, 3.38% zinc, 0.32 gram gold and 25.5 grams silver.

And hole 24 returned 9.1 metres of massive sulphide grading 1.9% copper, 5.2% zinc, 0.3 gram gold and 26.6 grams silver within 18.7 metres averaging 1.16% copper, 4.16% zinc, 0.3 gram gold and 29.2 grams silver. The broader intercept started 320 metres down-hole. The intercept in hole 24 expands the South Wall zone 80 metres to the west and 40 metres updip of hole 08-17.

Drilling to date has now defined South Wall mineralization along 380 metres of strike and down 315 metres of vertical dip. The zone includes three distinctive, stratigraphically stacked lenses; both holes 23 and 24 targeted only the first lens in the zone. Constantine says the stronger stringer-style mineralization in hole 23 correlates well with similar stringer mineralization in neighbouring holes and indicates proximity to the central axis of the massive sulphide vent system.

The current drill program is aiming to significantly expand the footprint of both the South Wall and RW zones. At South Wall efforts are to the west, such as holes 23 and 24, as well as downdip, where alteration and metal zoning patterns indicate proximity to a higher-temperature hydrothermal environment. At RW, a zone on the opposite fold limb that is stratigraphically equivalent to South Wall, holes will offset the 2007 discovery hole 07-07, which cut 14 metres grading 3.8% copper and 7.2% zinc.

Palmer is located 60 km northwest of Haines, a year-round deep-sea port. The site is near active resource development — logging and placer mining — and is road-accessible from Haines. The 27-sq.-km property hosts dozens of base metal prospects that define some 15 km of favourable mineral trends.

Constantine’s success thus far in its 2009 drill program, which only got under way in late July, has prompted the company to add a third drill rig to the site. The zones are open in all directions.

To support its exploration program, Constantine closed a $3- million financing in mid-July, selling 25 million units for 12¢ apiece. Each unit comprised a share and half a warrant exercisable at 20¢ for one year.

On news of the latest drill results, Constantine’s share price lost a penny to close at 36¢. The company has a 52-week trading range of 8-41¢ and 35 million shares outstanding.