FireFly Metals cuts bonanza copper grades at Green Bay, N.L.

Perth-based FireFly Metals (ASX: FFM) has released new assays of up to 19.4% copper-equivalent from its Green Bay copper-gold project in Newfoundland and Labrador, pushing its Sydney-quoted shares nearly 3% higher.

The latest batch of results extended the Noranda-type volcanogenic massive sulphide- (VMS) hosted mineralization by 350 metres deeper, and also showcased high-grade copper and gold intervals that could potentially enhance the project’s resource estimates and economic viability.

Among the highlight results were 46.4 metres grading 5.6% copper-equivalent (4.6% copper, 1.2 grams gold per tonne), 17.8 metres at 6.6% copper-equivalent (4.4% copper, 2.2 grams gold per tonne), and 2.7 metres at 19.4% copper-equivalent (13.5% copper, 7 grams gold per tonne).

Tim McCormack, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity Capital Markets, anticipates a surge in updates from FireFly, the company previously known as AuTECO Minerals, as it ramps up its exploration activities at Green Bay. “With a second rig now on site (three planned) and 170 metres of the planned 750 metres exploration drive complete, further drilling will be conducted from new underground drill platforms, expected to commence this month, allowing for more favourable drilling orientations and accelerated news flow,” he wrote in a note to clients.

FireFly has finished drilling 11 holes totalling 2,450 metres, with results from the initial five holes published. The company is undertaking a 40,000-metre drill program, expected to wrap up by the third quarter when it plans to release an updated resource.

Plans for an ambitious second-phase program are set to kick off by midyear. This phase will include about 60,000 metres of additional underground drilling and extend the first phase exploration program by 750 metres. The program is slated to continue until the end of 2025, with resource updates projected for March and December 2025.

The Green Bay project is in north-east Newfoundland’s Baie Verte district. The project’s main asset, the Ming underground mine, boasts a resource of 30.2 million tonnes at 1.81% copper, 0.4 gram gold per tonne, and 2.7 grams silver per tonne or 811,000 tonnes of copper-equivalent (547,000 tonnes copper, 351,000 oz. gold, 2.7 million oz. silver).

Operational from 1972 to 1982 and from 2012, the Ming mine produced 134,000 tonnes of copper. Rambler Metals mined it until early 2023 before entering creditor protection in February. AuTECO then acquired it and the Nugget Pond mill for A$65 million (about $58 million) in September, with FireFly Metals assuming ownership soon after in a cash-and-stock transaction of equal value.

FireFly Metals’ strategy is to rapidly expand this resource through drilling, leveraging the mine’s existing infrastructure, including a 950-metre-deep decline and a 650-metre-deep shaft. The Phase 1 growth strategy involves a 700m exploration drill drive, down-plunge extension testing of the VMS and LFWZ, downhole geophysics, and a resource update slated for the third quarter. This phase encompasses 40,000 metres of diamond drilling, potentially employing up to three rigs.

Also in FireFly’s portfolio is the Pickle Crow project near Sioux Lookout, Ont. The project hosts an inferred resource of 2.8 million oz. gold at 7.2 grams per tonne as of December 2022. FireFly’s drilling in 2022 added 530,000 oz., a 24% increase since February that same year. The company aims to further expand this resource and make new regional discoveries within the Pickle Lake area.

FireFly shares closed Tuesday at A57.5¢, having touched A33¢ and A94.5¢ over the past 12 months. It has a market capitalization of A$208.6 million ($185.4 million).