Fireweed’s Macpass hole suggests thick zinc zone

Fireweed Metals (TSXV: FWZ; US-OTC: FWEDF) says new assays expand zinc mineralization on top of a thicker zone at its Macpass zinc project in Yukon, one of the country’s largest undeveloped ventures for the base metal. 

Drill hole TS25-003, a 300-metre step-out, extended the Tom South target and ended in mineralization that may overlie an unnamed massive sulphide zone, the company reported on Thursday. It cut 58.3 metres of laminated sulphides interbedded with black mudstones grading 2.33% zinc, 0.04% lead and 1.79 grams silver per tonne from 1,164 metres downhole.

“It is notable that the results are from above the target zone, not in it,” Canaccord Genuity mining analyst Peter Bell said in a note on Thursday. “Overall step-out drilling at Tom has continued to deliver wide intercepts of sulphide mineralization, reinforcing the potential for meaningful high-grade resource expansion, in our view. We see this as a key value driver at Macpass and as further evidence of the broader exploration upside across the district.”

The intersection represents the stratigraphic interval that typically overlies the massive sulphide mineralization at Tom South, according to the company. Drilling was shut down at a depth of 1,222 metres before hitting the expected wide zone below due to winter weather, the company said. The result comes after the company reported strong results from a 115-metre step-out hole in September.

September hole

That earlier hole, TS25-001D1, cut 54.8 metres grading 18.2% zinc, 13.9% lead and 161 grams silver from 892 metres depth.

“Results at Tom South, a meaningful step-out from prior drilling, shows promise,” BMO Capital Markets mining analyst Rene Cartier said in a note. “Albeit Fireweed has not yet confirmed the continuity of the high-grade massive sulphide layer, the potential for an intersection could represent resource upside at Macpass.”

Fireweed said the new hole strengthens its interpretation that the Tom South system continues beyond the area tested so far.

“TS25-003 provides a compelling indication that extending this hole has potential to intersect massive sulphides below the laminated sulphide mineralization,” Fireweed President and CEO Ian Gibb said in a release. “We plan to resume this hole early in our 2026 campaign.”

Macpass hosts 56 million indicated tonnes grading 5.49% zinc, 1.58% lead and 24.2 grams silver per tonne for 6.7 billion lb. zinc, 1.9 billion lb. lead and 43.5 million oz. silver, according to Fireweed’s 2024 resource update. It showed 48.5 million inferred tonnes at 5.15% zinc, 2.08% lead and 25.3 grams silver for 5.5 billion lb. zinc, 2.2 billion lb. lead and 39.4 million oz. silver.

A 2018 preliminary economic assessment outlined an after-tax net present value of $448 million at an 8% discount, initial capital costs of $404 million and an 18-year mine life.

Regional drilling

Planning for the 2026 exploration campaign is underway, with the company expected to focus its efforts around the high-grade mineralization intersected so far at Tom.

The company also reported results from regional drilling across several other targets at the district-scale property. At the Harvest target, holes MP25-004 and MP25-005 intersected multiple beds of witherite and barite up to 40 metres in apparent thickness.

At the Oro target, hole MP25-003 cut several felsic dykes with minor sub-parallel quartz veining, and the company said more work is needed to assess the area.

Drilling at the Goliath and Centroid targets did not return significant results, with Fireweed noting that any potential mineralization there may lie deeper.

The company also holds the Mactung zinc and tungsten project, one of the world’s largest. It holds indicated resources (both open pit and underground) of 41.5 million tonnes grading 0.73 tungsten trioxide (WO₃) for nearly 301.6 million kg of WO₃. Inferred resources total 12.2 million tonnes at 0.59% WO₃, containing 72.1 million kg of WO₃.

Shares in Fireweed Metals fell 2.4% on Thursday in Toronto to close at $2.30 apiece, valuing the company at $696 million.