Intrepid drills new copper-gold zone at Corral in Arizona

Drilling by Intrepid Metals (TSXV: INTR; US-OTC: IMTCF) at its Corral property in southeast Arizona has revealed the new Clanton zone of copper-gold mineralization through at least one set of high-grade results.

Highlight hole CC25_040 cut 71.7 metres at 0.8% copper, 0.1 gram gold per ton and 5.35 grams silver from 47.2 metres depth in the Clanton zone, including 24.3 metres grading 2.19% copper, 0.17 gram gold and 11.59 grams silver, Intrepid reported Thursday. That hole is one of three intersections defining Clanton.

“The latest results from Corral continue to build on the momentum we’ve established, confirming the strength of the system and its potential to support long-term growth,” Mark Morabito, Intrepid chair and CEO said in a release. “The discovery of a new zone south of Ringo is particularly exciting, as it expands our exploration footprint and unlocks further opportunities to create shareholder value. Together, these advances underscore the significant upside that remains across the property.”

Copper heartland

The pre-resource, advanced exploration Corral project sits in a historically productive region for copper, where mining dates back to the late 1800s. More than 50,000 metres of historical drilling has been conducted in its mining district and Corral lies about 30 km from the former Bisbee copper camp, where mining produced more than 3 million tonnes of copper until the 1970s. It’s also near the former, bustling mining town of Tombstone.

Other significant intersections from hole CC25_040 include 7.9 metres at 5.54% copper, 0.24 gram gold and 16.19 grams silver and 26.4 metres grading 0.07% copper, 0.06 gram gold and 3.27 grams silver.

Clanton holes

The Clanton zone is also defined by hole CC24_016, which returned 198 metres grading 0.56% copper, 0.12 gram gold and 4.35 grams silver from 10 metres depth, including 72.2 metres at 1.28% copper, 0.08 gram gold and 3.16 grams silver. Intrepid first reported that hole in May last year.

The zone’s third defining hole, CC24_017, is 34.7 metres wide grading 0.25% copper-equivalent. The company gave no other details on the intersection.

Corral is also made up of the Ringo, Holliday and Earp zones. Clanton is separated from Ringo by the northwest-trending West Star Hill Fault, Intrepid said. It’s a shallow, east-dipping open-ended lens of carbonate replacement deposit mineralization that runs for at least 180 metres and is 25 to 30 metres thick.

The company’s 2025 drill program at Corral comprises 5,765.4 metres across 21 holes in all zones. Intrepid shares dropped 8.3% to 44¢ apiece on Thursday morning in Toronto, for a market capitalization of about $27.74 million. The stock has traded in a 12-month range of 33¢ to 65¢.