Trevali finds more mineralization at Stratmat

Trevali Mining (TSX: TV; US-OTC: TREVF) has found a mineralized body outside of the 2009 resource at its Stratmat zinc-lead-silver-copper-gold project in New Brunswick.

The latest discovery, called S-5 lens, is the second one the Vancouver-based producer has made in recent months, following the New zone in September.

The S-5 lens is located in the project’s Central zone between the S1 and Main zones at a 300-metre depth. Trevali identified the target by compiling historic data, 3-D geological modelling and downhole electromagnetics.

Of note, discovery hole 785 was the first hole drilled in this area of the project since 1989. To Trevali’s surprise, the hole returned 40 metres of massive sulphide lenses, including high-grade intervals such as 6.2 metres of 7.7% zinc, 3.3% lead and 0.5% copper per tonne.

Based on limited drilling to date, the S-5 lens extends over 50 metres of strike and 150 metres of dip, and averages 25 metres thick.

For the New zone, which Trevali discovered in September, it released assays from hole 780, including a 5-metre interval of 0.1% zinc, 0.01% lead, 3.6% copper, 19 grams silver and 0.68 gram gold. This hole combined with discovery hole 763, which hit 15.4 metres grading 1.1% copper and 0.39 gram gold per tonne, and follow-up hole 770, which intersected 52.3 metres of 1.1% copper and 0.27 gram gold, “suggest a copper-gold rich zone,” Raymond James analyst Adam Low writes. He adds zinc and lead grades were “negligible.”

Trevali also drilled a hole from the hangingwall of the New zone to test the mineralization extending from the Main and New zones, which returned a 3.6-metre interval of 16.7% zinc, 5.9% lead, 115.6 grams silver and 1.31 grams per gold.

The company says the high-grade intercept correlates with the  Main zone’s possible down-dip extension.

Thanks to the recent drilling, the New zone extends over 125 metres of strike and 150 metres of dip, with thickness averaging 15 metres. Both the S-5 lens and the New zone remain open for expansion along dip.

“A number of the assays from the S-5 lens and the New Zone compare favourably to the current inferred resource estimate for the Stratmat project … and many of the notable drill intervals occur over mineable widths of mineralization,” Low notes.

Stratmat has an inferred resource of 5.5 million tonnes grading 6.1% zinc, 2.6% lead, 0.4% copper, 54 grams silver and 0.6 gram gold.

Along with the Stratmat deposit, Trevali also owns the past-producing Caribou mine and mill, and the Halfmile asset. All three projects are in northern New Brunswick’s Bathurst mining camp. The junior intends to place Caribou in production next year as a 3,000-tonne-per-day operation.

In Peru, Trevali is producing zinc and lead-silver concentrates from its Santander mine and mill.

“We expect Trevali to have a premium valuation based on its status as the most prominent ‘pure-play’ zinc mining company, a scarcity of other zinc equities and the strengthening fundamentals in the zinc market,” Low explains. He has a $1.55 target and an “outperform” rating on the stock.

Trevali recently closed at $1, within a 52-week window of 79¢ to $1.41. It has a $281-million market capitalization.