Abitibi Metals Corp (CSE:AMQ, OTC:AMQFF) said it has wrapped up its Phase 1 maiden drill program at the B26 Polymetallic Deposit.
The Phase 1 program saw Abitibi complete 44 diamond drill holes, totaling 13,502 meters at the Main Deposit and the Satellite West area, as well as the Eastern extension.
Assay results from the first 10 holes include 2.6% copper equivalent (CuEq) over 37 meters, including 6.3% CuEq over 10.6 meters and 2.5% CuEq over 61.3 meters beginning at 128.6 meters depth, including 11.4% CuEq over 10.6 meters.
Other notable intersections were 5.35% CuEq over 8.1 meters and 1.47% CuEq over 97.5 meters, including 3.9% CuEq over 21.9 meters.
The company had initially planned to drill 2,750 metres but expanded the maiden program to 13,500 metres, which is larger than Abitibi’s initial total program for 2024, CEO Jonathan Deluve noted.
"The significance of this program cannot be understated. Part of our thesis when we optioned B26 was to assess the potential open-pit component that could be added to the historical underground resource,” Deluce said in a statement.
“With the recently completed financing bringing our total treasury to approximately $19 million, we are well-positioned to build on this maiden program with a further 36,500 metres to be drilled into 2025.”
Abitibi plans to resume drilling activities in early June, following the conclusion of the winter break-up, once Phase 2 targeting is finalized.
Looking ahead, Abitibi outlined its 2024 strategy to develop B26, focusing on milestones such as drilling, updating internal resources and models, conducting gravity surveys, evaluating assay preparation, and additional sampling of historical core.
The company entered into an option agreement in November 2023 for the B26 Polymetallic Deposit to earn 80% over seven years from SOQUEM Inc, a subsidiary of Investissement Québec.
Situated within the prolific Abitibi Greenstone Belt, the B26 Deposit offers a substantial opportunity for copper, zinc, gold, and silver exploration. Abitibi's aggressive exploration approach, backed by its fully financed drilling program, aims to advance the historical resource while exploring its open-pit potential.
In other news, Abitibi provided an update on drilling activities at the Beschefer Gold Project, seven kilometers northeast of the B26 Deposit, indicating progress in drilling efforts.