The latest drilling by FireFly Metals Ltd (ASX:FFM) at the Ming Mine within the Green Bay Project in Newfoundland, Canada, has returned very thick intersections with exceptional grades, outlining a rich area of mineralisation which will form part of the next mineral resource update.
Results described as “spectacular” — including 86.3 metres at 3.7% copper equivalent (CuEq) — support the company’s strategy to continue growing the project’s 59 million tonnes at 2% CuEq resource.
“These exceptional new results highlight both the quality and ongoing growth potential at Green Bay," FireFly managing director Steve Parsons said.
”The results, which come from some of the deepest holes drilled to date, are world-class, demonstrating exceptionally high grades over huge true widths. They will be included in the next resource update.
“The resource remains open, and we will continue to add value through the drill bit by continuing to grow and infill what is already a high-grade and large-scale copper deposit.”
Investors have welcomed the results with shares on the ASX this morning as much as 13.87% higher to A$1.15. They have climbed steadily from $0.45 in February 2024.
Mineralisation at Ming
There are two distinct styles of mineralisation at Ming: upper copper-gold rich volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) lenses above a broad copper footwall stringer zone (FWZ).
The FWZ is extensive, with the stringer mineralisation observed over thicknesses of around 150 metres and widths exceeding 200 metres. The known strike of the mineralisation defined to date is 2.1 kilometres and it remains open down-plunge.
FireFly's latest drilling reveals strong FWZ mineralisation directly below the high-grade VMS. This has resulted in continuous wide (~true thickness) and high-grade copper-gold intersections, such as:
- 86.3 metres at 3.7% CuEq (3.1% copper and 0.6 g/t gold). The intersection includes two distinct VMS lodes grading 15.5 metres at 4.6% CuEq and 9.9 metres at 5.8% CuEq above a broad copper FWZ intersection with a high-grade core of 27.6 metres at 5.3% CuEq.
- 76.3 metres at 2.9% CuEq (2.4% copper and 0.5 g/t gold). Intersection includes an upper VMS lode grading 20.1 metres at 6.1% CuEq above multiple FWZ intersections including 24 metres at 2.6% CuEq and 11 metres at 2.4% CuEq.
Long section through the Green Bay Ming underground mine showing latest drill results from drilling of the high-grade VMS zone and the broad Footwall Zone.
FireFly highlights that both the high-grade massive sulphide zones and broad footwall stringer zones remain open, with downhole geophysical surveys indicating likely extensions to the mineralisation.
Work ahead
Near-term activities at Green Bay will continue to focus on resource growth, discovery and operational upscaling.
The mineralisation at the Ming mine remains open beyond the 59 million tonnes at 2% CuEq resource reported in October 2024.
As such, FireFly says it will continue with its low-cost rapid resource growth strategy. The underground exploration drill drive is to be extended to allow effective drill testing down plunge as well as discovery drilling using DHEM for new parallel and repeat lodes at the Ming deposit in 2025.
Four drill rigs remain underground at the Ming mine to ensure the growth objectives are delivered. Their focus is split between both extension/exploration (two rigs) and resource conversion drilling (two rigs).
To date, around 49,500 metres of the planned 130,000-metre drill program has been completed.
The remainder of the underground drill program for 2024-2025 has three clear strategic components:
- Resource extension - Test the down-plunge continuation of both the high-grade copper-gold VMS zones as well as the broad footwall copper stringer zone with ~35,000 metres of drilling;
- Infill drilling - Convert inferred areas of the resource to indicated for inclusion in future mining studies with ~35,000 metres of drilling; and
- Discovery drilling - Drilling to explore for parallel high-grade VMS lodes and additional broad footwall stringer-style mineralisation and possible high-grade ‘feeder’ zone-style mineralisation within 600 metres of the underground infrastructure with ~10,000 metres of drilling.
The company says it remains well-funded for its accelerated growth strategy with some $88 million in cash at the end of October 2024.