C3 Metals Inc (TSX-V:CCCM, OTC:CARCF) CEO Dan Symons spoke with Proactive about the company’s fully funded drill programs underway in Peru and Jamaica.
Symons provided detail on the commencement of diamond drilling at the Khaleesi project in Peru. He explained that the project is located near several major operations, including Las Bambas and Constancia, and that C3 Metals has consolidated a 310km² land package in the area.
The first-ever drill program at Khaleesi targets large copper soil anomalies and underlying geophysical signatures.
"We saw double, triple and quadruple what gets us excited," Symons said in reference to copper-in-soil readings.
The current campaign includes seven holes in the Skarn zone and another seven in the Porphyry zone. Drilling has already begun, with assay results expected from late November to early December.
Symons also discussed progress in Jamaica, where the company is conducting a 14-hole scout drill program across a 5km gold trend at the Super Block project, in partnership with Geophysics Jamaica Ltd.
Early holes have intersected broad zones of lower-grade mineralisation, but he noted that structural signs suggest the system is intact and largely untested at depth.
The company is simultaneously advancing its Bellas Gate project in Jamaica with partner Freeport-McMoRan. C3 Metals remains fully funded across all three programs following a financing completed in March.
Proactive: Welcome back inside our Proactive newsroom. And joining me now is Dan Symons. He is the CEO of C3 Metals.
A couple of pieces of really interesting news over the last couple of days I want to cover with you. First off, you've started a diamond drill program at Khaleesi. Maybe you can take a step back and remind us about this project and what this drill program is designed to do?
Dan Symons: Khaleesi has been arguably the top geologic target in our portfolio for quite some time. It's situated in Peru. We're surrounded by major companies and mines. We're less than 45km from Las Bambas mine, operated by MMG, and less than 45km from Constancia, operated by Hudbay Minerals. Around us are projects from Hudbay, BHP, and Rio Tinto.
We did the work to consolidate 310km² in this area — likely the largest position for a junior now. We earned the trust of the local communities, which allowed us to start surface exploration last August.
We uncovered a large copper soil anomaly — 1.9km by 650m. The northern half averaged 650ppm copper, the southern half 950ppm, and over the skarn zone 1,260ppm. For context, we get excited at 300ppm. We followed this with magnetic and IP surveys, which revealed anomalies over a kilometre in diameter.
This is the first time the area has been drilled. We have all the permits in hand and have started drilling.
So are you drilling right in the middle of the target, or exploring the outskirts as well?
It's a bit of both. We're putting seven holes into the skarn zone — that's 3,000m — and another seven holes into the porphyry zone — that's 3,300m. Since we don't yet understand the dip of the ore body, we're drilling systematically to figure that out. We're also targeting the centre and edges of the anomalies and even placing a few holes under a glacial till zone that masks the soil geochemistry. The geophysical anomalies connect underneath that zone.
And that's starting imminently, I’m guessing?
The drill has already started turning. I’ve got videos and photos of the first core coming out. We expect assay results around late November or early December.
I also want to ask you about Jamaica, because you've got some news on the Super Block.
Yes, we reported results from the first four holes. We're in the middle of a 14-hole, 2,500m scout drill program over a five-kilometre gold trend. We own this project 50% with our partner Geophysics Jamaica Limited.
The past-producing Pennants gold mine, which closed in 2004 and had a historic non-43-101 resource of 20 g/t, sits in the centre of this trend. We stepped out to the eastern side for the first four holes. While the mineralisation was lower grade, we hit the right structural setting and stockwork-type veins. This suggests we’re near the top of an intact system.
Our average drill depth is only 170m so far. We’ll likely return to this area and drill to 300–350m to properly test the system.
Lastly, I imagine you're getting a lot of inbound calls with metal prices the way they are — gold, copper, and so on. It seems like a good time to be drilling?
Yes, we’re drilling across three projects and fully funded for all of them. We’re maximising discovery potential for shareholders. Freeport-McMoRan is fully funding the Bellas Gate project in Jamaica. We’re funding 50% of the Super Block program with our partner funding the other half. And we’re funding 100% of the work at Khaleesi.
With the March financing, we expect to end the year with a healthy balance sheet. So, we'll have a lot of optionality going into 2026 based on the results.