Constantine Commences 10,000m Drill Program Palmer Copper-Zinc-Silver-Gold Project, Southeast Alaska
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:CEM) ("Constantine" or the "Company") is pleased to announce commencement of a 10,000 meter drill program with two rigs at the Palmer Copper-Zinc-Silver-Gold Joint Venture Project (”Palmer” or the “Project”), in Southeast Alaska. Objectives of the drill program are:
- Systematically define and expand the South Wall & RW Zone mineral resources
- Expand the AG Zone, a new silver-gold-zinc rich discovery made last year
- Test other, never before drilled prospects across the district scale Project area
South Wall Mineral Resource Drilling
South Wall Zone drilling will target extensions of the known deposit. The focus will be on areas west of strong 2017 drill results from the western edge of the mineral resource, and also at depth, targeting the fault-displaced offset of the zone. The western expansion targets include step-outs to holes CMR17-82, which intersected 45.4 meters grading 2.5% copper and 7.4% zinc, and CMR17-97, which intersected 14.5 meters grading 1.9% copper and 7.5% zinc, and 10.5 meters grading 0.5% copper and 8.5% zinc (see Company news releases dated October 2, 2017 and August 17, 2017). Both target areas have potential to significantly expand the extent of mineralization beyond the bounds of the current resource.
AG Zone Drilling
AG Zone is a new area of silver-gold-zinc rich mineralization discovered during last year’s drill program approximately 3.0 km from the South Wall Zone. The 2017 drilling defined AG Zone mineralization over a strike length of 225 meters and a vertical dip length of 275 meters, with the zone open along strike in both directions and at depth. Testing for extensions to the mineralization in each of these directions will be the focus of this year’s AG Zone drill plan. AG Zone has yielded the best precious metal drill intersections on the Project, including 10.3 meters grading 461 g/t (14.7 opt) silver and 0.9 g/t gold, and 9.2 meters grading 312 g/t (9.1 opt) silver and 0.9 g/t gold. The zone also hosts significant zinc mineralization, including highlighted drill intersections of 17.8 meters grading 11.3% zinc and 20.4 meters grading 9.9% zinc (see Company news releases dated July 27, 2017 and August 17, 2017).
New Prospects Drilling
Drilling will also test new exploration targets which coincide with areas of VMS style mineralization and hydrothermal alteration exposed at surface that have been prioritized by the 2017 airborne electromagnetic survey. Two high priority targets are the Boundary and HG Prospects, neither of which have ever before been drilled.
The Boundary Prospect hosts numerous samples of high-grade mineralization. This includes footwall-style stringer mineralization in outcrop grading up to 6.6% copper, float boulders of massive pyrite-chalcopyrite grading up to 13.6% copper and massive barite-sphalerite boulders grading up to 19.7% zinc. The mineralization at Boundary is spatially associated with a thick, strongly altered rhyolite sequence that is overlain by argillite and unaltered basalt – a classic VMS setting. The interpreted source of the massive sulphide-barite float boulders is located under surficial cover and coincides with one of the most pronounced EM target anomalies identified in the favourable mineralized stratigraphy in the survey area.
The HG Prospect, like Boundary, is defined by a large-scale alteration zone associated with massive sulphide-barite mineralization exposed at surface, with grab samples grading up to 14.1% zinc, 0.36% copper, 2.3% lead and 198.9 g/t silver. A distinct airborne EM geophysical response is located immediately on strike of the 600-meter-long alteration zone.
About the Palmer Project
Palmer is a high-grade volcanogenic massive sulphide-sulphate (VMS) project, with an Inferred Mineral Resource of 8.1 million tonnes grading 1.41% copper, 5.25% zinc, 0.32 g/t gold and 31.7 g/t silver*. The resource was last estimated in May, 2015 and a new resource estimate is currently underway that will include drilling completed from 2015 to 2017. The Project is being advanced as a joint venture between Constantine (51%) and Dowa Metals & Mining Co Ltd. (49%), with Constantine as operator. The Project is located in a very accessible part of coastal Southeast Alaska, with road access to the edge of the property and within 60 kilometers of the year-round deep-sea port of Haines. Mineralization at Palmer occurs within the same belt of rocks that is host to the Greens Creek mine, one of the world’s richest VMS deposits. VMS deposits are known to occur in clusters and with at least 25 separate base metal and/or barite occurrences and prospects on the Project, there is abundant potential for discovery of multiple deposits at Palmer.
Constantine Appoints New Director
Mr. Stuart Harshaw has been appointed to the Company’s Board of Directors effective June 4, 2018. Mr. Harshaw is a seasoned professional with a distinguished 27-year career in the mining industry, mostly with Vale SA and Inco Ltd., where, among other things, he was in charge of operating six underground mines, a portfolio of processing and refining facilities, as well as marketing and sales of a broad range of concentrates worldwide. He is a member of the Board of Directors of International Tower Hill Mines and Laurentian University of Sudbury, Canada. Mr. Harshaw earned a BSc. in Metallurgical Engineering from Queen’s University and an MBA from Laurentian University. Mr. Harshaw was appointed to the Company's Board of Directors pursuant to the Company's investment agreement with Electrum Strategic Opportunities Fund II L.P. ("Electrum"). Upon closing of the second tranche of the private placement, Electrum will have the right to name one additional director to be appointed to the Board of Directors (for a total of two).
Stock Options Issued
The Company announces the issuance of 150,000 stock options with an exercise price of $0.68 cents per share, expiring June 5, 2023. The stock options are being issued to an officer and to a director of the Company and are subject to approval by regulatory authorities.
About the Company
Constantine is a mineral exploration company led by a proven technical team with a focus on premier North American mining environments. In addition to the Company’s flagship copper-zinc-silver-gold Palmer VMS Project, Constantine also controls a portfolio of high-quality, 100% owned, gold projects in the Timmins camp, Ontario. This includes the large, well located Golden Mile Property in Timmins and the Munro Croesus Gold Property that is renowned for its exceptionally high-grade past production. Management is committed to providing shareholder value through discovery, meaningful community engagement, environmental stewardship, and responsible mineral exploration and development activities that support local jobs and businesses.
Please visit the Company’s website (www.constantinemetals.com) for more detailed company and project information.
On Behalf of Constantine Metal Resources Ltd.
“Garfield MacVeigh”
President
For further information please contact:
Garfield MacVeigh, President or Darwin Green, VP Exploration
Phone: 604-629-2348. Email: info@constantinemetals.com
* 8.125 million tonne inferred resource grading 1.41% copper, 5.25% zinc, 0.32 g/t gold and 31.7 g/t silver. See the Company's news release date May 11, 2015 and available on www.sedar.com. Resource estimate utilizes an NSR cut-off of US$75/t with assumed metal prices of US$1200/oz for gold, US$18/oz for silver, US$2.75/lb for copper, and US$1.00/lb for zinc. Estimated metal recoveries are 89.6% for copper, 84.9% for zinc, 75% for gold (61.5% to the Cu concentrate and 13.5% to the Zn concentrate) and 89.7% for silver (73.7% to the Cu concentrate and 16% to the Zn concentrate) as determined from metallurgical locked cycle flotation tests. An “Inferred Mineral Resource is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity and grade or quality can be estimated on the basis of geological evidence and limited sampling and reasonably assumed, but not verified, geological and grade continuity. Confidence in the estimate is insufficient to allow the meaningful application of technical and economic parameters or to enable an evaluation of economic viability worthy of public disclosure.
Darwin Green, VP Exploration for Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. and a qualified person as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101 has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this release.
Notes:
Forward looking statements: This news release includes certain “forward-looking information” within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively "forward looking statements").” Forward-looking statements include predictions, projections and forecasts and are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as “seek”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “plan”, “estimate”, "forecast", “expect”, "potential", "project", "target", "schedule", budget" and “intend” and statements that an event or result “may”, “will”, “should”, “could” or “might” occur or be achieved and other similar expressions and includes the negatives thereof. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the 2018 summer drilling program. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of material factors and assumptions. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Company’s expectations include actual exploration results, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, results of future resource estimates, future metal prices, availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms, general economic, market or business conditions, uninsured risks, regulatory changes, defects in title, availability of personnel, materials and equipment on a timely basis, accidents or equipment breakdowns, delays in receiving government approvals, unanticipated environmental impacts on operations and costs to remedy same, and other exploration or other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause such actions, events or results to differ materially from those anticipated. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and accordingly readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.