LONDON, ON, April 23, 2024 – Abitibi Metals Corp. (CSE: AMQ) (OTCQB: AMQFF) (FSE: FW0) (“Abitibi” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has successfully completed its Phase 1 maiden drill program at the B26 Polymetallic Deposit (“B26”, the “Project” or the “Deposit”). On November 16th, 2023, the Company entered into an option agreement on the B26 Polymetallic Deposit to earn 80% over 7 years from SOQUEM Inc. (“SOQUEM”), a subsidiary of Investissement Québec (see news release dated ).
44 diamond drill holes were completed totaling 13,502 metres under the first phase of a fully funded 50,000‐metre, 2024-2025 drill program. To-date, assay results from the first 10 holes have been released; assay results for the remaining 34 drill holes are expected over the coming weeks and will be released once received and compiled. The Company intends to recommence drilling activities in early June once the winter break-up concludes and Phase 2 targeting is finalized.
Highlights from the Phase 1 Program include:
B26 Main Deposit: 36 holes were completed, totaling 10,469.5 metres, to evaluate the open pit potential and potential up-dip near-surface extensions of the Main Deposit to the north and infill gaps in the model.
Satellite West: 5 holes were completed, totaling 1,716 metres, targeting the geometric continuity of a potential satellite zone 500 metres to the west of the Main Deposit.
Eastern Extension: 3 holes were completed, totaling 1,317 metres, targeting the expansion of the main deposit to the east where 2.45% Cu Eq over 26.7 metres, including 4.74% CuEq over 11.7 metres (1274-14-167) was intercepted in historical drilling.
Phase 1 highlight intervals to date include:
#1274-24-293: 2.6% CuEq over 37.0 metres beginning at 106 metres depth, including 6.3% CuEq over 10.6 metres
#1274-24-294: 2.5% CuEq over 61.3 metres beginning at 128.6 metres depth, including 11.4% CuEq over 10.6 metres
#1274-24-300: 5.35% CuEq over 8.1 metres beginning at 251.5 metres depth
#1274-24-301: 1.47% CuEq over 97.5 metres beginning at 30.5 metres depth, including 3.9% CuEq over 21.9 metres
Jonathon Deluce, CEO of Abitibi Metals, commented, “We are thrilled with these initial results of our maiden drill program at the B26 Polymetallic Copper Deposit. We had initially planned to drill 2,750 metres but with the continued success in drilling and support from our shareholders, we expanded our maiden program to 13,500 metres, larger than our initial total program for 2024.”
Mr. Deluce continued: “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. Our strategy for this maiden program was to primarily concentrate on high-priority targets within the Main Deposit to a depth of 300 metres, and the results from #293, #294, #300 and #301, which identified significant near-surface high metal factor zones, support our thesis of assessing the open-pit potential at B26 further. 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. I look forward to sharing the remaining results in the coming weeks as we prepare for the next phase of drilling in the Spring of 2024.”
The Company’s 2024 strategy moving forward to develop B26 will be focused on five milestones:
16,500+ metres of drilling. With 13,500 metres completed, the Company anticipates drilling a further 16,500 metres in 2024 as part of the total 50,000 metres fully funded into 2025.
Updated Internal Resource & 3D Model: The Company recently announced its first 3D model of the Project, integrating data from its maiden program with the 115,000+ metres drilled by SOQUEM. The new 3D geological model represents a fundamental evolution in the understanding of the geological controls of mineralization within the B26 Deposit, and is expected to inform and improve confidence in an updated internal mineral resource estimate, which is currently underway.
Gravity Survey: The Company is planning a Gravity Survey grid to cover extensions of the VMS contact to help model the geology, primarily the mafic-felsic contacts and sulphide-rich environment, in order to target new mineralized extensions and satellites close to the surface and at a moderate depth (300 to 600 metres). This is aligned with our first-year objective of improving our understanding of the Project. Eventually, an integrated geophysics approach could deliver additional discoveries on the property.
Evaluation of Assay Preparation: In the 2018 resource estimate, SGS recommended QAQC protocols to explain the replicability for the four metals (Au-Cu-Ag-Zn). The Company has set up a series of assaying protocols with the objective to control QAQC issues from the beginning of the project. As a result, samples are crushed finer with 95% of particles passing 1.7 mm and a large split of 1 kg is pulverized down to 106 μm (150 mesh). The Company believes that these adjustments will help to better evaluate the higher-grade areas of the deposit as shown in the results of drillhole 1274-24-293 which represents the potential opportunity to increase the grade within areas of the deposit. The Company is reviewing historical intercepts to determine areas for re-assaying to be able to define more precisely higher grade lenses inside the deposit
Additional Sampling of Historical Core: In the 2018 resource estimate, SGS identified 8,300 metres of historical unassayed core within the mineralized corridor. The Company plans to start assaying these identified areas to complete the model and help better determine the boundaries of the deposit.
Beschefer Drilling Update:
The Company is pleased to announce that drilling continues at the Beschefer Gold Project 7 km to the northeast of the B26 Deposit. To date, the Company has focused drilling on the “East Zone”, where 5 holes totalling 1,679 metres have been completed as of April 22, 2024 and is on track to complete 2,975 metres across 10 holes. The East Zone hosts some of the highest historical intercepts, including 55.63 g/t gold over 5.57 metres and 13.07 g/t gold over 8.75 metres.
B26 Polymetallic Deposit Summary
Located within the prolific Abitibi Greenstone Belt, B26 comprises 66 claims covering 3,328 hectares in the Eeyou Istchee Baie-James territory and represents a substantial opportunity to develop a copper, zinc, gold, and silver Polymetallic Deposit in a region with a rich history of base and precious metal production, which includes the Detour and Casa Berardi Mines. There is year-round road access with a power line running through the Project.
Abitibi is the first public company with the option to earn i