Fireweed seeks more MacMillan Pass zinc

Fireweed Zinc Ltd. June 26 said it has begun a planned 10,000-meter drill program aimed at expanding and upgrading the high-grade zinc resource at Macmillan Pass, as well as exploring for new deposits across the company's 470-square-kilometer (181 square miles) project in Selwyn Basin of southeastern Yukon.

"With a healthy treasury, we are planning to both drill to expand and upgrade our mineral resource and carry out aggressive exploration toward making new discoveries," said Fireweed Zinc CEO Brandon Macdonald.

Two deposits at Macmillan Pass – Tom and Jason – host 11.21 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 6.59 percent (1.63 billion pounds) zinc, 2.48 percent (610 million lb) lead and 21.33 grams per metric ton (7.7 million ounces) silver; plus 39.47 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 5.84 percent (5.08 billion lb) zinc, 3.14 percent (2.73 billion lb) lead and 38.15 g/t (48.4 million oz) silver.

A preliminary economic assessment completed in May outlined a 4,900-metric-ton-per-day mill at MacMillan Pass that would produce 3.4 billion lb of zinc, 1.9 billion lb of lead and 37.2 million oz of silver over an 18-year mine life.

The PEA pointed to the exploration potential of expanding high-grade mineralization below and adjacent to the known deposits.

The first two drills turning at MacMillan Pass this year are Tom West Zone targeting the projection of high-grade mineralization south of the Tom West zone, with the intention of expanding mineral resource in this area.

A third rig is slated to begin drilling within the next two weeks.

The PEA also notes that the known deposits at MacMillan Pass cover a very small part of the prospective geology blanketed by Fireweed Zinc's extensive land position.

In addition to drilling, the company is investigating the properties larger potential.

"We have assembled a very large under-explored land package in a district known for producing large zinc deposits. Our field work will cover untested priority targets and greenfields exploration areas in search of new discoveries, some of which we hope will be ready to drill later this season," said Macdonald.

The company began this work several weeks ago with a sampling and surveying program over known areas of mineralization that will help orient and optimize exploration methodologies to be applied across the wider property.

To date, roughly 2,400 geochemical samples have been collected in the immediate Tom and Jason deposit areas.

Ground geophysics, including gravity and passive seismics, has been completed over Jason and is now in progress at Tom. Mapping and prospecting have also begun.

When field work on these priority deposit areas has been completed, results and methods will be interpreted and assessed, and field work will continue in search of new discoveries.

–SHANE LASLEY