The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
North of 60 Mining News - June 19, 2024
Native copper encountered in hole CMR23-152 drilled during the 2023 program at Palmer.
American Pacific Mining Corp. June 18 reported that it has launched a 5,100-meter drill program focused on upgrading and expanding the high-grade copper-zinc-silver-gold mineralization at its Palmer volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) project in Southeast Alaska.
"We are excited to begin this year's drill program at Palmer," said American Pacific CEO Warwick Smith. "In a world that is recognizing the importance of critical metals, the impact and value that a polymetallic project with demonstrated high-grade copper, like Palmer could have, should not be understated."
Located near the town of Haines, at the north end of the Southeast Alaska Panhandle, Palmer hosts 4.68 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 5.23% (539 million lb) zinc, 1.49% (154 million lb) copper, 30.8 grams per metric ton (4.6 million oz) silver, and 0.3 g/t (451,000 oz) gold; plus 9.59 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 4.95% (1.05 billion lb) zinc, 0.59% (124 million lb) copper, 69.3 g/t (21.4 million oz) silver, and 0.39 g/t (120,600 oz) gold.
All the indicated resources and just over half of the inferred resources are located in the main Palmer deposit, which is comprised of the RW and South Wall zones, with the balance of the inferred resource hosted in the nearby AG Zone.
American Pacific, which acquired Constantine Metal Resources in 2022, owns a roughly 33% joint venture interest in the Palmer project. Dowa Metals & Mining Company Ltd. owns the remaining 67% interest in this advanced-stage exploration project.
Drilling completed by the JV last year cut the highest-grade mineralization drilled so far at Palmer. Highlights from the 2023 program include:
• 30.7 meters averaging 2.59% copper, 11.21% zinc, 0.3 g/t gold, and 28.5 g/t silver in hole CMR23-162B.
• 37.1 meters averaging 4.57% copper, 8.44% zinc, 0.5 g/t gold, and 29.3 g/t silver in hole CMR23-167.
• 33.2 meters averaging 5.48% copper, 7.22% zinc, 0.64 g/t gold, and 36.8 g/t silver in hole CMR23-169.
• 23.9 meters averaging 9.03% copper, 3.49% zinc, 0.83 g/t gold, and 41.8 g/t silver in hole CMR23-171.
• 43.8 meters averaging 6.54% copper, 3.15% zinc, 0.42 g/t gold, and 28 g/t silver in hole CMR23-172.
This year's drilling will follow up on the structural trends interpreted to be associated with these results, as well as testing expansion targets.
"The 2023 exploration program was an operational success with the high-grade copper and zinc results exceeding our expectations," said American Pacific Senior Vice President of Advanced Projects Peter Mercer. "I am incredibly proud of the technical team's efforts over the past year and have full confidence in their capabilities to continue advancing Palmer through 2024 and beyond."
American Pacific geologists will also follow up on several prospects to further the high-grade mineral potential across the 61,984-acre (25,084 hectares) Palmer project.
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
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