North of 60 Mining News - The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North

Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. Oct. 30 said drilling at AG Zone continues to trace a thick lens of precious and base metals-rich massive barite-sulfide with potential to add substantial tonnage to the total mineral resource base for the Palmer project in Southeast Alaska.

Expansion of the AG Zone, discovered 3,000 meters southwest of the main Palmer (South Wall-RW) deposit in 2017, was a primary goal of the 10,364-meter drill program carried out at Palmer this summer.

Highlights from the latest batch of assay results from drill at AG zone include:

• 14 meters averaging 163 grams per metric ton silver, 0.5 g/t gold, 5.6 percent zinc, 1 percent lead and 60.7 percent barite, including 4.1 meters of 336 g/t silver, 0.6 g/t gold, 14.9 percent zinc, 2.3 percent lead and 67 percent barite, in hole CMR18-125;

• 6.8 meters averaging 247 g/t silver, 0.8 g/t gold, 5.5 percent zinc, 2.8 percent lead and 69.6 percent barite, and 34.4 meters averaging 152 g/t silver, 0.4 g/t gold, 1.6 percent zinc, 0.5 percent lead, 63.6 percent barite in CMR18-128;

• 33.5 meters averaging 98 g/t silver, 0.4 g/t gold, 5 percent zinc, 1.1 percent lead, 0.2 percent copper and 41.5 percent barite in CMR18-130; and

• 14.4 meters averaging 23 g/t silver, 0.2 g/t gold, 5.5 percent zinc, 0.2 percent lead and 0.4 percent copper, including 3.4 meters averaging 44 g/t silver, 0.1 g/t gold, 10.8 percent zinc, 0.2 percent lead and 0.4 percent copper in CMR18-132.

"AG Zone continues to deliver impressive intersections of gold-silver-zinc-lead-barite mineralization," said Constantine Metal Resources President Garfield MacVeigh.

With this latest batch of results, AG Zone has been extended to more than 550 meters and the deposit remains open toward Jag, a high-grade zinc-lead-silver outcrop about 100 meters to the southeast, and Waterfall, a target about 1,000 meters to the northwest.

"Drilling this season has more than doubled the strike length of the zone and it is developing into a significant deposit with excellent potential for further expansion," said MacVeigh. "We are excited to commence an initial resource estimate for the AG Zone, which will contribute to the total resource base of the Palmer project."

In September, Constantine published an updated resource estimate for South Wall-RW. This main deposit at Palmer now hosts 4.68 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 5.23 percent (539 million pounds) zinc, 1.49 percent (154 million lb) copper, 30.8 grams per metric ton (4.2 million ounces) silver, 0.3 g/t (40,900 oz) gold and 23.9 percent (1.12 million metric tons) barite.

In addition, the deposit hosts 5.34 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 5.2 percent (612 million lb) zinc, 0.96 percent (113 million lb) copper, 29.2 g/t (4.5 million oz) silver, 0.28 g/t (436,000 oz) gold and 22 percent (1.17 million metric tons) barite.

Constantine intends to have a maiden resource calculated for AG Zone once all the assay results are received.

The South Wall-RW and AG Zone resources will form the basis for a preliminary economic assessment study for Palmer that is currently underway.

The 2018 drill program at Palmer project involved 29 holes – 16 holes for 5,776 meters were completed at AG Zone; seven holes for 2,822 meters were drilled in the South Wall area; four reconnaissance holes for 1,370 meters were completed at the Boundary prospect; and two geotechnical holes for 400 meters were drilled to support future underground exploration.

Constantine intends to release the results from the balance of the drilling once all assays have been received.

This year's roughly US$9 million program at Palmer is being funded by a joint venture between Constantine Metal Resources (51 percent) and Dowa Metals & Mining Co. Ltd. (49 percent).

–SHANE LASLEY