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

Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. Dec. 18 published a maiden mineral resource estimate for the AG Zone at the company's Palmer copper-zinc-lead-silver-gold project in Southeast Alaska.

Since discovering AG Zone in 2017, Constantine has focused much of its drilling on this new resource area about 3,000 meters southwest of South Wall-RW, the primary volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit outlined so far at Palmer. This work has outlined a deposit that has increased the overall resource tonnage at Palmer by 43 percent, with similar mineral values.

At a 5 percent zinc-equivalent cut-off, the AG Zone hosts 4.26 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 4.64 percent (435 million pounds) zinc, 0.12 percent (11 million lb) copper, 0.96 percent (90 million lb) lead, 119.5 grams per metric ton (16.4 million ounces) silver, 0.53 g/t (72,500 oz) gold, and 34.8 percent (1.48 million metric tons) barite.

In September, Constantine reported an updated resource for South Wall-RW of 4.68 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 5.23 percent (539 million lb) zinc, 1.49 percent (154 million lb) copper, 30.8 g/t (4.2 million oz) silver, 0.3 g/t (40,900 oz) gold and 23.9 percent (1.12 million metric tons) barite; plus 5.34 million metric tons of inferred resources 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 (43,600 oz) gold and 22 percent (1.17 million metric tons) barite.

While AG Zone has higher precious metals and barite values, and South Wall-RW contains higher base metals, the combined values of the all the contained metals and barite is very similar.

The contained metals and barite in South Wall-RW calculates out to 10.21 percent zinc-equivalent, and the South Wall-RW inferred resource contains 8.74 percent zinc-equivalent.

At 9.04 percent, the zinc-equivalent value of the metals at AG Zone is about the same.

While AG Zone has yet to be drilled to the level to contribute to the indicated resource, this new zone nearly doubles the amount of inferred resources at Palmer.

Combined, South Wall-RW and AG host 9.59 million metric tons of inferred resources averaging 5 percent (1.05 billion lb) zinc, 0.59 percent (124 million lb) copper, 69.3 g/t (21.4 million oz) silver, 0.39 g/t (120,600 oz) gold and 27.7 percent (2.65 million metric tons) barite.

"The rapid evolution of the AG Zone from discovery to maiden resource has increased the value of this deposit in a very short time frame," said Constantine Metals President and CEO Garfield MacVeigh.

Given its proximity to South Wall-RW, Constantine believes AG Zone has the potential to have a positive impact on the overall economics of developing a mine at Palmer. This recent discovery turned deposit also confirms the larger potential of the 81,000-acre property.

Constantine Metals and its consultants plan to evaluate the potential integration of the new AG Zone resource into its ongoing preliminary evaluation of project economics for the main Palmer deposit.

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