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

Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. Sept. 25 reported that one hole drilled this year encountered massive baritic sulfide mineralization well outside of the RW Zone at the Palmer Joint Venture project in Southeast Alaska.

The Palmer deposit, which includes both the South Wall and RW zones, contains 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 grams per metric ton (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.

Most of this resource is located within South Wall, which consists of three mineralized zones that run nearly vertically through Mount Morlan; the balance is found in RW, a fault separated section of this same mineralization lying at the top of the mountain.

While RW is near the planned underground mining infrastructure at Palmer, this zone was not included in a preliminary economic assessment completed earlier this year. As such, expanding three subzones at RW – RW West, RW East and RW Oxide – is a priority for Constantine.

Drill hole CMR19-140, designed to test the open down-dip and down-plunge extension of RW West, cut 4.6 meters averaging 4.65 percent zinc, 0.52 percent copper, 27.7 g/t silver and 0.20 g/t gold

This massive baritic sulfide intercept represents a significant 335-meter step-out of RW West, an area that remains open to further expansion along strike and at depth.

"We are very encouraged by this new intersection at the RW Zone, which shows the potential to expand the RW Zone through further targeted step-out holes," said Constantine Metal Resources President and CEO Garfield MacVeigh. "This could ultimately lead to the inclusion of the RW Zone in future economic studies on Palmer and further enhance the project."

In addition to RW West, the eight-hole program carried out at Palmer this year targeted expansion of AG Zone, as well as a previously untested sub-ice geophysical target to the west of the HG prospect.

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.

This deposit remains open towards JAG, an up-plunge prospect to the southeast, and towards Waterfall, a prospect about 1,200 meters to the northwest.

Constantine Metal Resources Ltd.

Constantine Metal CEO Garfield MacVeigh examines core from drilling at the Palmer zinc-copper-silver-gold-barite project.

At the sub-ice geophysical target west of HG, hole CMR19-142 cut 0.5 meters of volcanogenic massive sulfide-style mineralization averaging 1.3 percent zinc and 8.52 percent barite. Constantine said these results are highly encouraging for follow-up of this target and for the nearby untested HG prospect.

Constantine's previously approved Waste Management Permit related to the planned development of an underground exploration ramp at Palmer has been remanded to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation staff for further review.

The remand is in response to a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision related to "the Hawaiian Wildlife case" that could change the way that US Environmental Protection Agency and DEC permit water discharges in the United States.

The U.S. Supreme Court has taken up this case and is expected to begin hearings on it in November.

Alaska has joined 18 other States in supporting EPA's and DEC's current permitting process and asking that the Ninth Circuit's decision in Hawaii Wildlife be reversed.

–SHANE LASLEY