Scott Petsel, President of Metallic Minerals (TSX.V:MMG – OTCQB:MMNGF), joins me to review the ongoing exploration strategy at the La Plata Copper Project in Colorado and at the Keno Silver Project in the Yukon, and the key milestones coming for both projects in 2024. We also review their first revenue-generating royalty gearing up on their gold alluvial project in the Klondike.
We start off getting an update on some of the takeaways thus far on the 4,500 meters of drilling completed at the La Plata copper-silver-gold-PGE alkalic porphyry project, which will have assay results to be released in the new year. Scott outlined that the exploration team followed up on the area near the high-grade intercept hole #22-04 which intersected 816 meters of 0.41% Cu Eq (0.30% Cu, 2.47 g/t Ag, 0.038 g/t Au, 0.055 g/t Pd and 0.093 g/t Pd) from surface and ended in 5.39% CuEq over 5.2 m (2.44% Cu, 18.7 g/t Ag, 5.0 g/t Au+PGE). This hole generated more interest in this project from larger companies, and lead to the announcement on May 18th of the $6.3 million strategic equity investment by Newcrest Mining Limited to further advance the La Plata Project.
Next we pivoted over to the 1,100 meter exploration program completed up at the Keno Silver Project, located in the Keno Silver district of the Yukon. The 4 holes from this year’s program there focused on the high-grade veins and targets within the Formo zone in the west of the project, and those assays will be coming in and released to the market in the near future. The decision was made to hold off publishing the Maiden Resource Estimate at the Keno Silver Project so that these drill results from the Formo target can also be included. This inaugural resource will be the culmination of much of the exploration work completed since acquiring the project in 2017, and will feature resources from 4 key target areas of interest at the deposit; Formo, Caribou, Homestake, and Fox. The exploration team is getting more encouraged that in addition to bulk tonnage open pit opportunities at each of these targets, that there may additionally be selective higher-grade underground mining opportunities.
Wrapping up, we highlighted that the revenues are starting to come in from the Australia Creek gold alluvial royalty property in the Klondike Gold District of the Yukon. Currently the primary operator working these claims towards production is Little Flake Mining, a company owned and operated by Parker Schnabel of Discovery Channel‘s top-rated television series, “Gold Rush.” This first proof of concept on this royalty, ties into a larger discussion on how there could be room for multiple operators along their vast alluvial land claims, resulting in more future royalties, which could bring in more revenues to fund exploration at both the Keno Silver and La Plata Projects.
If you have any follow up questions for Scott on Metallic Minerals, then please email me at Shad@kereport.com.
- In full disclosure, Shad is a shareholder of Metallic Minerals.
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