CMC Metals (TSX-V:CMB) is exploring high-grade polymetallic properties in Yukon, B.C., and Newfoundland. In Yukon and B.C., we are exploring the next major silver district in the world, the Rancheria Silver District, which is considered to be comparable to the Idaho Silver Belt. This district covers an area of 150 kilometres by 50 kilometres that transects the B.C.-Yukon border and hosts numerous high-grade silver-lead-zinc occurrences, as well as three deposits – Silvertip (mine owned by Coeur Mining Ltd.), Logan, and CMC’s flagship Silver Hart deposit. CMC also has optioned four other properties in this district all characterized by above-average grade silver-lead-zinc occurrences.
We also have a couple of great polymetallic projects, Bridal Veil and Terra Nova, in the Gander Zone in central Newfoundland, which is the hotbed area of exploration for gold. Both properties are early stage projects, but have several showings with impressive grades of copper, silver, lead, +/- gold +/- tungsten +/- bismuth.
Our flagship property – Silver Hart
Since 2019, CMC has initiated a highly successful systematic exploration program at Silver Hart, which has gotten lots of results from minimal investment. CMC increased the exploration footprint by more than 1,000 per cent, identified eight new targets, expanded the resource in the Main Zone through 3,200 metres of drilling, undertook considerable prospecting and geological mapping, and completed 3D modelling of our mineralized veins. From that work, CMC published a resource estimate in late 2020 of 7.5 M silver equivalent ounces at a grade of 548 g/t. That grade is approximately 40 per cent greater than all silver mines globally, and 140 per cent greater than all silver explorers and developers. In total, it has at least three of its other four projects in the Rancheria District showing promise of superb grades like at Silver Hart.
“We are very confident that our strategy to discover high-grade polymetallic deposits in the emerging Rancheria Silver district will be extremely successful,” says Kevin Brewer, president and CEO of CMC Metals Ltd.
Upcoming properties with huge upside exploration potential
Amy and Silverknife are high-grade silver-lead-zinc plays in the Rancheria Silver district just inside of the British Columbia border. Silverknife shares the western boundary of Coeur’s silvertip mine claims and Amy is only an additional eight kilometres away. Both are road accessible, characterized with historical high grades, and have the desired geological setting and geophysical signatures as potential carbonate replacement deposits, skarn deposits, and high-grade polymetallic veins. The Silverknife prospect has been drilled with intersections of up to 29 ounces silver, 10 per cent lead, and seven per cent zinc over 4.3 metres. Amy has a historic resource identified in the 1970s of over 600 g/t silver equivalent, hosted in limestone, open both laterally and down-dip, has possible parallel structures and is very similar to Coeur’s Silvertip deposit.
Plans ahead
In March of this year CMC flew airborne SkyTEM geophysical survey on all five of its properties in the Rancheria Silver district. CMC was extremely happy with the results of that survey as it served to delineate the geology and outline exploration targets on every property. At Silver Hart, the SkyTEM survey generated eight new targets, which were all verified as valid targets by exploration work this past summer, including mapping, prospecting, and soil/rock geochemistry. Priority targets include T1, T3, T4, and the “hockey stick anomaly”.
The company plans for 2022 are simple. If market circumstances result in significant financing, CMC will conduct an extensive drilling program at Silver Hart to continue resource definition in the Main Zone and drill the new targets noted in several recent press releases (see: www.cmcmetals.ca).
John Bossio, chairman notes, “To fully uncover the exploration potential at Silver Hart we eventually need to complete in excess of 15,000 metres of drilling…a tall order for a small company like ours, but we intend to achieve those goals and we will be patient about it. Upcoming catalysts include the issuance of another resource definition of the Main Zone at Silver Hart in Q1 2022. We are doing this to provide a clear signal to investors that this project has legs, we feel it can be a mine and it is heading in the right direction.”
CMC’s contingency plan should financing be restrictive is to:
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Add value at Silver Hart by further expand the exploration footprint through additional soil geochemistry, additional trenching, and geological mapping/prospecting.
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Take Silverknife and Amy to “drill ready” stage by completing gravity ground geophysical survey to pinpoint drill targets at Silverknife, and at Amy to improve access, undertake an extensive trenching and sampling program, and establish drill roads and pads. Work is underway to permit this work.
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In Newfoundland, CMC is currently completing a soil survey at Bridal Veil and plans to permit trail development and trenching at Terra Nova.
CMC works hard to deliver its exploration programs with minimal overhead, efficient and cost-effective program delivery. The emphasis is on placing every possible dollar in the ground and directly managing all field programs.
CMC (TSX-V:CMB): Highly undervalued and an opportunity for investment
In 2020 CMC was one of the top-performing silver explorers in terms of return on investment on the TSX. Two analyst reports provided valuations of $0.25 and $0.40 prior to the 2021 field season and therefore CMC presents a good opportunity for investment.
