Fireweed names Mactung largest high-grade tungsten deposit in the world

Fireweed Metals (TSXV: FWZ; US-OTC: FWEDF) has released a new resource estimate for its Mactung tungsten project in the Yukon and Northwest Territories that confirms it as one of the world’s largest deposits of the critical mineral. The resource comes one year after purchasing the historic asset, located right next to its Macmillan Pass zinc-lead-silver project, for $15 million.

Indicated resources (both open pit and underground) total 41.5 million tonnes grading 0.73 tungsten trioxide (WO₃) for nearly 301.6 million kg of WO₃. Inferred resources total 12.2 million tonnes at 0.59% WO₃, containing 72.1 million kg of WO₃.

Fireweed president and CEO Brandon Macdonald called the resource “impressive” and “world-class” in a news release. 

“This not only reaffirms Mactung’s unmatched combination of grade and scale but establishes it as a truly strategic critical minerals project for the West with the underground resource alone able to supply much of North America’s expected demand for decades,” he said.

The deposit also contains copper and gold byproducts in the portion amenable to underground mining. The indicated resource is 12.2 million tonnes grading 1.05% WO₃, 0.058% copper, and 0.078 gram gold, and the inferred resource is 2.8 million tonnes grading 0.73% WO₃, 0.02% copper, and 0.017 gram gold.

Mactung is 13 km north of the Macmillan Pass project camp and airstrip. It was discovered and staked in 1962, and went through many owners until 1997 when North American Tungsten acquired it. The project was given the environmental go-ahead in 2014, but the following year, North American was granted creditor protection (related to its Cantung mine to the south), and the territory purchased the property for $4.5 million.