Starr Peak reports results from first drilling campaign on NewMetal

Starr Peak Mining (TSXV: STE; US-OTC: STRPF) has reported initial assays from its first drill program on its NewMetal property in Quebec’s Abitibi greenstone belt, immediately adjacent to the town of Normetal and about 140 km northwest of Val-d’Or.

Highlights included drillhole STE-21-08, which intersected 12.10 metres grading 20.94% zinc, 0.43% copper, 39.58 grams silver per tonne, and 0.21 grams gold per tonne (23.82% zinc equivalent) from 285.60 metres, including 2.65 metres of 44.30% zinc, 0.04% copper, 28.60 grams silver, and 0.21 grams gold (45.78% zinc equivalent).

Hole STE-21-04 returned 12.30 metres grading 6.47% zinc, 0.22% copper, 28.55 grams silver, and 0.11 grams gold (8.19% zinc equivalent) from 351 metres.

“I am thrilled with the large intervals of high-grade sulfide mineralization from our first ever drilling campaign at NewMetal,” Johnathan More, Starr Peak CEO, stated in a press release. “We targeted an area adjacent to a high-grade past-producing mine with the expectation that modern geophysical tools and three-dimensional modelling would unlock the value of the surrounding rocks.”

Both STE-21-08 and STE-21-04 were drilled as part of the company’s ongoing 2021 drill program, which is initially focusing on the Normetmar satellite deposit, about 1 km north the past-producing Normetal mine. From 1937 to 1975, the mine produced approximately 10.1 million tonnes of ore grading 2.15% copper, 5.12% zinc, 45.25 grams silver, and 0.55 grams gold.

The company said that all the drill holes in 2021 had intersected sulphide intervals, with the initial results confirming the presence of zinc-rich massive sulphide intervals that corresponded well with anomalies defined from a 2021 borehole electromagnetic (BHEM) survey.

The latest deep drill hole, STE-21-14, it said, had also intersected a new zone composed of 6.10 metres of massive sulphide mineralisation from 798 metres to 804.10 metres with an estimated sulphide content of 15-20% sphalerite and 0.5-1% chalcopyrite. Assays are currently pending.

Due to the targeting success of previous BHEM surveys, Starr Peak completed an additional BHEM survey on STE-21-14, which indicated that this new massive sulphide intersection lies at the edge of a BHEM anomaly plate in an area without any previous drilling information.

The anomaly shows much higher conductance than other targets, which could indicate an increase in chalcopyrite concentration, More said. “This is similar to what occurred at the neighbouring Normetal mine, which transitioned from zinc-dominant near-surface to copper-dominant at depth, which was mined to a depth of approximately 2.4 km.” 

At press time in Toronto, Starr Peak was trading at $2.61 per share within a 52-week trading range of 48.5¢ and $3.02. The company has around 36 million common shares outstanding for a $93.5-million market capitalization.