Canterra Minerals (CTM.V) has released the assay results from the first hole of its ongoing 10,000 meter drill program on its flagship Buchans project in Newfoundland. Hole H-25-3539 targeted the Two Level Horizon and steps out 100 meters in plan and 70 meters in section beyond the interval encountered in last year’s drill program and disclosed in December 2024. That hole encountered 105 metres of 1.53% Copper Equivalent including 14 metres of 5.39% Copper Equivalent at the Buchans Project. Needless to say there were some expectations for this new hole.
And the new hole didn’t disappoint. The drill bit intersected 6.77% copper-equivalent over 5.35 meters and another interval of 18 meters containing 1.07% copper-equivalent further downhole. While Canterra chose to use a copper-equivalent calculation, it still is a polymetallic deposit and in the first 5.35 meter interval, for instance, less than 1/6th of the copper-equivalent grade actually consisted of copper. As the table with the detailed assay results shows, the 6.77% copper-equivalent breaks down as 1.05% copper, 11.8% ZnPb, 140 g/t silver and 0.88 g/t gold.
The breakdown of the second interval indicates copper represents about half of the copper-equivalent grade with 1.91% ZnPb, 4.47 g/t silver and 0.04 g/t gold representing the remainder of the copper-equivalent grade.
As this was a step-out hole, the assay results confirm the high-grade Two Level Horizon has been expanded and the Horizon remains open in multiple directions based on the first interval, while the second interval confirms the presence of stockwork mineralization below the extent of the current open pit shell. It goes without saying the company’s future focus will be on further expanding this high-grade horizon, and it will likely [re]assign a drill rig to the Two Level Horizon as part of its 10,000 meter drill campaign.
Canterra’s technical team was right when it decided to acquire the Buchans project; there is more to be found here and the 2024-2025 drill results confirm the upside potential to the current resource calculation which includes an indicated resource of 16.8 million tonnes in the open pit.
As this week’s release only contained the first hole of the 2025 drill program, we are looking forward to seeing the next set of assay results.
Disclosure: The author has a long position in Canterra Minerals. Canterra is a sponsor of the website. This post is for educational purposes only; be mindful investing in junior mining stocks is risky and you may lose your entire investment if things go wrong. Please read the disclaimer.
