Fireweed Identifies Drill Targets at the Gayna Project, NWT
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NEWS RELEASE
November 15, 2023 TSXV: FWZ
OTCQB: FWEDF
FSE:M0G
Fireweed Identifies Drill Targets at the Gayna Project, NWT
Vancouver, British Columbia: FIREWEED METALS CORP. (“Fireweed” or the “Company”)
(TSXV: FWZ; OTCQB: FWEDF; FSE : M0G) is pleased to announce the results of the 2023
geophysical survey on its Gayna Project ( zinc-lead-silver-gallium-germanium) (“Gayna" or “the
Project”) in the Northwest Territories, Canada (Map 1).
Highlights
• Several drill targets on gravity anomalies have been identified in reef- margin positions,
consistent with Kipushi-style1 massive sulphide targets.
• Reef-margin targets are further supported by proximity to known showings, soil anomalies,
and rock sampling.
CEO Statement
Brandon Macdonald, CEO, stated “The results of our work at the Gayna Project so far show some
compelling targets supported by multiple independent datasets : gravity, soils, and geological
mapping. The anomalies are focused around the margins of ancient car bonate reefs , further
validating the exploration concept that we are testing here —that Gayna may host high-grade
massive sulphide zinc-lead mineralization. We are very excited to revitalize mineral exploration in
the area and conclusively test these targets for critical minerals.”
Summary
Fireweed is exploring for zinc and lead mineralization at the Gayna Project where the geology
appears similar to that of the high grade Kipushi zinc mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo1.
Fireweed is testing the concept that Gayna may host similar vertically oriented, reef-margin zinc
and lead mineralization, where zinc occurs within very dense rocks. In 2022 and 2023, Fireweed
carried out ground-based survey s that took measurements of the Earth’s gravity field to identify
any anomalies that may relate to dense rocks in the subsurface. Several density anomalies have
been identified that are consistent with the reef-margin analogue. The targets are further
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supported by high-grade zinc and lead from surface rock samples. The comparison to the Kipushi
mine1 is conceptual in nature, and testing by drilling is required to determine if significant amounts
of zinc or lead occur in the subsurface at Gayna.
Map 1: Gayna Project Location Relative to Fireweed’s Flagship Macpass and Mactung Projects.
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Map 2: Gayna Project Geology.
2023 Geophysical Survey
Crews completed a 40 line-km, three-week long, low-impact ground gravity survey at Gayna in
2023. The survey provided infill coverage of the 2022 grid (see Fireweed news release dated
November 17, 2022); c overed t argets A, B, C, F, and L (Maps 3 and 4); and expanded the grid to
cover more reef-margin targets.
Results
Results from the survey have delineated areas of anomalously high gravity around carbonate reef
margins (Map 4, Cross Sections A-A’ and B-B’). These gravity highs may represent areas of high
subsurface density and coincide with high lead and zinc values in soils. Geological mapping and
the interpretation of historical drill logs has constrained the location of gravity anomalies to both
reef-margin positions and associated with NW-SE trending fault structures (Cross Sections A-A’
and B-B’). There is a close spatial relationship between mineralization around the discovery “A”
showing at Gayna and a gravity anomaly, which continues to support the exploration model.
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Preliminary, unconstrained inversions of the 2022 and 2023 gravity data have delineated 12
targets with strike lengths of 250 to 1,100 m which are ready to be tested by 2,000 to 3,000 m of
diamond drilling. Additional modeling work is underway to better constrain the targets and identify
more subtle anomalies.
Ground gravity has been a very successful tool in Fireweed’s exploration of the Boundary Zone
area at the Macpass Project (zinc-lead-silver), Yukon. There, gravity anomalies were critical for
making new discoveries and step-out drill holes that have successfully intersected sulphide
mineralization within 100 to 200 m of surface (see Fireweed news release dated November 10,
2022). G ravity anomalies identified at Gayna may similarly be associated with potential zinc-lead
sulphide bodies relatively close to surface.
Map 3: Gayna Project Claims and Historical Drill Collars and Cross Section Locations.
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Cross section A–A’: Gravity highs coincident with both shallowly-buried margins of the reef and
with high magnitude anomalies associated with the “A” and “F” showings.
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Cross section B–B’: gravity high coincident with shallowly-buried, reef-margin.
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Map 4: 2022 and 2023 Ground Gravity Survey Results.
Gayna Project (zinc-lead-silver-gallium-germanium)
The Gayna Project is located in the Mackenzie Mountains, Northwest Territories, (see Map 1)
within the Gwich’in Settlement Area, the Sahtu Settlement Area, and the asserted territory of the
First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Du n. The project is in Canada, approximately 180 km West of
Norman Wells, NWT, 180 km north of Fireweed’s Macpass project, Yukon, and 150 km SW of
the winter road between Fort Good Hope and Norman Wells, NWT. There is a winter airstrip
located on the claims.
The Gayna showings are hosted in dominantly carbonate sedimentary rocks of Neoproterozoic
age within the Mackenzie Mountains. These carbonate units consist of a succession of shale-
carbonate rocks containing calc imicrobial limestone reefs formed by stromatolites and possibly
early sponges. The reefs are surrounded by comparatively deeper -water sediments intermixed
with reef-derived talus, with individual reefs several hundred metres to over 3 km in diameter and
hundreds of metres in thickness. This sharp, near-vertical interface between the reef and the
surrounding sedimentary rocks is being targeted as an environment analogous to the high-grade
Big Zinc Zone at the Kipushi deposit in the Democratic Republic of Congo 1. Mineralization
discovered at Gayna to date occurs in veins and breccias in carbonate rocks similar to Mississippi-
Valley-Type (MVT) mineralization, or Irish-type zinc-lead mineralization. Sphalerite and minor
galena occur as infill within veins, vugs, and breccias along with dolomi te-calcite-quartz-pyrite.
This mineralization is interpreted as the distal expression of Kipushi -style massive sulphide
mineralization that may be present along the subvertical margins of the carbonate reefs. This
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steep reef margin geometry at Gayna was not tested by historical, sub -vertical drill holes, which
targeted sub-horizontal, shallowly dipping mineralization. The gravity geophysics work from 2022
shows compelling gravity targets, and the data generated in the 2023 gravity program will guide
future drilling programs to test these anomalies using inclined drillholes.
Rio Tinto completed over 28,000 m of exploration drilling at Gayna in the 1970’s to test targets
identified by prospecting or soil geochemistry, and to test stratiform targets with a grid drilling
approach utilizing vertical holes on a square grid with an average spacing of 600 m between holes
(Map 3). Given the vertical holes and the wide historic drill grid spacing, these drill programs left
the concept of subvertical bodies of massive sulphide mineralization untested. The Project was
staked by Fireweed in 2022 to test the new exploration concept that Kipushi-style, high-grade
massive sulphide may be present at Gayna.
A ground gravity survey, an airborne LiDAR survey, and an orthophoto survey were carried out in
2022 to acquire high-quality geophysical data using modern technology and practices. The results
of the 2022 gravity program delineated several gravity-high anomalies over the inferred position
of the reef-margins. For an overview of results from the 2022 program, please refer to Fireweed
news release dated November 17, 2022.
A limited rock sampling program at known showings returned samples with high zinc, silver, and
lead concentrations, and also contained elevated concentrations of the critical minerals gallium
(2 to 42 ppm) and germanium (9 to 99 ppm) (see Fireweed news release dated November 17,
2022). The 2022 rock sampling returned a specimen with a spectacular zinc grade of 51.2%, as
well as another sample grading 73.7% lead. These samples, while derived from surface boulders,
illustrate the potential for an undiscovered source(s) of massive sulphides with extremely high
grades, comparable to Kipushi, hosted in the same reef-margin environment. Several extensive,
high magnitude lead-zinc soil anomalies present on the Project are not readily explained by the
results of the historic drilling and show potential for yet undiscovered high-grade massive sulphide
mineralization along the reef-margins.