Fireweed Intersects Zinc Mineralization in 300 m Step Out at Tom South and Provides Macpass Regional Update
Fireweed Intersects Zinc Mineralization in 300
m Step Out at Tom South and Provides
Macpass Regional Update
TSXV: FWZ
OTCQX:
FWEDF
FSE:
M0G
VANCOUVER, BC
,
Jan. 15, 2026
/CNW/ - Fireweed Metals Corp. ("
Fireweed
" or the "
Company
")
(TSXV: FWZ) (OTCQX: FWEDF) is pleased to report the initial results of a major step-out drill hole
at Tom South targeting laminated and stratiform zinc-lead-silver mineralization at its Macpass
Project ("
Macpass
"),
Yukon, Canada
.
Highlights
Hole TS25-003, a 300 metre ("m") step-out at Tom South ended with
58.30 m
of laminated
sulphides interbedded with black mudstones from
1,164 m
downhole grading 2.33% zinc ("
Zn
"),
0.04% lead ("
Pb
"), and 1.79 g/t silver ("
Ag
"), including
5.24 m
of 7.80% Zn, 0.05% Pb, and
2.33 g/t Ag. This intersection represents the stratigraphic interval that typically overlies the
massive sulphide mineralization at Tom South. At a depth of ~1,222 m, the hole was shut down
in mineralization due to seasonal constraints but will be resumed in 2026.
CEO & VP Exploration Statements
Ian Gibbs
, President and CEO, stated, "Following the major
115 m
step out of high-grade massive
sulphide mineralization previously reported at Tom South in TS25-001D1, we undertook an even
more ambitious,
300 m
, step-out drill hole to finish our 2025 drilling campaign. We had just entered
zinc mineralization before we had to shut down the hole in the zone due to winter weather. TS25-003
provides a compelling indication that extending this hole has potential to intersect massive sulphides
below the laminated sulphide mineralization. We plan to resume this hole early in our 2026
campaign."
Fireweed's VP Exploration, Dr.
Jack Milton
commented, "In 2025 we drilled one of our best ever
step out holes at Tom in terms of grade and thickness, TS25-001D1, which intersected a wide
interval of very high grade material on the edge of the current Mineral Resource
1
and is interpreted
as within or adjacent to a feeder-zone. In hole TS25-003 we intersected a low-angle
50 m
intersection of intermittent black facies laminated mineralization within which we have paused drilling.
This facies is the rock type that we see at Tom South overlying the feeder-proximal massive
sulphide zone. After finishing off TS25-003, our 2026 drill program will leverage the success of the
2025 program and will use geological indicators to vector toward the feeder zone and test the down-
dip extent of Tom South which remains open and where we see the potential for significant scale
and grade."
Summary of Results
The drill holes in this release comprise intervals from Tom South and regional zinc-primary and gold-
focused exploration across several targets at Macpass. The intersection at Tom South is from an
incomplete hole, terminated in mineralization and Fireweed intends to complete the hole in 2026.
TS25-003 intersected mineralization
300 m
down-dip of a previously reported high-grade intersection
at Tom South of
30 m
true width at 33.2% zinc equivalent
2
that stepped out
115 m
from previous
drilling (hole TS25-001D1; for further details, see
Fireweed's news release dated
September 23, 2025
). This brings the total step-out distance of
2025 drilling at Tom South to 415 m from previous drilling in the down-dip direction and Tom South
remains open at depth.
Regional zinc and gold focused exploration in this release was carried out across four targets in the
Macpass district: zinc at Harvest, and gold at
Oro
, Centroid, and Goliath.
Tom South (Cross Section TH–TH')
TS25-003 was successful in intersecting
58.30 m
of stratiform sulphide mineralization grading 2.33%
Zn, 0.04% Pb, and 1.79 g/t Ag, including
5.24 m
of 7.80% Zn, 0.05% Pb, and 2.33 g/t Ag. This
interval comprises intermittent black facies from
1,164 m
to the current depth of 1,222.3 m
consisting of centimetre to decimetre scale beds of laminated sphalerite-mudstone interbedded with
black mudstones. The intersection contains bedding and sedimentary lamination oriented sub-parallel
to the core axis and has an intersected (apparent) width of at least
58.30 m
. The true width of the
intersection cannot be accurately estimated until completed and may be as little as 10 to 20% of the
intersected width. The hole was terminated in mineralization due to inclement weather conditions and
there is the potential for this mineralized zone to continue to greater depths when drilling resumes,
anticipated for the start of the 2026 field season.
In other Tom South drill intersections, laminated sulphides overlie high-grade sections of high-grade
massive sulphides. Fireweed cautions that the presence of massive sulphides beneath laminated
sulphide mineralization in several other drill holes at Tom South does not guarantee that massive
sulphides will be present once TS25-003 is advanced to greater depths.
TS25-004 was drilled approximately
100 m
up-dip of previous Tom South intersections and
transitioned into non-prospective footwall rocks without intersecting mineralization, interpreted as a
pinch out of mineralization in the up-dip direction.
Harvest
The Harvest target was delineated utilizing ground gravity early in the 2025 field campaign within an
area deemed highly prospective for zinc mineralization owing to the presence of significant Zn-Pb-Ag
soil anomalies, prospective host rocks and appropriate structural setting. These preliminary data
resulted in the delineation of a gravity anomaly 1.8 times as large as that at Tom which is coincident
with anomalous zinc-in-soil geochemistry at Harvest on surface. Two drillholes, MP25-004 and
MP25-005, intersected multiple beds of witherite (barium carbonate) and barite (barium sulphate) up
to
40 m
in apparent thickness and are interpreted to be the source of the significant gravity high in
this area.
Barite/witherite beds like those at Harvest are an attractive replacement host for zinc and lead
sulphide mineralization, and the proximity to a significant surface exposure of smithsonite (zinc
carbonate) and bladed barite at surface (diagnostic of boiling, a pressure change indicator which
signals potential for deposition of metal) in a nearby creek indicates the continued potential for zinc
mineralization in this area.
Oro
(Cross Section OA–OA')
Historical drilling at
Oro
primarily tested the target for epithermal and Carlin style gold ("Au")
occurrences. The discovery of gold-bearing reduced intrusion related systems ("RIRGS") at
neighbouring properties triggered a re-evaluation of potential gold targets in the Macpass District.
Review of data at
Oro
shows a significant gold-in-soil anomaly as well as elevated concentrations of
RIRGS indicator elements bismuth ("Bi"), tellurium ("Te"), arsenic ("As"), and antimony ("Sb"), as
well as historical intersections of gold-in-core. An Extremely Low Frequency ("ELF") survey was
conducted in an attempt to delineate a potential intrusion below surface in advance of drilling.
Fireweed drilled one hole, MP25-003, which intersected several felsic dykes with minor sub-parallel
quartz veining, and three gold assay composite intervals above 0.05 g/t Au:
5.00 m
of 0.10 g/t Au,
7.00 m
of 0.13 g/t Au, and
13.00 m
of 0.45 g/t Au.
A source intrusion for these felsic dykes has not been found and requires additional geophysical
surveys or exploration drilling to identify.
Goliath
The Goliath target consists of elevated RIRGS pathfinder elements in rock and soil, elevated gold in
rock values including one sample returning 0.57 g/t Au, and a coincident resistivity anomaly from an
ELF survey corroborated by airborne geophysics ("VTEM").
MP25-006 was completed without intersecting any significant gold values, reduced dykes or intrusive
rocks, suggesting the source of this geochemical anomaly may lie deeper than originally interpreted.
Centroid
The Centroid target was delineated through elevated RIRGS pathfinder elements and a co-incident
resistivity signature indicative of a potential buried intrusion.
Six holes (MP25-007 through MP25-012) were drilled at Centroid attempting to identify a buried
intrusion. Drilling intersected hornfelsed sedimentary lithologies indicative of a nearby intrusion;
however, no significant gold mineralization or intrusions were intersected, indicating any potential
intrusion may be more deeply buried.
See Tables
1, 2, and 3, Cross Sections TH–TH' and OA–OA', Long Section TG–TG' and Maps 1, 2,
and 3 below for further details.
Drill Program Update
Fireweed Metals completed its 2025 Macpass District drilling program on
November 1, 2025
, with
the completion of drilling at Tom. In total,
19,967 m
were drilled across Mactung and Macpass with
up to six drill rigs. This included
11,117 m
at Mactung and
8,850 m
at Macpass, which encompassed
drilling at regional targets and at Tom South and West. The program marked a record-setting year in
featuring the highest number of active drills and an extended late-season drilling program.
Next Steps
To date, the Company has released all results for drill holes of the 2025 campaign at Macpass, with
6 focused at Boundary Zone and 12 at regional targets, as well as 6 holes drilled at Tom.
Planning for a 2026 drill program is well underway. Fireweed intends to focus exploration efforts
around the high-grade mineralization intersected to date at Tom, targeting step-out holes at Tom
South,
Tom East
, and
Tom West
.
Qualified Person Statement
Technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Fireweed Metals
Senior Geologist,
Ian Carr
, P.Geo. (BC), a 'Qualified Person' as defined under Canadian National
Instrument 43-101 ("
NI 43-101
"). Mr. Carr is not independent of the Company in accordance with NI
43-101.
About Fireweed
Fireweed is an exploration company focused on unlocking value in a new critical metals district
located in
Northern Canada
. Fireweed is 100% owner of the Macpass District, a large and highly
prospective 985 km
2
land package. The Macpass District includes the Macpass zinc-lead-silver
project and the Mactung tungsten project. A Lundin Group company, Fireweed is strongly positioned
to create meaningful value.
Fireweed trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the trading symbol "
FWZ
", on the OTCQX
Best Market under the trading symbol "
FWEDF
", and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the
trading symbol "
M0G
".
Additional information about Fireweed and its projects can be found on the Company's website at
FireweedMetals.com and at
www.sedarplus.com
ON BEHALF OF FIREWEED METALS CORP.
"
Ian Gibbs
"
CEO & Director
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in
the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of
this release.
Data Verification
The diamond drill core logging and sampling program was carried out under a rigorous quality
assurance / quality control program using industry best practices. Drill intersections in this release
are NQ2 size (50.5 mm/ 1.99-inch diameter) and HQ size (63.5 mm/ 2.50-inch diameter) with
recoveries typically above 85% unless otherwise noted in the results tables. After drilling, core was
cleaned, logged for geology, structure, and geotechnical characteristics, then marked for sampling
and photographed on site. Certain cores were selected for core scanning using light detection and
ranging (LiDAR), short-wave infrared (SWIR), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and high resolution RGB
image capture. The cores for analyses were marked for sampling based on geological intervals with
individual samples two metres or less in length, with one metre samples within mineralized zones.
Drill core was cut lengthwise in half with a core saw; half-core was sent for assays reported in this
news release, and the other half is stored on site for reference. Bulk density was determined on site
for the entire length of each assay sample by measurement of mass in air and mass in water.
Sample duplicate bulk density determinations and in-house bulk density standard determinations
were each made at a rate of 5%. Since 2017, in-house bulk density that span a range of densities
have been used and show acceptable long-term precision. Certified standard masses are used to
calibrate the scale balance used for bulk density determinations.
A total of 5% assay standards or blanks and 5% core duplicates were included in the sample stream
as a quality control measure and were reviewed after analyses were received. Standards and
blanks in 2025 drill results to date have been approved as acceptable. Duplicate data add to the
long-term estimates of precision for assay data on the project, and precision for reported drill results
has been deemed to be within acceptable levels. Samples were sent to the Bureau Veritas (BV)
preparation laboratory in
Whitehorse
,
Yukon
, where the samples were crushed and a 500 g split
was sent to the BV laboratory in
Vancouver, B.C
to be pulverized to 85% passing 200 mesh size
pulps. Clean crush material was passed through the crusher and clean silica was pulverized between
each sample. The pulps were analyzed by 1:1:1 Aqua Regia digestion followed by Inductively
Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-ES/ICP-MS) multi-element analyses (BV Code AQ270).
Samples that contained greater than or equal to 1,500 ppm Zn were further analyzed for gallium and
germanium using hydrofluoric acid (HF) + aqua regia closed vessel digestion and ICP-MS finish (BV
Code GC204). All samples were also analyzed for multiple elements by lithium borate fusion and X-
ray fluorescence analysis (XRF) finish (BV Code LF725). Over-limit lead (>25.0%) and zinc
(>24.0%) were analyzed by lithium borate fusion with XRF finish (BV Code LF726). Samples in
regional gold exploration drill holes were also analyzed by lead collection Fire Assay fusion with ICP-
MS finish (BV code FA150). Over-limit gold samples were further analyzed by Fire Assay with ICP-
ES finish (BV code FA330-Au). Silver is reported in this news release by method AQ270, zinc and
lead are reported by LF725 or LF726, gallium and germanium are reported by GC204, and gold is
reported by FA150 or FA330-Au. Bureau Veritas (
Vancouver
) is an independent, international
ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited laboratory.
Assay values may appear rounded to one decimal place but are given in full in Table 1, and Cross
Sections where gold, zinc, and lead grades are reported to two decimal places.
Results in this news release are length and bulk-density weighted averages as would be used in a
Mineral Resource estimate. Length and bulk-density weighted averages have been reported as
these most accurately represent the average metal-content of the intersections.
True widths for primary intervals in TS25-003 are estimated by measuring perpendicular to strike
within the short axis of a stratiform wireframe that has been constructed in 3D around the
mineralized intercepts at Tom based on assay results, geological logging, stratigraphic correlation,
and bedding measurements from oriented core. The massive sulphide mineralization and laminated
mineralization at Tom are stratiform (oriented parallel to bedding), therefore the true width, or
thickness, of the zone is estimated perpendicular to both the strike and dip direction of bedding. As
hole TS25-003 is not complete and remains in stratiform laminated sulphides, an estimation of true
width for the total intersection is not available until the hole is completed. Current estimates for true
width are based on the average angle of bedding in the stratiform sulphides relative to core axis of
the drillcore. This estimate is preliminary in nature and may range between 10% to 20% of
intersected width. An accurate estimate of true width will be provided upon completion of the
drillhole.
Cautionary Statements
Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains "forward-looking" statements and information ("forward-looking
statements"). All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included herein, including,
without limitation, statements relating to interpretation of drill results, targets for exploration,
potential extensions of mineralized zones, and the potential of the Company's projects, are forward
looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words
such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "potential", "possible", and
similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or results "will", "may", "could", or
"should" occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of Company
management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to Company
management and reflect the beliefs, opinions, and projections on the date the statements are
made. Forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties and accordingly,
readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. There can be no
assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events
could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include but are not limited to,
exploration and development risks, unanticipated reclamation expenses, expenditure and financing
requirements, general economic conditions, changes in financial markets, the ability to properly
and efficiently staff the Company's operations, the sufficiency of working capital and funding for
continued operations, title matters, First Nations relations, operating hazards, political and
economic factors, competitive factors, metal prices, relationships with vendors and strategic
partners, governmental regulations and oversight, permitting, seasonality and weather,
technological change, industry practices, uncertainties involved in the interpretation of drilling
results and laboratory tests, and one-time events. The Company assumes no obligation to update
forward
looking statements or beliefs, opinions, projections or other factors, except as required by
law.
Footnotes and References
1
: For Tom, Jason, End Zone, and Boundary Zone Mineral Resources, see the technical report entitled "Technical Report for NI 43-101, Macpass Project, Yukon, Canada" with
effective date September 4, 2024 filed on Sedar+
here
Pierre Landry, P.Geo. is independent of Fireweed Metals Corp., and a 'Qualified Person' as defined under Canadian National
Instrument 43-101. Pierre Landry, of SLR, is responsible for the Tom, Jason, End Zone, and Boundary Zone Mineral Resource Estimates.
2
: Zinc equivalent calculations assume metal prices of US$1.40/lb zinc, US$1.10/lb lead, and US$25/oz silver, zinc concentrate recoveries of 89% Zn, 22% Ag, lead concentrate
recoveries of 75% Pb, 59% Ag, 0% payability of Ag in zinc concentrate, 85% payability of Zn in zinc concentrate, 94% payability of Ag in lead concentrate, and 95% payability of
Pb in lead concentrate. Germanium and gallium were not included in zinc equivalency calculations. The zinc equivalency formula used is: ZnEq% = ((0.56*Ag g/t)+(16.52*Pb%)+
(21.32*Zn%))/21.32. The assumptions used in this zinc equivalency calculation are the same as the assumptions used for zinc equivalency in the 2024 Mineral Resource Estimate
1
.
*: Estimates of true width are preliminary in nature and range between 5 to 20% of intersected thickness. A revised estimate will be provided once the hole is drilled to completion
and additional information is available to make a more refined estimate.
Map 1: Macpass Project and Mactung Project locations (CNW Group/Fireweed Metals Corp.)
Map 2: Tom intersected mineralization, composite intervals in 2025 drilling, 2024 drilling and pre-
2024 drilling with constrained resource vertical projection to surface (CNW Group/Fireweed Metals
Corp.)
Cross section TH to TH': Drillholes TS25-003 and TS25-004. (CNW Group/Fireweed Metals Corp.)
Inclined Long Section TG to TG' (026/78): showing intercepted mineralization to date in TS25-003,
2025, 2024 and pre-2024 drilling intersections. (CNW Group/Fireweed Metals Corp.)
Map 3: Historical and 2025 drilling at Oro (CNW Group/Fireweed Metals Corp.)
Cross section OA to OA': Composite intervals in MP25-003 at Oro. (CNW Group/Fireweed Metals
Corp.)
Photo 1: Selected interval of Black Facies mineralization in TS25-003 laminated sphalerite, barite,
and mudstone at 1,198 m. (CNW Group/Fireweed Metals Corp.)
Photo 2: Grey Facies mineralization in TS25-003 laminated sphalerite and barite at 1,208.7 m (CNW
Group/Fireweed Metals Corp.)
Table 1: Tom Analytical Results
Drillhole
Interval
From
(m)
To
(m)
Interval
Width
(m)*
Zinc
(%)
Lead
(%)
Silver
(g/t)
Gallium
(ppm)
Germanium
(ppm)
Bulk
Density
(t/m
3
)
TS25-003
Primary
1164.00
1222.30
58.30
2.33
0.04
1.79
10.23
2.68
2.75
TS25-003
Including
1193.76
1199.00
5.24
7.80
0.05
2.33
9.72
3.00
2.74
Table 2: Oro Analytical Results
Drillhole
Interval
From (m)
To (m)
Interval
Width (m)
Gold (g/t)
Bulk
Density
(t/m
3
)
MP25-003
Primary
200.00
205.00
5.00
0.10
2.81
MP25-003
Primary
214.00
221.00
7.00
0.13
2.74
MP25-003
Primary
248.00
261.00
13.00
0.45
2.76