Fireweed Metals announces $22 million Lundin-backed financing for 2024 exploration
Shares of Fireweed Metals were trading at C$1.15 apiece by 11:00 a.m. ET Friday for a market capitalization of C$172 million ($125m). It traded between C$0.88 and C$1.77 over the past 52 weeks.
The Lundin family trusts, alongside other key stakeholders, are expected to participate in the placement and have indicated their intention to subscribe the full amount, the company said.
In a news release, Fireweed’s CEO Peter Hemstead confirmed that the offering proceeds will primarily fund the company’s exploration initiatives for 2024, specifically an extensive 14,000-metre drilling and regional exploration program at Macpass.
“This funding enables Fireweed to execute this year’s planned program without the need for additional capital,” he said.
The Macpass project is hailed as one of the world’s largest undeveloped zinc resources, hosting four mineralized occurrences — Tom, Jason, Boundary and End zones — plus other exploration targets over a 940 km2 area.
To date, only the Tom and Jason mineralized zones have resource estimates, totalling 11.2 million tonnes indicated at 9.61% zinc equivalent (6.59% zinc, 2.48% lead and 21.33 g/t silver) and 39.5 million tonnes inferred at 10.00% zinc equivalent (5.84% zinc, 3.14% lead and 38.15 g/t silver).
Next to the Macpass project is Fireweed’s newly acquired Mactung project, which hosts a tungsten discovery that dates back to the 1960s. A resource estimate in 2023 established Mactung as the world’s largest high-grade tungsten resource, with 41.5 million tonnes indicated at 0.73% WO3 and 12.2 million tonnes inferred at 0.59% WO3.
