- 01Mount Joy: 22.5m at 2.5% CuEq, incl. 9m at 3.9%.
- 02Just 2.6km from Nugget Pond plant.
- 03More sulphides and conductors; assays pending.
FireFly Metals (ASX: FFM) has discovered a high-grade copper-gold system at Mount Joy within its Green Bay Copper-Gold Project in Newfoundland, Canada.
Drilling at the previously untested prospect returned 22.5 metres at 2.5% copper equivalent from 109m, including 9m at 3.9% CuEq.
The discovery lies approximately 35 kilometres east of the flagship Ming Mine and just 2.6km from the Nugget Pond processing facility, which remains on care and maintenance.
The existing Ming deposit hosts measured and indicated resources of approximately 57.4 million tonnes (Mt) at 2.4% CuEq and inferred resources of 17.3Mt at 2.8% CuEq.
An updated Ming MRE and feasibility study are scheduled for the first quarter of 2027, ahead of a potential final investment decision in mid-2027 and a targeted construction start around July, subject to approval.
New Geophysics Discovery
Mount Joy emerged from airborne electromagnetic surveys in 2025, ground-based follow-up surveys in 2026 and geochemical prospecting across the Tilt Cove–Betts Cove district.
The prospect lies along the same prospective geological contact as the historical Tilt Cove copper mine, with that contact extending several kilometres beyond the discovery.
An initial intersection of 6.5m at 2.0% CuEq prompted downhole electromagnetic surveying, which identified a strong conductor about 80m to the south.
Subsequent drilling established the broader high-grade intersection, which averaged 1.9% copper and 0.6 grams per tonne gold and included a 9m interval averaging 3.0% copper and 1.0g/t gold.
The mineralisation comprises massive sulphides and underlying copper-gold stringer zones, geological features consistent with a volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) system.
Further Untested Targets
A follow-up hole intersected approximately 40m of semi-massive sulphides between 240m and 280m downhole, with additional stringer mineralisation extending beyond 400m.
FireFly interprets a fault separating this intersection from the earlier discovery zone, while DHEM surveys have identified further off-hole conductive targets.
Visual logging is not a substitute for laboratory analysis and cannot establish an economic grade, with the remaining assays expected in approximately four weeks.
The helicopter-supported program has finished, with geological interpretation and geophysical results to determine the next drilling locations, and FireFly plans to construct an access road from Nugget Pond to support track-mounted drilling during the Canadian winter of 2027.
District-Scale VMS System
“It is already clear that the prospect contains high grades and substantial widths of mineralisation within a larger district-scale VMS system and geophysics points to more highly prospective targets close to the newly discovered mineralisation,” managing director Steve Parsons said.
“This discovery also underscores the immense potential of the pipeline of geophysical and geochemical targets we have identified at Green Bay.”
“The Mount Joy discovery supports our plan to continue driving growth in the Mineral Resource, mine life, and forecast production rates at Green Bay.”
“As part of this strategy, we will release an updated Mineral Resource Estimate and a Feasibility Study in the coming quarter, ahead of a Final Investment Decision expected in mid-2027.”
At the nearby Main Mine prospect, FireFly has an initial inferred mineral resource estimate planned for the first quarter of 2027.
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