Foran Mining Corporation is thrilled to provide an update on its regional exploration strategy across its vast properties in Saskatchewan, Canada. Building upon the success of the Tesla Zone discovery, Foran is meticulously advancing high-priority anomalies to uncover new potential discoveries across its expansive land package. This strategic approach is backed by a comprehensive ~8,000m Summer-Fall drill program, which is progressing smoothly, and a robust pipeline of targets being thoroughly evaluated.
Foran is capitalizing on its impressive success from the McIlvenna Bay Deposit-Tesla Zone mineralization corridor to drive its exploration efforts and uncover new discoveries across its properties. To achieve pinpoint precision in targeting, Foran has completed an extensive suite of advanced airborne geophysical surveys, spanning over 17,800 line-kilometres, during 2023-2024. This cutting-edge technology includes FalconTM gravity gradiometry and HeliTEM2 and/or VTEMTM Max electromagnetic data, providing an unparalleled level of detail and insight. Permits have been secured to launch an airborne electromagnetic survey over the Denare West property, focusing on new exploration potential along the strike from McIlvenna Bay.
The Summer-Fall regional drill program is currently underway, with a primary focus on locations of interest such as the Bacchus prospect, aiming to further propel exploration success. Foran’s regional exploration strategy is poised to unlock significant opportunities, as new data and insightful discoveries pave the way for the next phase of targeted drilling across certain of the Properties.
Erin Carswell, Foran’s Vice President of Exploration, states, “As we continue to expand and meticulously define the Tesla Zone, our focus is also on advancing efforts to identify our next major regional discovery. Over the past two years, we have employed a highly structured approach, combining insights from Tesla with geophysics and structural geoscience to demonstrate the immense potential of our properties. This approach highlights the prolific nature of our land package and the abundance of growth opportunities. Our sustained efforts, powered by advanced, high-quality airborne datasets, are providing a solid foundation for exploring potential future discoveries. By strategically optimizing opportunities for success, we are advancing our district-scale approach to realize Foran’s vision of a multi-decade mining complex, all while prioritizing risk-adjusted returns for our shareholders.”
A Rare Exploration Opportunity
Foran’s Properties encompass the under-explored western end of the renowned Flin Flon Greenstone Belt, one of the world’s most prolific Cu-Zn-Au-Ag mining belts. This belt boasts 29 past and present producing mines and hosts multiple ‘camps’ of Volcanic-Hosted Massive Sulphide (VHMS) deposits across Manitoba and into Saskatchewan. While historically receiving less exploration investment than neighboring camps, Foran’s Properties have gained new significance in recent years, fueled by the discovery of the Tesla Zone. This discovery adds substantial scale potential to Foran when considering the already-robust McIlvenna Bay Deposit.
Furthermore, new regional drilling results near the Bigstone Deposit and other locations across Foran’s Properties indicate that mineralizing processes are more widespread than previously understood. This suggests a greater potential for valuable mineral deposits across the region.
Unlocking Hidden Potential
One key characteristic of Foran’s Properties, contributing to the historically low drilling density, is a thin layer of sand and dolomite covering approximately 90% of the prospective basement geology. This cover sequence hampered on-ground prospecting during the previous century of exploration, meaning any mineralization beneath remained untouched for modern geophysical techniques to detect. Consequently, detailed and high-quality geophysical datasets are essential to Foran’s exploration strategy.
Advanced Geophysical Surveys
Foran has collected three new detailed airborne geophysical datasets (electromagnetics, aeromagnetics and gravity gradiometry) across its northern claims during 2023 and early 2024. These datasets have created a highly specialized assemblage of data, forming a platform for pursuing new VHMS discoveries. This advanced technology enables Foran to detect anomalies through thin cover sequences with greater clarity, extrapolate proven discovery methodologies with more confidence, and better resolve existing targets for increased drilling efficiency.
Each type of geophysical data collected measures an independent physical property of the subsurface geology:
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Electromagnetic (EM) data:
Serves as the primary base metal targeting tool, measuring the electrical conductivity of the Earth’s crust. Highly conductive responses can be attributed to native metals and metal sulphide minerals such as chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite, graphite, or certain clay minerals. By flying 100m-spaced flight lines, the aim is to detect sulphide mineralization in the trends where it occurs.*
Magnetic data:
Measures the magnetic susceptibility of rocks, commonly used for geological mapping, interpretation, and, occasionally, direct targeting of ore deposits. Typically, high magnetic signatures are caused by the presence of magnetite or, less commonly, pyrrhotite, in the host rocks. Within Foran’s Properties, magnetite commonly occurs in igneous rocks, in banded iron formations, and can also form part of alteration and mineralization assemblages. While magnetic data previously existed across Foran’s Properties, the new data was collected with higher resolution, offering additional granularity in key target areas.*
Gravity Gradiometry data:
Provides a valuable complementary regional dataset by measuring density contrasts in the subsurface rocks. Denser rocks commonly contain higher proportions of iron or titanium-bearing minerals such as basalts, gabbros, iron formations, and, less commonly, accumulations of iron or base metal sulphides. Foran’s new FalconTM gravity gradiometry data highlights density anomalies and trends not always evident in the magnetic data, providing insights into processes that change rock density, such as weathering or alteration.A Comprehensive Data Suite
These high-quality datasets enable the differentiation of geology, the definition of mineralization signatures, and the tracking of prospective trends and structures. They also provide a crucial foundation for applying machine learning (a branch of artificial intelligence) and statistical multivariate analysis tools to uncover trends and relationships not immediately apparent in individual datasets. Three-dimensional modeling and integration of the full datasets will be conducted throughout 2024-2025 as the Company’s interpretation progresses.
Foran is also integrating this data with other remote sensing and empirical datasets (such as regional biogeochemistry) to create a comprehensive suite of products supporting best-practice exploration methodologies for years to come.
Given Foran’s growing understanding of the petrophysical signatures of the Tesla Zone, McIlvenna Bay Deposit, and Bigstone Deposit, the Company is now exploring the potential to complete additional induced polarization (IP) and passive seismic geophysical surveys over select portions of its Properties in 2025. These surveys are expected to serve as direct targeting and vectoring tools as the Company progresses towards more refined exploration targets.
High-Priority Regional Exploration Target – Bacchus
The Bacchus target, located on what has historically been known as the “North Trend,” is approximately 600m north of the Bigstone Deposit. Historical work in the area, following the trend northward, was limited to testing shallow IP targets from a 2000 survey. Drill results from this survey revealed anomalous copper, zinc, and gold. Reviewing new Heli-TEM data, in conjunction with the historic IP survey, revealed an anomaly with a signal similar to the Bigstone Deposit, but with a physically larger response. Foran’s drilling is testing the IP anomaly at depths greater than historic drill holes, as well as probing the deeper EM anomaly, to assess the potential continuation of the prospective Bigstone stratigraphy.
The initial drill hole, BC-24-01, intersected sulphide mineralization related to both the historic IP target and the deeper EM anomaly. The IP anomaly is associated with approximately 10m of foliation bound disseminated pyrrhotite and pyrite, interpreted to be related to the hanging-wall stratigraphy observed above the Bigstone Deposit to the south. The EM anomaly appears to align with similar stratigraphy identified at the Bigstone Deposit, including fragmental felsic rocks, rhyolite tuff/argillite, local massive sulphide containing sphalerite, and silicified felsic to mafic tuffs with local pyrrhotite, pyrite, and chalcopyrite sulphide mineralization. Assays are currently pending for this drill hole.
BC-24-02 was drilled down-dip of BC-24-01 and intersected the same sequence. Figure 5 provides a photo of the mineralized core interval from BC-24-01, alongside the stratigraphic column from Bigstone, indicating the interpreted equivalent interval within the Bigstone Deposit. Assays are pending for this drill hole. The identification of sulphide mineralization at Bacchus, with the same prospective stratigraphy 600m north of the Bigstone Deposit, suggests the area’s potential to host additional mineralization. A borehole EM survey was conducted following the completion of drilling, and interpretation of the survey results is currently underway.
The presence of satellite sulphide systems peripheral to major orebodies, such as the McIlvenna Bay Deposit and now the Bigstone Deposit, is a common characteristic of many mineral districts. This highlights the broad geographical reach of the mineralizing fluids. The team is diligently working to interpret the results and possible links to Bigstone in preparation for follow-up exploration in 2025.
Foran’s Current Exploration Pipeline
Foran will be generating, drilling, and evaluating an expanding pipeline of targets across its Properties. This involves extrapolating from known geology in the north to the under-cover sections in the south as the Company advances its geophysical interpretations and exploration models. Leveraging new insights from the Company’s work at Tesla and McIlvenna Bay, Foran will also be re-logging and sampling drill core from historic prospects. This careful examination will identify alteration vectors and near-miss indicators that may have been overlooked in the past.
With extensive drilling permits in place, the 2025 Summer to Fall program is expected to involve significant helicopter-supported drilling efforts to test regional targets. The current target pipeline and key focus areas for different drill seasons are shown in Figure 6, along with a photo of Foran’s exploration team in action in Figure 7.
Foran Mining – A Vision for the Future
Foran Mining is a copper-zinc-gold-silver exploration and development company dedicated to supporting a greener future, empowering communities, and creating circular economies that generate value for all stakeholders while safeguarding the environment. The McIlvenna Bay Project, situated entirely within the documented traditional territory of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, comprises the infrastructure and works related to development and advanced exploration activities of the Company. This project hosts the McIlvenna Bay Deposit and Tesla Zone. The Company also owns the Bigstone Deposit, a resource-development stage deposit located 25 km southwest of the McIlvenna Bay Property.
The McIlvenna Bay Deposit is a copper-zinc-gold-silver rich VHMS deposit, envisioned as the center of a new mining camp in a prolific district that has been producing for 100 years. The McIlvenna Bay Property sits just 65 km West of Flin Flon, Manitoba, and forms part of the world-class Flin Flon Greenstone Belt. This belt stretches from Snow Lake, Manitoba, through Flin Flon to Foran’s ground in eastern Saskatchewan, spanning over 225 km. The McIlvenna Bay Deposit is the largest undeveloped VHMS deposit in the region.
The Company announced the results from its NI 43-101 compliant Technical Report on the 2022 Feasibility Study for the McIlvenna Bay Deposit (“2022 Feasibility Study”) on February 28, 2022, outlining that current Mineral Reserves could potentially support an 18-year mine life, producing an average of 65 million pounds of copper equivalent annually. The Company filed the 2022 Feasibility Study on April 14, 2022, with an effective date of February 28, 2022. The Company also filed a NI 43-101 Technical Report for the Bigstone Deposit resource estimate on January 21, 2021, as amended on February 1, 2022. Investors are encouraged to consult the full text of these technical reports, which can be found on the Company’s profile on www.sedarplus.ca.
The Company’s head office is located at 409 Granville Street, Suite 904, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6C 1T2. Common Shares of the Company are listed for trading on the TSX under the symbol “FOM” and on the OTCQX under the symbol “FMCXF.”
