FireFly Metals Ltd (ASX:FFM) is set to add 115 square kilometres of exploration tenure to its current landholding in Canada, particularly around the Green Bay copper-gold project, which holds a mineral resource estimate (MRE) of 59 million tonnes (Mt) at 2% for 1.2Mt of copper equivalent (CuEq).

The company has finalised an agreement with Signal Gold Inc (TSX:SGLN) to take on the Tilt Cove property in Newfoundland, which is immediately continuous to the Green Bay project, and boosts the latter’s land holding by 54%, for a total area of approximately 326 square kilometres.

The agreement included an upfront consideration of C$3.07M worth of FireFly shares, in addition to C$570,000 in cash, and a non-guaranteed milestone payment of C$1M if a mineral resource of at least 500,000oz is delineated.

Among the attractions of the Tilt Cove property are its prospectivity for volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits similar to FireFly’s 59Mt Ming mine, plus its potential to host high-grade orogenic-style gold mineralisation, and finally, the presence of the historic Tilt Cove VMS deposit.

The latter was the source of one of the world’s largest copper mines in the 19th century, yielding approximately 170,000 tonnes of copper and 50,000oz of gold between 1864 and 1917, and resuming operations from 1957 and 1967.

Managing director Steve Parsons said the acquisition was an important achievement for FireFly.

“This is a golden opportunity to secure a large parcel of compelling exploration tenure right next to our Green Bay project,” he said.

“Tilt Cove’s mining is a compelling geological setting, which offers another potential avenue for substantial resource growth.

“We will move quickly to apply our exploration skills and local knowledge at Tilt Cove as part of our overall strategy to keep growing the resource at Green Bay.”

FireFly shares fell following the news, and by 15:53 AEDT, they were trading at $1.27 – a drop of 3.24% since the market opened.

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