Cornish Metals Inc. has started a 9,000-meter exploration drilling program at the Wide Formation target in the Carn Brea South exploration area of its South Crofty Tin Project in Cornwall, UK. The program aims to test the geometry and continuity of tin mineralization within the Wide Formation target. The Wide Formation is a high-grade tin target located parallel to and beneath the Great Flat Lode. The drill program will cover an area measuring 2,500 meters along strike and 500 meters downdip. The Wide Formation has similar alteration characteristics to the No 8 Lode, a prolific tin-producing lode in the South Crofty mine.
The CEO of Cornish Metals, Richard Williams, expressed excitement about the drill program, stating that it represents a new district-scale target close to the South Crofty underground infrastructure. He believes that if the program is successful, it has the potential to expand the mineral resource base and production rates of the project.
The geology in the Carn Brea South exploration area is similar to that at South Crofty, consisting of metasediments overlying an intrusive granite body. The Wide Formation structure is predominantly blue tourmaline with disseminated cassiterite, hosted within a siliceous tourmaline-altered granite. The cassiterite is mostly found within quartz-chlorite veins overprinting the blue tourmaline lode structure. No mining has been conducted on the Wide Formation.
South Crofty is a historical underground tin mine that operated from the sixteenth century until 1998. The project has planning permission for underground mining, a mine water treatment plant, new processing facilities, and an environmental permit to dewater the mine. It has the fourth-highest grade tin mineral resource globally and benefits from multiple shafts that can be used for future operations. Tin is considered a critical mineral, and the South Crofty project could generate 250-300 direct jobs.
Cornish Metals is a dual-listed company focused on advancing the South Crofty tin project in Cornwall. The project has an updated mineral resource estimate, with indicated and inferred resources in the lower and upper mine areas. An updated NI 43-101 Technical Report will be filed on SEDAR within 45 days of the September 13 news release.