Abitibi Metals Corp. provided an update on the 16,500-metre Phase II drill program at the B26 Polymetallic Deposit that is currently underway. Abitibi Metals is fully funded with $13.0 million to complete the remaining 2024 work program and an additional 20,000 metres in 2025, which will be incorporated into a Preliminary Economic Assessment to complete the option.

On November 16th, 2023, the Company entered into an option agreement on the B26 Deposit to earn 80% over 7 years from SOQUEM Inc. The previously identified broad zone of mineralization from 1,206 to 1,344 metres in step out hole 1274-24-338 returned 0.85% CuEq over 37.3 metres, starting at 1,206.3 metres. The mineralized interval contains two high grade intervals of 2.0% CuEq over 3.7 metres and 2.1% CuEq over 7.25 metres starting at 1,206.25 and 1,220.85 metres, respectively. Locally gold is present at an average grade of 1.46 g/t Au from 1,206.25 to 1,209.95 metres.

True thickness is approximately 70% and 80% of core length. These results confirm the continuity of the chalcopyrite bearing veins outside the current resource envelope and outline the interpreted plunge of the mineralized system at a deposit scale. The wedge hole (1274-24-338W1), branched out from the original hole to intercept the mineralized zone approximately 50 metres above the highlight intercept in hole 1274-24-338.

The wedge intersected the same high-grade zone, which includes 2.4% CuEq over 17.5 metres, starting at 1,186.6 metres, including a shorter interval of 4.9% CuEq over 4.0 metres, demonstrating the high-grade potential of the B26 zone down dip. The new exploration area is located approximately 200 metres below historical drilling and outside the western limit of the B26 Deposit. Management considers the expansion of the down dip target a breakthrough that supports the modelling of a structurally controlled gold bearing quartz veining system with chalcopyrite.

Once combined with disseminated low grade material, the overall mineralized system reaches an average thickness of 140 metres. Abitibi Metals continues to progress on its Phase II, 16,500 metres drill program at the B26 Deposit, having completed 16 holes (12,331 metres) to date. The Company is awaiting results from the 10,339 metres drill program at the B26 Deposit.

The core logging program was run by Explo-Logik in Val d'Or, Quebec. The drill core was split with half sent to AGAT Laboratories Ltd. and prepared in Val d'Or, Quebec. All samples are processed by fire assays on 50 gr with atomic absorption finish and by "four acids digestion" with ICP-OES finish, respectively, for gold and base metals.

Samples returning a gold grade above 3 g/t are reprocessed by metallic screening with a cut at 106 µm. Material treated is split and assayed by fire assay with ICP-OES finish to extinction. A separate split is taken to assay separately mineralized intervals with target grades above 0.5% Cu using Na2O2 fusion and ICP-OES or ICP-MS finish. Samples preparation duplicates, varied standards, and blanks are inserted into the sample stream.

In the 2018 resource estimate, SGS recommended the QAQC protocol to explain the replicability for the four metals (Au-Cu-Ag-Zn). The Company has set up for this program a series of assaying protocols with the objective to control QAQC issues from the beginning of the project. As a result, samples are crushed finer with 95% of particles passing 1.7 mm and a large split of 1 kg is pulverized down to 106 µm (150 mesh).

Other measures put in place include the automatic re-assaying of gold results above 3 g/t by metallic screening and the use of sodium peroxide fusion in mineralized intervals interval corresponding to a target grade above 0.5% Cu.