C3 Metals to drill-test for gold, copper at Bellas Gate
Published:Friday | April 8, 2022 | 12:10 AM
C3 Metals Inc, formerly known as Carube Copper, will advance its search for gold and copper in Bellas Gate, St Catherine later this month, saying its newest target has loads of “tonnage potential” for copper.
The Canada-based mining company has brought in equipment to drill five prospective areas in the Bellas Gate community – at Connors, Camel Hill, Geo Hill, Provost and Hendley.
C3 Metals, which changed its name in 2020, will begin drilling it’s first hole at Connors, said Vice-President Steve Hughes in a press release.
The next best area for drilling would be Geo Hill, on the opposite end of Connors. Lying between the two areas is a mountainous region called the Epidote Ridge.
The mining company intends to supply the copper it extracts to the makers of electric vehicles, the manufacture of which is said to require four times the amount of copper used in gas-powered vehicles.
Copper is currently selling at around US$4.80 per pound on the world market, up 30 per cent in a year.
“With the strong copper price, we consider it imperative to properly drill-test these high-priority porphyry and epithermal targets,” said President and CEO of C3 Metals Kevin Tomlinson.
Up to 2019, C3 Metals held 11 licences in Jamaica, six of which were sold to Geophysx Jamaica Limited in a deal valued at US$210,000.
It holds two special exclusive prospecting licences, or SEPLs, covering 84 square kilometres at Bellas Gate, as well as mining licences for Authur’s Seat and Main Ridge in Clarendon, and Hungry Gully in St Thomas. The company recently reacquired minority interest in the latter two locations from Rodinia Resources Pty for a consideration of US$25,000, valuing the properties at US$500,000.
C3 Metals will begin drilling tests in Bellas Gate, before advancing projects in Main Ridge and kick-starting exploration activities in Authur’s Seat.
“Authur’s Seat is new to us. We’ve never been there, and there has been no modern-day exploration since 1992. We had the guys up there recently and found some stellar rocks. We know there is something good up there. We are really excited about that and hopefully, we will drill Authur’s Seat along with Main Ridge this year,” Hughes said.
Outside of Jamaica, the company has projects under way in Rogers Creek, British Columbia, and southern Peru.
C3 Metals’ explorations in Jamaica date back to 2011. In 2014, OZ Minerals of Australia became a partner, pumping US$12.5 million into the Bellas Gate project over three years. OZ Minerals elected to withdraw from the joint venture in 2017, leaving C3 Metals with 100 per cent interest in the project.
C3 Metals says its most recent drilling in Jamaica was undertaken from 2015 to 2017, which confirmed continuous zones of near-surface copper-gold mineralisation that have not been followed up.
The Jamaican Government stands to earn five per cent royalty from C3, as well as tax revenue.