Macmillan Pass Zinc Project: Adding to an Already Substantial Asset

Transcription

1 Macmillan Pass Zinc Project: Adding to an Already Substantial Asset November 2017

2 Cautionary Statements The following statements are required by Canadian securities legislation: Forward-Looking Statements: This presentation may contain certain forward-looking statements and information relating to Fireweed Zinc that are based on the beliefs of Fireweed Zinc management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to Fireweed Zinc management. Such statements reflect the current risks, uncertainties and assumptions related to certain factors including but not limited to, without limitations, exploration and development risks, expenditure and financing requirements, general economic conditions, changes in financial markets, the ability to properly and efficiently staff the Company s operations, the sufficiency of working capital and funding for continued operations, title matters, First Nations relations, operating hazards, political and economic factors, competitive factors, metal prices, relationships with vendors and strategic partners, governmental regulations and supervision, permitting, seasonality and weather, technological change, industry practices, and one-time events. Should any one or more risks or uncertainties materialize or change, or should any underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results and forward-looking statements may vary materially from those described herein. Fireweed does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement or forward-looking information except as required by law. *The reader is cautioned that a qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimates in this presentation as current resources. The Company has not verified these historical resources and is not treating these historical estimates as current mineral resources. While these estimates were prepared, in accordance with National Instrument and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves Definition Guidelines in effect at the time (2007), there is no assurance that they are in accordance with current standards and these resource estimates should not be regarded as consistent with current standards or unduly relied upon as such. Fireweed includes these historical estimates in this document for information purposes as they represent material historical data which have previously been publicly disclosed. To Fireweed s knowledge, the 2007 Technical Report is the most recent resource estimate available regarding the Tom-Jason Project. NI Qualified Person: Brandon Macdonald P.Geo,CEO and Director of Fireweed Zinc, and a Qualified Person under the meaning of Canadian National Instrument , is responsible for the technical information in this presentation. 2

3 Overview Zinc Shortage Not Just a Short-Term Problem The zinc shortage is here and it s more than a short term problem so Fireweed management acquired a worldclass zinc asset to build a company around. SEDEX: A Family of Giants SEDEX deposits are critical as the biggest contributors to world Zinc and Lead supply. These deposits tend to be big really big. If you want to find an elephant, they are the deposit style to target. Macmillan Pass: Already Big and Getting Bigger With the acquisition of the Macmillan Pass Project Fireweed has secured one of the world s largest undeveloped zinc projects that contains two substantial SEDEX deposits: Tom & Jason. Untapped Exploration Potential The Macmillan Pass Project already has not only world-class established mineralisation, but also big exploration upside and the potential to become a generational asset. 3

4 Intro to Fireweed and Macmillan Pass 4

5 About Fireweed Zinc Building a New Zinc Company Public Canadian Corporation headquartered in Vancouver Focused on the Macmillan Pass Project Signed Definitive Option Agreement with Hudbay on Tom & Jason Claims in December 2016 to acquire 100% T&J represent a substantial zinc-lead-silver resource with excellent exploration potential and moderate exploration costs Located in politically stable Canada, and the miningfriendly Yukon territory Recently listed on the TSX-V In conjunction with $4.0M IPO Trading under the symbol 7.86M shares under 3 year decreasing escrow, including all held by management Share Structure Issued & Outstanding 17,756,370 Agent s Warrants 403,000 Options 1,380,000 Performance Shares 4,000,000 Due to Hudbay* 3,530,906 Fully-Diluted 27,070,276 *may change if more capital is raised before option exercise 5

6 The Macmillan Pass Project Building on a Substantial Zinc-Lead Resource Located in Yukon, Canada, mining friendly jurisdiction with road access via Canol Road and regional airstrip Contains two known SEDEX Deposits Tom discovered by Hudbay Jason found by Ogilvie JV Hudbay acquires Jason, uniting the two properties ~70,000m of drilling on the two properties since initial discovery Combined Historical Resource* of 6.43 Mt 11.8% ZnEq 6.33% Zn, 5.05% Pb, g/t Ag Mt 10.4% ZnEq 6.71% Zn, 3.48% Pb, g/t Ag Macmillan Pass Project Location 6

7 Management Team Industry Veterans with Diverse Experience John Robins Executive Chairman & Director Founder, Executive Chairman & Director of Kaminak Gold Corporation $520M T/O by Goldcorp Current director of Northern Empire Resources Corp., Kivalliq Energy Corporation, K2 Gold Corporation, Bluestone Resources Inc. In 2017 Mr. Robin s companies raised >$100M Winner of AMEBC s H.H. Spud Huestis Award 2008 Brandon Macdonald CEO & Director Current director of NorthIsle Copper & Gold Inc, Commander Resources Ltd Ex Macquarie Bank BSc Geology UBC, MBA Oxford University Long history of work in Yukon including zinc projects Originally hails from Ross River, Yukon, closest community to Tom & Jason George Gorzynski Director Director, VPX IMPACT Silver Richard Hajdukiewicz Director Ex Goldman & Deutsche Dan Rogness Director Ex Teck Adrian Rothwell Director CEO Kore Mining 7

8 Buoyant Zinc Market 8

9 Projected New Zinc Supply is Insufficient Increasing Demand & Slowing Mine Production Even Uncommitted Projects Insufficient Source: Teck 9

10 Zinc vs Copper: Lagging in Discovery? 45 Zinc and Copper Global Reserves and Mine Production (1000s tonnes) 25, ,000 15,000 10,000 How Many Years of Production Reserves? Copper Zinc , Global reserves Zn (years) Global reserves Cu (years) Mine production Zn Mine production Cu Linear (Global reserves Zn (years)) Linear (Global reserves Cu (years)) ILZSG, USGS 10

11 China: Huge Zinc Production, but for How Long? Will Maturation of China s Mining Industry Reduce Supply? Nascent resource economies start small and get big Initial proliferation of artisanal to medium scale mines Highest-grade and lowest-hanging fruit is usually small Excessive reliance on cheap labour and manual methods These small deposits will be mined out and not replaced Regulatory regimes change, and encourage larger projects Regulatory burden is not directly proportional to size of project Many small mines in China recently shut down with introduction of new regulations Push towards mechanization mandates larger mines 5 Million Tonne Question(s): can China replace small with large? How many medium/small mines can become large? What discoveries are waiting in China? Mine Output in China Large Scale 0 Medium Scale 20 Small Scale 350+ Private Small Mine 500+ Total Number of Mines ILZSG 11

12 A Family of Giants: SEDEX Deposits 12

13 What is a SEDEX Deposit? Most Important Deposit Type for Zinc Production SEDEX Deposits Represent: > 50% of World Zinc Production > 40% of Zinc Reserves Very Important for Lead supply SEDEX means Sedimentary Exhalative Many sub-categories, but broadly: A: Vent-Proximal (Tom & Jason, Sullivan, Rammelsberg) B: Vent-Distal (Howard s Pass, McArthur River) Includes Irish-type and Broken-Hill Deposits Some debates on classification and nomenclature New nomenclature proposal of CD Deposits: Clastic Dominated Sediment-Hosted Pb-Zn Deposits 13 Goodfellow & Lydon

14 Notable Major SEDEX Deposits 14

15 Western Canada Examples Host to Some of the Largest SEDEX Deposits in the World Western Canadian Examples Include: Sullivan Deposit Anvil district (Faro) Howard's Pass district (Selwyn) Gataga district (Cirque) Macmillan's Pass district (Tom and Jason) These are big deposits Sullivan 149 Mt Production Anvil 120 Mt Howard s Pass 180 Mt Ind, 230 Mt Inf 15 Taken from S. Paradis et al, 2016

16 Macmillan Pass: Already Big and Getting Bigger 16

17 Substantial Historical Resource One of the Largest Undeveloped Zinc Resources in the Americas Resource from Technical Report 1 tonnes Zn % Pb % Ag g/t ZnEq% 2 Tom (Indicated) 4,977, Jason (Indicated) 1,451, Indicated Total 6,428, Contained Zn kt Pb kt Ag MOz Tom (Inferred) 13,547, Jason (Inferred) 11,001, Inferred Total 24,549, , Taken from Technical Report on the Tom and Jason Deposits, Yukon Territory, Canada written by Scott-Wilson RPA for Hudbay Minerals in 2007 and available on SEDAR. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify these historical estimates as current resources. The Company has not verified these historical resources and is not treating these historical estimates as current mineral resources. While these estimates were prepared, in accordance with National Instrument and the CIM Guidelines in effect at the time (2007), there is no assurance that they are in accordance with current standards and these resource estimates should not be regarded as consistent with current standards or unduly relied upon as such. Fireweed includes these historical estimates in this document for information purposes as they represent material historical data which have previously been publicly disclosed. 2. ZnEq (zinc equivalent) does not include recovery or payables and is based on metal prices at

18 Low-Hanging Fruit: Mineralization Expansion Tom Deposits remain open for expansion at depth Excellent Upside Potential Significant potential to expand the known mineralization Very little deep drilling has been done Most zones extend to depth and have not been tested Potential for expansion along trend Big step-out in 1990 yielded 14.6m of 14.1% Zinc (no follow-up) Jason Deposits remain open for expansion at depth 18

19 Big Land Position for Discovery Exploration Potential over Large 220 Sq Km Land Position Together the Tom, Jason and Mac claims cover a large area of 21,939 Ha (53,920 acres) Footprint of the known deposits is very small compared to property size Much of the rest of the ground remains little explored using modern exploration techniques Most recent large-scale field exploration programs at Tom and Jason were more than 25 years ago Satellite zones represent immediate exploration upside End Zone: Hole JS80-59 intersected 3.6% Zn, 10.2% Pb and 83.2g/t Ag over 19.4m End Zone: Fireweed is first company to own both sides of this zone which extends over property boundary End Zone: Is this a whole new system? 19

20 World-Class Exploration Potential Ample Potential for New Discoveries Historic work has largely been focused on proving up known mineralization Previous exploration programs left untested exploration targets Exploration vectors point to new areas of property Geochemistry (stream sediments, water, soils) Stratigraphy (basin edge) Large land package provides ample room for new discoveries Modern technology allows exploration in areas ignored before Three known productive systems in project area, how many more? Can Macmillan Pass join the giants of SEDEX? 20

21 Near-Term Corporate Objectives Focus on Advancing Project and Resource Expansion Timeframe 2017 Summer (Complete) Objective Fireweed completes the largest program on the project in over 25 years 2200m drill program at T&J Support resource update & metallurgy Re-log and re-sample historic core Property mapping, geochemistry and geophysics Synthesize new exploration model 2017 Q4 News flow with additional drill results Updated Resource 2018 Q2 Preliminary Economic Assessment published 21

22 The Fireweed Zinc Opportunity Hot Zinc Market Zinc mine closures have led to rapidly declining stocks and a doubling of the spot price in under 2 years. The shortage is expected to continue with insufficient new zinc production projected in coming years. World-Class Project The Macmillan Pass Project contains not just the Tom & Jason Deposits, which together represent a rare blend of size and grade, but also compelling exploration potential. Value-Driving News Flow FWZ will be releasing an updated NI mineral resource in Q and the maiden NI PEA on the Tom & Jason deposits in H Compelling Valuation Fireweed is a new company still flying below the radar with a valuation that, when compared to its peer group, demands consideration. 22

23 For More Information, Please Contact: Brandon Macdonald CEO & Director Phone: Suite West Pender St. Vancouver, BC V6C 2V6 23

24 APPENDIX 24

25 First 2017 Drill Results - Tom Wide, High Grade Intersections from Tom West Zone Hole No. From To Interval Estimated True Zinc Lead Silver Width (meters) (meters) (meters) (meters) (%) (%) (g/t) TS TS Including: Including: TS Including: Including: TS Including: TS Including: Including: Including:

26 First 2017 Drill Results - Tom Wide, High Grade Intersections from Tom West Zone All verification holes confirmed historic results with some returning notably better results TS17-02/03 returned much higher silver values than historic holes in that area. TS17-05 was drilled 50 meters below an original 1951 drill hole at the north end of the Tom West Zone returned much higher assays across a similar width compared to the historic reported results (1.19% zinc, 0.73% lead and 4.89g/t silver over 27 meters) from 1951 drill hole TS001 This result opens the Tom West Zone for potential expansion to the north. 26

27 Final 2017 Drill Results - Jason High Grade Intersections from Jason Main Zone Hole No. From To Interval Estimated True Width 2 Zinc Lead Silver (meters) (meters) (meters) (meters) (%) (%) (g/t) JS JS Including: JS17-03 Drill hole abandoned before reaching main zone 3 JS Including: JS Including: Including: Including: JS Including: Including: Including: JS Including:

28 Final 2017 Drill Results - Jason Intersections confirm grade & width of Jason Main Zone All holes that reached the Main Zone intersected good widths of Zn-Pb mineralization Each hole intersected between past holes and confirms continuity of mineralization Zinc-rich intersections are consistent with vent-distal zoning 28

29 Infrastructure Excellent Access for Exploration & Development Project is on the government maintained Canol Road, ~200 km from the town of Ross River Macmillan Pass airstrip within property boundary Overall moderate costs for northern exploration 29

30 Camp & Facilities Turnkey for Additional Work Tom claims have Class 3 permit in place and Type B Water License Excellent camp installed in 2011 Internal roads to initial drill sites Historic core from over 40 years of drilling is on site 30

31 Metallurgy Encouraging Results from Initial Study Preliminary Metallurgical Study Conducted in 2012 Whole-core HQ from 4 holes in 2011, totalling 764 kg from the Tom West deposit Recoveries: 83% of the Pb and 73% of the Ag in the Pb concentrate 79% of the Zn and 12% of the Ag in the Zn concentrate Low iron in concentrates: 0.94% Fe in zinc concentrate, 2.29% Fe in lead concentrate Initial Concentrate results summarized below: Product Weight % Assay % Zn Pb Ag Flotation Feed Zinc Concentrate Lead Concentrate

32 Environment and CSR Proactive Project Stewardship Environmental baseline studies began at site in 2000 and were expanded in surface water monitoring stations, 3 ground water wells, and 2 weather stations Nearest community is Ross River, population 350, home to Ross River Dena First Nations Relationship with Ross River Dena First Nations has been good with members having worked on the Project CEO Brandon Macdonald is originally from Ross River and is familiar with the community Water Monitoring 32