Canadian miner Canterra Minerals has staked 19 mineral claims spanning the Seal Pond volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) prospect in the Central Newfoundland Mining District, expanding its critical minerals project footprint.
The claims, covering an area of 5km², are situated 20km east of Canterra’s high-grade Buchans project, a historic VMS critical metal mining camp.
Canterra’s acquisition of the claims adds to its extensive regional exploration efforts to uncover new discoveries in this massive sulphide camp.
The company has launched a thorough review of historical exploration data and is considering subsequent field programmes.
The aim is to identify potential drill targets and propel the Seal Pond prospect towards the discovery of “significant” new deposits.
Canterra is expected to receive financial support from the Junior Exploration Assistance Programme for its Buchans 2025 exploration initiative.
Canterra Minerals president and CEO Chris Pennimpede said: “Canterra’s acquisition of these claims underscores its commitment to expanding its exploration footprint in proven mining jurisdictions. This staking represents further consolidation of the Buchans group rocks to secure the regional potential in this belt to make a new high-grade critical minerals discovery.
“We believe the Seal Pond prospect has significant potential and look forward to applying modern exploration techniques to unlock new discoveries in this well-endowed district.”
The Seal Pond prospect is located within the volcanic rocks of the Mary March Group, which are analogous to the productive Buchans Group rocks. These rocks host several high-grade VMS occurrences with characteristics similar to the Buchans orebodies.
Canterra’s current land holdings in the district are the largest, encompassing seven known undeveloped deposits with historical or current mineral resource estimates compliant with National Instrument 43-101 at the time of their estimation.
The Seal Pond property has not been drilled since 2006, and previous drilling was limited in scope.
However, drill highlights from the region include intervals grading 2.84% zinc and 1.22% copper, found within the Buchans Group rocks, showcasing the associated alteration and mineralisation signatures that are indicative of the area’s mineral potential.
Canterra Minerals purchased the past-producing Buchans mine and other critical and precious metals projects in Newfoundland from Buchans Resources in 2023.
