Constantine Metal Resources started another summer of drilling at the Palmer Project this month with plans to expand exploration and reevaluate its mineral resources by the fall.

Constantine plans to give an updated estimate on the quantity of its mineral resources at the Palmer Project in several months, Cornejo said. The last estimate was released in 2015.

The company also plans to hire a consulting firm to complete the project’s first “Preliminary Economic Assessment study” to gauge the “potential economic viability of the mineral resources.”

“This is the first ever for the project ….it means the project is getting to the next level,” Cornejo said. “Depending on the results of the study, it could be quite significant for the future plans for the project.”

Cornejo said the firm will likely reference numbers from other similar exploration projects and mines. The study will be used as a tool to determine if the Palmer Project is worth further investment and study, Cornejo said, and show Constantine how it might need to improve or reduce costs. She said this is the first of three planned economic assessments. Constantine will hire a consulting firm to conduct the study, which should be complete in the fall.

“We’re excited to build upon the success of last year, we had a very successful drill season and we’re looking forward to following on that success,” Cornejo said. “I hope it’s a big year to answer questions and frame out what the next few years might look like.”

The longest intersection of mineralization found last year was a 45-meter core sample drilled at the South Wall site. Two samples yielded concentrations of zinc and copper higher than the project’s average.

“Both target areas have potential to significantly expand the extent of mineralization beyond the bounds of the current resource,” the press release stated.

Liz Cornejo, vice president of Community and External Affairs, said some of the drilling will focus on finding a part of the mineral resource that was displaced after a fault caused the earth to shift and offset the minerals.

Constantine also will expand its largest discovery 3 kilometers south of the wall in a new area called the AG Zone. “The AG Zone has yielded the best precious metal drill intersections on the Project,” according to the press release.

The average grade for silver in the project area is 31.7 grams per ton. The discovery late last summer yielded a sample 10 times higher, including around 14.7 and 9.1 ounces per ton. It’s comparable to the inferred silver grade found at the Greens Creek mine, one of the largest silver mines in the world. The zone also hosts significant zinc mineralization.

“That was a prospect we’d known about for a long time. Merrill Palmer prospected it long ago, and it was exciting that the first drill hole into it was a big discovery for us,” Cornejo said. “So not only are we going to continue to drill that one this year, we’re going to be testing other prospects that have never seen drilling either.”

Two new areas that will be tested are called the Boundary and HG Prospects. The Boundary Prospect is expected to contain up to 6.6 percent copper, with massive boulders hosting 13.6 percent copper and 19.7 percent zinc. The HG Prospect is also expected to result in a high percentage of zinc.