63.8 to 116 ppm Gallium in Zinc Concentrates grading 53 to 58%
Western Alaska Minerals Corp. (the “Company” or “WAM”) (TSX-V: WAM) is pleased to announce that significant gallium (“Ga“) values were identified in high-grade zinc concentrates generated through recent first-pass metallurgical test work on mineralized materials from the Waterpump Creek (“WPC“) Inferred Resource (2.38 M ton high-grade sulfide mineralization grading 279 g/t silver, 11.2% zinc, and 9.8% lead) at its 100% owned Illinois Creek Project in western Alaska (See Press Release of April 2, 2024).
This marks the Company’s first report of gallium – which has been designated the United States’ #1 critical mineral¹ due to its high risk of supply disruption. Gallium values ranging from 63.8 to 116 ppm were reported in assays of zinc concentrates grading 53 to 58% zinc, generated from sulfide-rich drill core composites ranging from 14.5 to 23.7 ppm gallium head grade. Individual assay results outside of these composites range from 41.1 to 63.9 ppm gallium. Analyses confirm that gallium resides within the zinc mineral sphalerite. Further metallurgical testing is planned and will be reported once in progress.
Highlights:
- Zinc concentrates grade from 53 to 58%
- Total zinc in the Inferred Resource is 591 million pounds (295,000 tons)
- Gallium grades range from 63 to116 ppm gallium in zinc concentrates (Table 1)
“With gallium now recognized as the United States’ top Critical Metal, we are particularly encouraged to have first-pass metallurgical results show such strong gallium values in potentially marketable grades of zinc concentrate at Waterpump Creek. Producing gallium-rich zinc concentrates like these may be a pivotal opportunity for WAM to benefit from fast-track permitting incentives en route to providing a domestic supply of these two critical minerals,” said CEO Kit Marrs. “We are pleased to see that the concentrates grade well over the 50% threshold for salability, and with the overall high grades at Waterpump Creek we could probably produce significant volumes of both gallium and zinc. The new high grade gallium assays indicate areas to focus on in WPC and farther south where we believe sulfides continue into WPC South.”
Dr. Peter Megaw, advisor to Western Alaska Minerals adds, “It is unusual to see gallium grades this high in the periphery of any CRD system, so we are ramping up efforts to quantify gallium, and its common Critical Metal associate indium, throughout the project.”
Waterpump Creek Zinc and Gallium Metallurgy:
The WPC Inferred Resource includes gallium-rich sphalerite and silver-rich galena as its principal minerals and metals. The WPC Inferred Resource of 2.38 M tonnes of high-grade sulfide mineralization grading 279 g/t silver, 11.2% zinc, and 9.8% lead was completed and reported on February 22, 2024. Metallurgical testing has been completed on composites taken from 8 selected drill holes. The results reported here are assays of three concentrates reported by ALS Metallurgy Kamloops (March 19, 2025). Additional metallurgical test work is planned for the evaluation of gallium deportment. Results will be reported when available. See below for more metallurgical details.
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