Bend
Project
Past operators reported a 4.0 Mt historical resource split between a Copper Zone (2.8 Mt @ 2.41% Cu, 1.43 g/t Au, 13.70 g/t Ag) and a Gold Zone (1.2 Mt @ 4.73 g/t Au, 0.31% Cu, 2.79 g/t Ag). Drilling returned broad, well‑mineralized intervals across both zones, including 67.7 m @ 0.99 g/t Au & 1.01% Cu (incl. 27.6 m @ 1.43 g/t Au & 2.40% Cu), 33.1 m @ 1.25 g/t Au & 1.69% Cu (incl. 4.6 m @ 5.15 g/t Au & 2.77% Cu), and 62.98 m @ 1.31 g/t Au & 0.75% Cu (incl. 15.55 m @ 2.62 g/t Au & 2.66% Cu). Mineralization has been traced over ~330 m of strike and to ~600 m depth and remains open. Historical VTEM and mapping define an ore‑equivalent horizon with multiple conductors extending at least 10 miles to the northeast, including on the adjacent private minerals ground (Soo Line). Our next programs prioritize step‑outs along this trend and testing deeper conductors to drive resource growth.
Location & Infrastructure
The Bend VMS deposit is located in Taylor County, northern Wisconsin, approximately 19 miles north of Medford and within the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. The Bend Project area is accessible via a network of county and forest roads, with active logging roads providing direct access to drill sites. The property is partially situated on land owned by the Soo Line Railroad, presenting potential long-term advantages for rail-based logistics. Regional grid power is located within the project area. Local services are readily available in Medford, which offers lodging, labor, and basic commercial amenities, while the nearby city of Wausau (approximately one hour away) provides expanded access to industrial support, equipment, and logistics.
Regional Geology
The Bend VMS deposit is part of the Paleoproterozoic Penokean Volcanic Belt (PVB), also known as the Wisconsin Magmatic Terranes. This geologic region, located within the Southern Structural Subprovince of the Canadian Shield, formed during the Early Proterozoic Penokean Orogeny (~1890–1830 million years ago).
Stretching over 280 kilometers across northern Wisconsin into Michigan’s Upper Peninsula—and extending further west into Minnesota—the belt comprises ancient volcanic, sedimentary, and plutonic rocks. These formations have undergone significant metamorphism and deformation due to historic tectonic events, including island arc accretion and continental collision along the margin of the Superior Craton.
Today, much of the belt is hidden beneath glacial deposits, with exposed remnants offering valuable insight into its complex geological history and mineral potential.
Project Mineralization
Exploration at the Bend Project has identified two steeply dipping, stacked massive and semi-massive sulfide lenses—an upper and lower lens—hosted near the top of a quartz-crystal tuff unit (XT unit). These lenses range in true thickness from 1.5 to over 12 meters and are underlain by fragment-rich semi-massive sulfide zones.
The lower lens is thickest near the deposit’s center, while the upper lens, composed of two lobes, is more continuous along strike and down-dip. Both lenses extend to the subcrop and are overlain by a saprolite layer and glacial sediments.
Mineralization is dominated by fine- to medium-grained pyrite with interstitial chalcopyrite, tetrahedrite-tennantite, arsenopyrite, bornite, chalcocite, and associated gold tellurides. Gangue minerals include quartz, sericite, and carbonate. Notably, chalcopyrite and bornite are observed as exsolution textures within pyrite, and geochemical anomalies in arsenic, antimony, bismuth, and tellurium reflect the complex mineralogy.
A semimassive sulfide zone between the lenses—interpreted as a debris apron—hosts localized epigenetic copper-gold stockwork and stringer mineralization. This zone thickens where the lenses converge and is thought to have formed along a paleotopographic high, influencing original sulfide deposition.
Supergene enrichment has been identified near subcropping zones. A thin chalcocite-bornite replacement zone and higher-grade copper-gold intervals suggest the presence of a secondary enrichment blanket. Notable intersections include:
- 4.58 m grading 5.15 g/t Au and 2.77% Cu (lower lens)
- Up to 2.92% Cu in shallow zones of the upper lens
Historical Resources and Drill Results
The Bend deposit has a significant history of exploration, with approximately 20,900 meters of diamond drilling completed across 49 holes and one wedge offset. Historical resource estimates—originally reported by E.K. Lehmann and Associates in 1992—outlined a non-NI 43-101-compliant resource of approximately:
Mineralized Zone | Tonnage (tonnes) | Cu (%) | Au (g/t) | Ag (g/t) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Total Resource | 4.0 million | 1.74 | 2.44 | 11.56 |
Cu Zone | 2.8 million | 2.41% | 1.43 | 13.70 |
Au Zone | 1.2 million | 0.31 | 4.73 | 2.79 |
*Historical estimate (1992); not current under NI 43‑101 and not to be relied upon. A Qualified Person has not completed sufficient work to classify these historical estimates as current mineral resources or reserves; GreenLight is not treating them as current. Significant data compilation, re drilling, re sampling, and verification may be required before any such estimates can be classified as current under NI 43 101. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that any historical estimate, in whole or in part, will ever become economically viable or be converted to mineral reserves. Reported drill intervals are down‑hole lengths and may not represent true widths.
Notable historical drill intercepts 1,2 include:
Drill Hole | Interval (m) | Cu (%) | Au (g/t) | Including |
|---|---|---|---|---|
B90-06 | 67.69 | 1.01% | 0.99 | 27.6m of 1.43 g/t Au and 2.40% Cu |
B95-21 | 33.05 | 1.69 | 1.25 | 4.58m of 5.15 g/t Au and 2.77% Cu |
B90-01 | 62.98 | 0.75 | 1.31 | 15.55m of 2.62 g/t Au and 2.66% Cu |
B91-08 | 66.76 | 0.68 | 2.83 | 22.11m of 6.44 g/t Au and 1.71% Cu |
B91-12 | 20.33 | 1.19 | 1.07 | 4.87m of 2.16 g/t Au and 2.09% Cu |
B90-2 | 26.22 | 0.91 | 1.31 | 15.48m of 0.84 g/t Au and 3.88% Cu And: 4.57m of 4.10 g/t Au and 0.10% Cu |
B12-08 | 61.1 | 0.09 | 1.32 | including: 27.4m of 2.1 g/t Au and 0.04% Cu And: 5.4m of 6.34 g/t Au and 0.02% Cu |
B12-04 | 75.5 | 0.04 | 1.04 | 9.0m of 2.27 g/t Au and 0.05% Cu |
- Bend Technical Report: “An Evaluation of the Bend Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide (VMS) Deposit, Taylor County, Wisconsin, U.S.A.”, with an effective date of January 1st, 2025; Company is not treating the historical estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves and the historical estimates should not be relied upon or understood to indicate the existence of reserves or resources. This historical resource estimate was prepared by Jump River Joint Venture in 1992.
- Reported intervals are drill thickness and do not necessarily represent true thickness. Drilled by Jump River Joint Venture, Sharpe Energy & Resources, Aquila Resources Inc./Hudbay Minerals Exploration Alliance.
