Summary

The Bellas Gate Project comprises of three mineral concessions totaling 13,020 hectares. Within this area, C3 Metals has identified 14 porphyry, over 30 epithermal and multiple volcanic redbed prospects over an 18km strike extent (Figure 2). Prospects have been identified through surface mapping and rock sampling, soil geochemistry and geophysical data. Over this 18km strike extent, drilling to date has primarily been focused within a 4km strike at the Provost, Geo Hill, Camel Hill and Connors porphyry prospects (Figure 3).

On February 11, 2025, C3 Metals announced that it had entered into an earn-in agreement (EIA) with Freeport-McMoRan Exploration Corporation (Freeport), a wholly-owned affiliate of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX). Under the terms of the EIA, Freeport has been granted a two-stage option to acquire up to a 75% ownership interest in the Bellas Gate Project by funding cumulative exploration and project related expenditures of US$75 million.

Stage one of the EIA: Freeport is required to fund US$25 million of exploration and project related expenditures over five years to earn a 51% interest in the Bellas Gate Project. C3 Metals will remain the operator of the Bellas Gate Project during Stage One.

Stage Two of the EIA: Once Freeport has earned its initial 51% interest, Freeport will have the option to become the operator and to fund an additional US$50 million of exploration and project related expenditures over an additional four years to earn and additional 24% interest in the Bellas Gate Project.


Figure 1: Map of Jamaica showing the locations of the Bellas Gate Project in relation to C3 Metals’ 50%-owned Super Block project and other mineral concessions.


Figure 2: Map of the Bellas Gate Project showing the locations of the porphyry, epithermal and volcanic redbed prospects identified to date across an 18km strike extent with rock and soil geochemistry.


Figure 3: Map of a 4km area where the majority of exploration drilling has been performed to date at the Bellas Gate Project.  The total Bellas Gate Project extends to the northwest and southeast of this map over an 18km strike extent of confirmed copper-gold mineralization (Figure 2).

Geology

Bellas Gate is located within the Cretaceous Central Inlier of Jamaica which has a geologic history of subduction, crustal thickening and tectonism that produced extensive mineralization throughout the Caribbean such as the Pueblo Viejo deposit containing more than 20 million ounces of proven and probable gold reserves (Barrick Gold Corp. website as at March 31, 2023). The Cretaceous rocks in the Caribbean are host to copper porphyries in Panama, Puerto Rico and Haiti, VMS copper, gold and silver in the Dominican Republic and epithermal gold systems in the Dominican Republic.

Significant Deposits within the Eastern Caribbean Plate

Gallery