Viridian Metals has identified copper-rich zones with concentrations of up to 4.15% copper at its Kraken magmatic sulphide project in Labrador, Canada.

The company has outlined plans for a 50-hole drilling programme aimed at systematically following up on several copper-rich zones within the wider Kraken system.

The initiative aims to expand drilling in the main zone and also assess other targets that may contain further copper mineralisation.

The drilling campaign is intended to provide both scale and flexibility.

Alongside continued drilling in the main zone, the company intends to progress work on several surrounding targets.

Among these is Venus, where earlier drill-holes encountered massive sulphides starting at the surface and continued into mineralised material, stopping short of the anticipated conductor.

Reported results included a 12.75m intercept grading 0.16% nickel, 0.1% copper and 0.02% cobalt, including a 1.85m section at 0.7% nickel, 0.3% copper and 0.07% cobalt from zero-metres depth.

A separate intercept returned 7.55m grading 0.4% nickel, 0.2% copper and 0.05% cobalt from surface, with associated precious metals of up to 0.76 grams per tonne (g/t) platinum, 0.33g/t palladium and 0.45 g/t gold.

The company indicated that Venus remains largely untested and could represent an additional centre of value within the Kraken project.

Viridian holds what it describes as the largest copper-focused land position in Newfoundland and Labrador, covering both the drilled Kraken magmatic sulphide system and the large-scale Sedna project.

Exploration at Sedna has identified geological features supporting a copper system extending across more than 2,000km².

These features include extensive subsurface structures, broad reduced stratigraphic layers and significant occurrences of disseminated chalcopyrite.

According to the company, these geological elements are comparable to those found in established copper regions such as the Central African Copperbelt and the Kupferschiefer Basin in Europe.

Viridian Metals president and CEO Tyrell Sutherland said: “Record prices consistently above six dollars per pound are a reflection of what we believe is a permanent structural shift.

“What makes Kraken particularly exciting in this environment is that, in addition to demonstrating a large-scale near-surface sulphide system, drilling has already identified localised copper-rich zones grading up to 4.15% Cu [copper].

“Our 2026 programme is designed to systematically follow up on these higher-grade zones while continuing to expand the overall footprint of the system.”

In January 2025, the company expanded its land holdings in the Seal Basin in Labrador by securing 2,600km² through staking.