Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 11, 2024) - CopperCorp Resources Inc. (TSXV: CPER) (OTCQB: CPCPF) ("CopperCorp" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has commenced diamond drilling at the Jukes Zone target area (Jukes prospect) on its 100% owned Razorback Copper-Gold-REE property in western Tasmania, Australia.
Highlights
Diamond drilling has commenced at the Jukes prospect located 10km south of the Mt Lyell Cu-Au system (3Mt contained copper at 1% Cu, and 3Moz contained gold at 0.3g/t Au).
An initial 2-hole, 400m program will test depth extensions to structurally controlled high-grade Cu-Au mineralization at the Jukes prospect where results of recent channel sampling of underground historical workings included2:
31.0m @ 1.48% Cu and 0.83g/t Au, including 9.0m @ 2.92% Cu and 1.79g/t Au
The planned program represents the first drilling at the Jukes prospect in almost 40 years.
Stephen Swatton, President and CEO of CopperCorp commented: "We are excited to commence the drilling at Jukes as scheduled. This program coincides with the start of the Tasmanian summer in which the Company will step up work programs at several of its copper-gold targets located within the Razorback, southern end of Walford Peak and Linda South licenses. Over the past 2 months the Company has undertaken a comprehensive surface sampling program at Jukes, the results of which will be released over the next month. Sampling turnaround times in the assay laboratory for rock and drill samples are currently 2-3 weeks."
Sean Westbrook, Vice President of Exploration commented: "Recent work by the exploration team has recognized that NNW-trending fault structures form an important control on high-grade Cu-Au mineralization at Jukes. This work therefore indicates strong geological similarities to the Mt Lyell Cu-Au system where orebodies sit adjacent to the N- to NNW-trending Great Lyell Fault. These first two shallow holes at Jukes will test this developing geological model whilst also providing important technical information that will assist refining of the model and inform planning of potential further drilling at the prospect."
Planned Drill Program
The planned drilling program comprises an initial 2 diamond drill holes totalling up to 400m. The drill holes are designed to target depth extensions to high-grade Cu-Au mineralization recently sampled2 in underground historical Jukes No. 3 Main Adit (31.0m @ 1.48% Cu and 0.83g/t Au, including 9.0m @ 2.92% Cu and 1.79g/t Au) and will test the current interpretation that these high-grade mineralized zones occur associated with NNW-trending fault structures, and in particular at the intersection of these structures with the NE-trending Jukes fault.
The Company currently has approvals in place to drill up to 1,320m from 4 drill sites at Jukes and may extend the drill program depending on results of the initially planned holes and/or results from surface sampling and mapping programs that are ongoing in the prospect area. The information and results obtained from the initial holes will additionally inform planning of potential deeper drilling at the prospect.
About the Jukes Prospect
At the Jukes prospect, located 10km south of the Mt Lyell copper mine, historical prospecting and small-scale mining during the late 1890's to early 1900's was carried out on high-grade copper-gold magnetite-sulphide mineralization with several exploration adits and shafts developed throughout the prospect area. The small-scale mining was not extensive and was mostly ceased by 1903 when nearby smelters closed.
Previous exploration at the prospect includes limited drilling below historical workings during the 1970's and 1980's that gave a best intercept of 13.4m @ 1.6% Cu and 1.6g/t Au from 61.6m (drillhole JP02)2, and channel sampling of historical adits that returned further high-grade results2. The historical drilling at Jukes was designed to test an early geological model that involved mineralization being confined to the immediate footwall zone of the Jukes fault and has not tested the potential of an interpreted larger NNW-trending mineralization system and structurally controlled high-grade shoots now recognized by CopperCorp2. It is interpreted that most historical exploration drilling was focused on the southern edge of the larger mineralized system.
No drilling has been carried out at Jukes since the 1980's despite surface exploration identifying broad alteration zones and outcropping mineralization with coincident anomalous magnetics and IP chargeability features extending northwards from the area of historical mining and drilling. Recent work by CopperCorp, including 3D inversion modelling of magnetic and gravity data indicates a vertically extensive pipe-like magnetic feature with a partially coincident to off-set residual gravity anomaly at Jukes1. The position of the magnetic and gravity anomalies adjacent to large fertile fault structures is considered highly prospective for structurally controlled mineralized pipes typical of the Mt Lyell system where anomalous gravity features occur associated with larger mineralized pipe bodies that have depth extensive chlorite-magnetite-apatite-biotite alteration zones (e.g. Prince Lyell and Western Tharsis orebodies)1.
Geological mapping by CopperCorp indicates the hydrothermal alteration system at Jukes is characterised by K-feldspar-magnetite alteration with extensive development of magnetite-apatite-pyrite stockwork veining to semi-massive mineralization broadly coincident with the modelled magnetic pipe feature. At surface, the most intensive magnetite-apatite-pyrite alteration is developed 400m north of the historical Jukes workings and all previous exploration drilling. Copper-gold mineralization is associated with an overprinting phase of intense chlorite-magnetite-sulphide alteration that shows close spatial association with NNW-trending fault structures and intersection of these structures with the NE-trending Jukes fault. A sericite-chlorite alteration zone occurs outbound of the inner mineralized K-feldspar-magnetite and chlorite-magnetite zones. Primary copper mineralization at Jukes occurs predominantly as chalcopyrite and lesser bornite, commonly associated with magnetite and pyrite. The host rocks are dacitic volcaniclastic and lava units of the Mt Read Volcanics.
Figure 1. Southern Skyline Project properties and exploration target areas with magnetics TMI RTP image.
Figure 2. Location of the Razorback property and the Jukes Zone target area relative to the Mt Lyell copper-gold mine. Blue outlines are CopperCorp's 100% owned licenses.
Figure 3. Jukes prospect summary plan with magnetics reduced to pole (RTP) image underlay showing location of the recently commenced drill hole (JDD001).
CopperCorp is focused on the exploration and development of its Skyline, AMC, and Whisky Creek copper-gold-REE projects in western Tasmania. The company is well-financed with approximately C$4.0M in working capital as reported in the August 27, 2024 news release3.
Qualified Person & National Instrument 43-101 Disclosure
The Company's disclosure of technical or scientific information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Sean Westbrook, VP Exploration for the Company. Mr. Westbrook is a Qualified Person (QP) as defined in National Instrument 43-101.
Information on historical and recent prospecting, mining, and exploration activities at the Skyline Project group of properties contained within this news release has been reviewed and verified by the Qualified Person. In the opinion of the Qualified Person, sufficient verification of historical and new data has been undertaken to provide sufficient confidence that past exploration programs were performed to adequate industry standards and the data reported is fit for substantiating the prospectivity of the project in general, supporting the geological model/s proposed, planning exploration programs, and identifying targets for further investigation.
This news release contains information about adjacent properties on which the Company does not have an interest. The QP has been unable to verify the information on these adjacent properties and the information is not necessarily indicative to the mineralization on the properties that is the subject of this news release.
References
1CPER: TSXV News Release 26th August 2024 2CPER: TSXV News Release 13th May 2024 3CPER: TSXV Interim MDA for the Period Ended June 30, 2024, 27th August 2024
Adjacent Property (Mt Lyell) Information Sources: Sibanye-Stillwater company website information as of May 12th 2024 New Century Resources: ASX Announcement 23rd January 2023 New Century Resources: ASX Announcement 27th October 2021 Seymour, D.B., Green, G.R., and Calver, C.R. 2007. The Geology and Mineral Resource of Tasmania: a summary. Geological Survey Bulletin 72. Mineral Resources Tasmania, Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources Tasmania
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation relating the Company's expectation and plans regarding the Skyline Project, Razorback property and Jukes prospect in Tasmania; plans for future exploration and drilling at the Jukes prospect and the timing of same; the merits of the Company's mineral projects and other plans of the Company. Forward-Looking statements are statements that are not historical facts; they are generally, but not always, identified by the words "encouraging", "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "interpret", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "aims", "suggests", "often", "target", "future", "likely", "pending", "potential", "goal", "objective", "prospective", "possibly", "preliminary" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "can", "could" or "should" occur, or other statements, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions that forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made, and that such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
Factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements include risks associated the timing and outcome of the approval process for final granting of the EL11/2024 application; that the Company may experience difficulties in exploration and drilling and carrying out related work; the timing and content of upcoming work programs; geological interpretations based on drilling that may change with more detailed information; possible accidents; the possibility that the Company may not be able to secure permitting and other governmental approvals necessary to carry out the Company's plans; the risk that the Company will not be able to raise sufficient funds to carry out its business plans; the possibility that future exploration results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; increases in costs; environmental compliance and changes in environmental and other local legislation and regulation; interest rate other risks associated with mineral exploration operations, the risk that the Company will encounter unanticipated geological factors and exchange rate fluctuations; changes in economic and political conditions; and other risks involved in the mineral exploration industry. The reader is urged to refer to the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis, publicly available through the Canadian Securities Administrators' System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR+) at www.sedarplus.ca for a more complete discussion of risk factors and their potential effects.
Forward-Looking statements are based on a number of assumptions, including management's assumptions about the following: the availability of financing for the Company's exploration activities; operating and exploration costs; the Company's ability to attract and retain skilled staff; timing of the receipt of necessary regulatory and governmental approvals; market competition; and general business and economic conditions. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
