TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / June 26, 2024 / Sterling Metals Corp. (TSXV:SAG)(OTCQB:SAGGF) ("Sterling" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the inaugural Phase 1 exploration campaign at the Copper Road Project ("Copper Road" or the "Project") is well underway. Located 80km north of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, Copper Road is a 25,000ha high-potential brownfield copper-molybdenum-silver-gold project associated with the Midcontinent Rift, which until 2021 had never been fully consolidated. The Project benefits from its strategic proximity to substantial infrastructure (Figure 1).
Highlights
Given the extensive history of exploration and mining, as well as numerous surface copper showings (Figure 2), the Phase 1 Exploration campaign, will take a wide systematic and optimized approach to advance the full Project understanding in an effort to define targets for future drilling across the land package (described further below).
Several exploration activities were completed in May and June, ahead of schedule including:
Property-wide 3,777-line kilometer airborne magnetic, radiometric and Lidar survey.
Physical property testing to define geophysical signatures of targets.
Commenced minimum 5,000 surface sample program across the Project.
Advanced modeling of historical geophysical data to extract new important layers of data for targeting and to map the plumbing of the mineralization is anticipated to be completed in July.
Jeremy Niemi, SVP Exploration and Evaluation at Sterling Metals, commented, "As we review core samples from historical holes and explore previous mine sites, the immense geological opportunity at Copper Road becomes clear. Consolidating this vast land package, leveraging historical data, and integrating it with modern geophysics and surface mapping is an exploration geologist's dream. We are quickly advancing our understanding of the porphyry and breccia systems and look forward to uncovering the riches this project has to offer. We look forward to launching an exciting drilling program in the near future."
Figure 1: Location of the Copper Road Project in Ontario, Canada located in proximity to significant infrastructure
Figure 2: Extensive history of exploration and mining at the Copper Road Project
Phase 1 Exploration Campaign
The field base is now set up and the field crew has commenced an extensive soil sampling and mapping campaign (minimum of 5,000 samples to be collected). As a lead into the soil sampling campaign, the Company completed two test lines in areas of known mineralization and with historical surface sampling. The samples and in-house measurements of copper in soils provided an excellent correlation with historical work and known mineralization.
The Company has also completed a property-wide helicopter airborne survey to collect high-resolution magnetic signatures of the rocks, radiometrics data to map alteration related to copper porphyry's, detailed LiDAR data to accurately map the topography and important structures related to mineralization. The data will be used to build a 3-dimensional model of the geology across the Project which will assist in identifying the plumbing of the copper-molybdenum porphyry and breccia pipes and to potentially locate new targets for future drilling. Magnetic signatures of key rock types offer an excellent opportunity to locate important geological units such as the mafic volcanics close to mineralization, similar to that seen in historical hole AR96-01 drilled in 1996 (Figure 3), which play an important role in the accumulation of copper sulphides. Mafic volcanic hosted copper sulphides in copper porphyry settings commonly host higher grade mineralization and can be important types of copper deposits.
Figure 3: Example of high-chargeability, mafic volcanic hosted copper sulphide mineralization at Jogran target
The Company has also initiated an advanced modeling of the existing VTEM survey over the central area of the property, which has known copper-molybdenum porphyry and breccia hosted mineralization. This work will extract new layers of geophysical data, including chargeability data from what is known as airborne IP. The physical property testing has shown that the copper-molybdenum mineralization on the property has a strong chargeability response and that this data is very important in targeting. Historically there has been patchy ground IP completed on the property (Figure 4). Utilizing the airborne IP layer, the Company will have a larger area of coverage and aim to identify new high chargeability zones yet to have been drilled. This advanced modeling work of the VTEM survey is expected to be completed by early July 2024. Based on the results of this work, the Company anticipates completing an advanced modeling of the existing ZTEM survey, which would add deep reaching resistivity data to the regional targeting model.
Figure 4: Plan View Map of the Copper Road Project, and its historical production and extensive exploration work including Airborne EM Surveys and Diamond Drilling as well property wide copper and gold showings
Qualified Person
Jeremy Niemi, P.Geo., Senior Vice President, Exploration and Evaluation for Sterling Metals has reviewed and approved the technical information presented herein.
About Sterling Metals
Sterling Metals (TSXV:SAG) and (OTCQB:SAGGF) is a mineral exploration company focused on large scale and high-grade Canadian exploration opportunities. The Company is advancing the 24,000-hectare Copper Road Project in Ontario which has past production, and multiple breccia and porphyry targets strategically located near robust infrastructure and the 29,000-hectare Adeline Project in Labrador which covers an entire sediment-hosted copper belt with significant silver credits. Both opportunities have demonstrated potential for important new copper discoveries, underscoring Sterling's commitment to pioneering exploration in mineral rich Canada.
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This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "would", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is provided and is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. For a description of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company and its business and affairs, readers should refer to the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change, unless required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
