US Copper Announces Final Two Holes from Superior Drill Program
Toronto, November 15, 2021 - US Copper Corp. (TSXV: USCU) (OTCQB: USCUF) (FSE: C73) ("US Copper" or the "Company") is pleased to announce results from the final 2 drill holes of the 7 completed holes drilled in 2021 on its Superior deposit at the Moonlight-Superior Copper Project in North-East California.
Highlights:
Results from all 7 holes met or exceeded expectations including:
- Verifying 50-year-old historic drill results.
- Silver and gold credits appear to increase Copper-equivalent grade by approximately 11% (8.2% - 14.4%).
- Supporting the presence of higher-grade ore within the Superior deposit that can potentially be used to feed the Moonlight plant during early the production years to improve Project economics.
These results from all 7 holes will now be reviewed by an independent engineering firm to determine:
- A new resource calculation including silver and gold credits.
- The economic impact of including Superior in our Moonlight mine plan.
Table 1: Summary of drill hole data
DH# | From (ft) | To (Ft) | Interval (ft) | Cu % | Ag opt | Au opt | CuEquiv | Comments |
S21-7 | 594.6 | 785.0 | 190.4 | 0.51 | 0.121 | 0.0006 | 0.556 | Hit stope @ 1060' |
S21-6 and | 190.0 | 318.0 | 128.0 | 0.490 | 0.106 | 0.0005 | 0.530 | |
413.0 | 496.0 | 83.0 | 0.43 | 0.152 | 0.0009 | 0.492 | ||
Previously reported (see October 18, 2021 news release) | ||||||||
S21-5 | 103.0 | 178.0 | 75.0 | 0.367 | 0.126 | 0.0007 | 0.417 | |
S21-4 | 462.0 | 556.7 | 94.7 | 0.537 | 0.141 | 0.0008 | 0.593 | |
S21-3 | 349.9 | 398.6 | 48.7 | 0.478 | 0.137 | 0.0008 | 0.533 | Hit stope |
S21-2 | 328.0 | 402.9 | 74.9 | 0.435 | 0.118 | 0.0005 | 0.478 | Twin of S29 |
S21-1 | 118.0 | 287.4 | 169.4 | 0.514 | 0.128 | 0.0006 | 0.562 | Twin of S47 |
*CuEq = Cu% + ((Au opt*31.1035/10,000) *Au$/lb/Cu$/lb)) + ((Ag opt*31.1035/10,000) *Ag$/lb/Cu$/lb))
US Copper had a Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") prepared on its Moonlight deposit in 2018 that showed positive economics at $3.15 copper. It was determined that providing higher grade ore from our Superior and/or Engels deposits into the Moonlight mine plan would substantially enhance the project's economics by increasing cash flows in the initial years of production. The recently completed drill program at Superior was designed specifically for that purpose.
Ultimately, the updated Superior resource will be incorporated into a revised Moonlight PEA.
"We are quite pleased with the results of all 7 holes as they clearly demonstrate excellent continuity of grade, the presence of higher-grade ore within the Superior deposit, and the potential for including silver and gold credits," commented Stephen Dunn, US Copper's President and CEO. "We look forward to a new study on the economic impact of including higher grade ore from Superior into the Moonlight mine plan in 2022 as well as the completion of the drill program at our Engels deposit."
The Superior copper deposit is comprised of 60 million tons containing 0.41% Cu (Tanaka, 2013, see details in the Moonlight PEA referred to below) and is located about 9,000 feet SE of Moonlight and 11,000 feet SW of Engels. All seven holes completed during this drill phase are located in the northern portion of the deposit and were drilled entirely in the quartz monzonite of the mid-Jurassic Lights Creek Stock. Mineralization consists of high-grade chalcopyrite with minor bornite and other copper sulfides in tourmaline-magnetite veins and veinlets. Lower-grade disseminated mineralization is widespread adjacent to and between the vein-veinlets. No significant oxide copper occurs at Superior, and pyrite is minor.
Technical Information and Quality Control & Quality Assurance
US Copper personnel regularly observe procedures including the boxing of core at the drill site. Core is then securely delivered to the core logging and storage facility in Crescent Mills CA (~10 miles from the drill sites). The core is logged, magnetically scanned, and photographed. Periodic samples are collected for specific gravity testing and petrographic analysis. The core is then sawn in half. One half is bagged with appropriate documentation and securely transported to the ALS lab in Reno, NV. To ensure that proper QAQC accompanies the analyses appropriate QAQC elements are included in each batch of samples. The QAQC elements consist of certified standards, duplicate analyses and certified coarse blanks or blank material that has been documented to be barren for gold and base metals.
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical content of this press release has been reviewed and approved by George Cole, M.Sc., Director of US Copper who is a "Qualified Person" as defined in National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. George Cole is a Registered Professional Geologist through AIPG (CPG-11687).
About US Copper Corp
US Copper controls approximately 13 square miles of patented and unpatented federal mining claims in the Light's Creek Copper District in Plumas County, NE California; essentially, the entire District. The District contains substantial copper (silver) sulfide and copper oxide resources in three deposits - Moonlight, Superior and Engels, as well as several partially tested and untested exploration targets.
The Superior and Engels Mines operated from about 1915-1930 producing over 161 million pounds of copper from over 4 million tons of rock containing 2.2% copper with silver and gold credits.
The Moonlight Deposit was discovered and drilled by Placer Amex during the 1960's. Details of the resources on US Copper's property and the parameters used to calculate them can be found in the "Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Moonlight Deposit, Moonlight-Superior Copper Project, California, USA" dated April 12, 2018, on both the company's website at www.uscoppercorp.com or on www.sedar.com under the US Copper Corp. profile.
For Further Information Contact:
Mr. Stephen Dunn, President, CEO and Director, US Copper Corp. (416) 361-2827 or email info@uscoppercorp.com.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws and regulations, including statements regarding the future activities of the Company. Forward-looking statements reflect the current beliefs and expectations of management and are identified by the use of words including "will", "hopes", "anticipates", "expected to", "plans", "planned", "intends" and other similar words. Actual results may differ significantly. The achievement of the results expressed in forward-looking statements is subject to a number of risks, including those described in the Company's management discussion and analysis as filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities which are available at www.sedar.com. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon forward-looking statements.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/103650