Imperial Acquires Mineral Claims Expanding its Sustut Property
VANCOUVER, Dec. 07, 2021 - Imperial Metals Corp. (the "Company"), has acquired four mineral claims totalling 6,834.47 hectares from Freeport-McMoRan Mineral Properties Canada Inc. for the consideration of claim assessment work expenditures and a 0.5% Net Smelter Return royalty.
The acquired claims are contiguous with the Company's Sustut property which is held by Selkirk Metals Corp. ("Selkirk"), a wholly owned subsidiary. It is located in northcentral British Columbia, approximately 40 kilometres south of the Kemess Mine. The newly acquired claims cover two Minfile occurrences, the A Bornite (094D 038) and A Chalcocite (094D057) which consist of fracture-controlled copper-silver mineralization of bornite and chalcocite hosted in the Upper Triassic Savage Mountain Formation, the same host as the Sustut Copper Deposit.
The Sustut mineralization host volcaniclastic unit is a highly variable sequence of rocks ranging from augite porphyry basalt to andesite in composition with a strike averaging 100 degrees and dipping 15 degrees to the southwest. The copper mineralization occurs in several stratiform and sub-parallel lenses which are up to 45 metres thick and conformable to the average bedding attitudes. Mineralization consists of hematite, pyrite, chalcocite, bornite, chalcopyrite and minor native copper. The Sustut deposit is divided into two main zones, the North Zone and the South Zone, which are separated by the deeply incised East Cirque. The North Zone covers an area of approximately 900 by 700 metres, while the South Zone has been defined over an area of 800 by 1,000 metres. Much of the deposit is near surface and may be mineable by open pit. The focus of the metallurgical test work and the resource tabulated below is confined to the South Zone, where the majority of the drilling has occurred.
During 2021 Selkirk retained ABH Engineering to complete X-Ray Transmission (XRT) testing on Sustut samples of mineralization from drill core to determine if XRT particle sorting could be used to reduce the volume and increase the grade of the feed to a concentrator. The XRT particle sorting study was conducted using 244 core samples from previous drilling. The XRT scans were conducted using the TOMRA sorter at the Saskatchewan Research Council.
The test results indicate that particle sorting could meaningfully improve the life of mine economics for the project. The sample tested had a grade of 1.12% copper and 4.33 g/t silver. The sorted product graded 1.86% copper and 5.62 g/t silver with 87.1% of the copper and 68% of the silver recovered into the sorted particle product. Sorting yielded a 66.1% upgrade from the feed grade for copper and a 29.7% upgrade from the feed grade for silver. The sorter rejects graded 0.30% copper and 2.91 g/t silver and contained 12.9% of the copper and 32% of the silver. ABH Engineering recommends that Selkirk move forward with further test work on XRT particle sorting on three to five larger samples ranging from low grade to high grade.
The Sustut copper deposit was acquired by Selkirk in 2007 when Selkirk acquired Doublestar Resources Ltd. Doublestar filed a 43-101 compliant report titled, "TECHNICAL REPORT Sustut Project, British Columbia", dated October 8, 2004 and filed on SEDAR on October 25, 2004.
The Sustut historic resource description referenced in this news release is considered relevant because it demonstrates the potential viability of the project. The Company cautions readers that a Qualified Person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves and the Company is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. The Company does, however, believe the work was done to 43-101 standards at that time. To support the report, three of the more important older holes from Falconbridge were twinned with good agreement. The newer drilling, sample preparation and analyses were completed with a QA/QC program and conformed with industry standards. This program included duplicate samples, blanks, and standards in the assays. The rate at which these were inserted was approximately one per analytical batch. Results of duplicates, blanks and standards provided were satisfactory. The specific gravity of 2.85 used in the resource modelling was from lab work at Bondar-Clegg using 74 samples.
The following Sustut historic resource description is included in that report:
| Doublestar Resources Ltd. - Sustut Copper Project | |||||
| Mineral Resource Summary at 0.65% Copper Cutoff | |||||
| Cu Cutoff | Mineralised | Cu | Cu | Cu | |
| Category | Grade (%) | Tonnes | Grade (%) | Tonnes | Pounds |
| Southeast Zone | |||||
| measured | 0.65% | 3,859,000 | 1.81 | 69,900 | 154,102,938 |
| indicated | 0.65% | 1,638,000 | 1.78 | 29,200 | 64,374,904 |
| Subtotal | 0.65% | 5,497,000 | 1.80 | 99,100 | 218,477,842 |
| Southwest Zone | |||||
| measured | 0.65% | 1,358,000 | 1.32 | 17,900 | 39,462,698 |
| indicated | 0.65% | 1,385,000 | 1.22 | 16,900 | 37,258,078 |
| Subtotal | 0.65% | 2,743,000 | 1.27 | 34,800 | 76,720,776 |
| Total at 0.65% Copper Cutoff Grade | |||||
| measured | 0.65% | 5,217,000 | 1.68 | 87,800 | 193,565,636 |
| indicated | 0.65% | 3,023,000 | 1.53 | 46,100 | 101,632,982 |
| Total | 0.65% | 8,240,000 | 1.63 | 133,900 | 295,198,618 |
| The reports resource estimate was based on the classification system defined by the CIM Standards On Mineral Resources and Reserves, Definitions and Guidelines, adopted by the CIM council on August 20, 2000. The resource was assigned a confidence category classification based on the distance from the block centroid to the nearest copper composite value within the search ellipsoid. Measured resources were considered 0 to 25 metres, indicated resource from 25 to 50 metres. Density factor of 2.85 tonnes per cubic-metre was used for all rock types. | |||||
The Company is planning to initiate a follow up exploration program in 2022 and is planning to collect bulk samples to allow for the next phase of the XRT ore sorting tests.
Brent Hilscher, P.Eng , of ABH Engineering Inc. is the designated Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 for the X-Ray Transmission (XRT) testing on Sustut samples and has reviewed this news release.
Maps and graphics for the Sustut property will be available on the Company's website at www.imperialmetals.com.
About Imperial
Imperial is a Vancouver based exploration, mine development and operating company. The Company, through its subsidiaries, owns a 30% interest in the Red Chris mine, and a 100% interest in both the Mount Polley and Huckleberry copper mines in British Columbia. Imperial also holds a 100% interest in the Ruddock Creek lead/zinc property.
Company Contacts
Brian Kynoch | President | 604.669.8959
Jim Miller-Tait | Vice President Exploration | 604.488.2676
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information contained in this news release are not statements of historical fact and are "forward-looking" statements. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect Company management's expectations or beliefs regarding future events and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the potential for the Sustut deposit to be mineable by open pit; statements regarding XRT particle sorting including the potential improvement of life of mine economics for the project; and the Company's plans to initiate a follow up exploration program and collect bulk samples to facilitate XRT particle sorting tests.
In certain cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "outlook", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative of these terms or comparable terminology. By their very nature forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.
In making the forward-looking statements in this release, the Company has applied certain factors and assumptions that are based on information currently available to the Company as well as the Company's current beliefs and assumptions. These factors and assumptions and beliefs and assumptions include, the risk factors detailed from time to time in the Company's interim and annual financial statements and management's discussion and analysis of those statements, all of which are filed and available for review on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as 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 and all forward-looking statements in this news release are qualified by these cautionary statements.
