NorthWest Copper Drilling Returns More Shallow, High-Grade Mineralization

NorthWest Copper reported that the ongoing 2022 Kwanika drill program in north-central British Columbia has discovered more extremely high-grade copper and gold mineralization within a previously undrilled, shallow area of the deposit.

The recent drilling intersected several near-surface intervals displaying ‘chalcocite breccia’ mineralization, similar style to last year’s intersection of 33.6% copper-equivalent (CuEq) over 9.40 metres in hole K-21-217.

Like the first five drill results released in July, the latest four holes targeted expansion and delineation of near-surface high-grade zones in the southern part of the Kwanika Central Zone (See Exhibit 1 and 2).

The Kwanika property is located about 140km northwest of the town of Fort St. James in northern B.C., next to NorthWest’s Stardust property and near the Lorraine exploration project 40km to the north.

Exhibit 1. Orientation Map for Kwanika and Stardust Projects in British Columbia.

Highlights from the recent set of assays from four holes include hole K-22-230, which hit 378.8m of 0.62% CuEq (0.37% copper, 0.33 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, 1.2 g/t silver) from 19.2m depth.

In the press release, the company singled out hole K-22-232 to be of particular interest, returning 109.05m of 0.89% CuEq (0.62% copper, 0.33 g/t gold, 3.0 g/t silver) from 27m, including 1.45m of 14.52% CuEq (9.35% copper, 6.65 g/t gold, 44.1 g/t silver) (see Exhibit 3).

Hole K-22-233 also returned a significant intercept of 102.90m of 1.00% CuEq (0.80% copper, 0.26 g/t gold, 1.9 g/t silver) from 30m, including an intersection of 2m grading 4.06% CuEq (3.41% copper, 0.83 g/t gold, and 5.6 g/t silver).

Exhibit 2. A plan map of NorthWest Copper’s 2022 Kwanika drill locations.

The Significance

NorthWest Copper highlights the presence of very high-grade, late chalcocite-rich breccia exceeding 14% CuEq. The delineation of shallow copper-gold mineralization around the southern region of the Kwanika Central Zone locally extends the footprint of mineralization and supports the presence of higher-grade areas outlined in the resource block model, according to the company.

Chalcocite is a very high-grade copper mineral, comprised of 80% copper by weight.

While the new interval is narrower than last year’s hole, it is much closer to the surface and suggests the potential for multiple very high-grade zones within the deposit, according to management.

According to the company’s CEO, Peter Bell, the ongoing drilling supports the thesis that more of this style of mineralization can be located while expanding the volume of near-surface mineralization at Kwanika.

In our view, aside from the encouraging widespread high-grade intercepts, it appears the chalcocite breccia is not isolated and occurs at different locations and elevations. These results represent only the initial foray of data from the 2022 drill program on Kwanika, where 28 holes have already been completed in this year’s exploration program.

These data will be augmented by additional drilling on Stardust, East Niv and Lorraine.

Since the company was created in March 2021 via the acquisition by Sun Metals of Serengeti Resources, NorthWest Copper has focussed on delineating the known high-grade portion of Kwanika and adjacent high-grade Stardust deposits. The deal synergistically married Sun Metals’ Stardust asset with Kwanika to extract greater operating efficiencies at a potential reduced cost.

Exhibit 3. A Cross-Section View of Hole K-22-232.

Next Steps

The 2022 Kwanika drill program includes holes designed to expand the known resource, add new high-grade zones within and around the known resource, and test for new regional centres of mineralization.

Drilling at Kwanika has been underway since March 25, with 28 holes and 11,089m completed to date. Results from seven of the holes have been reported so far, with the remainder pending.

The company released an updated mineral resource estimate on the nearby Lorraine Project, just 40km from the Stardust-Kwanika Deposit on Jun. 30, underpinned by drilling completed between 1949 and 2009, reporting an Indicated Resource of 12.9 million tonnes containing 156,093 lb. copper grading 0.55% copper and 0.66% copper-equivalent.

NorthWest’s extensive drill program for 2022 entails more than 30,000m over its portfolio – including Kwanika, Stardust, East Niv and Lorraine.

While the drills continue to turn at Kwanika, Stardust (eight holes completed) and East Niv (seven holes completed), NorthWest has started drilling the Lorraine deposit to test the ongoing geological potential.

We expect regular news flow from the issuer as the results from portfolio-wide drilling are received from the assay laboratories.

For more information about NorthWest Copper, please review the company’s corporate website at northwestcopper.ca.

Company Highlights

• A relatively new company focused on unlocking value through the combination of the potential Stardust underground and Kwanika open-pit and underground operations;
• Stardust has an existing Mineral Resource comprising:
  • Indicated: 96 million tonnes grading 2.59% CuEq, for 112.1 million pounds of CuEq
  • Inferred:80
  • million tonnes grading 1.88% CuEq for 242.2 million pounds CuEq
• Kwanika’s large scale complements Stardust’s high grades
  • Measured: 9 million tonnes grading 0.54% CuEq
  • Indicated: 6 million tonnes grading 0.38% CuEq
  • Inferred: 4 million tonnes grading 0.26% Cu Eq
• Favourable metallurgy for Stardust-Kwanika Project
• A pipeline of earlier-stage projects:
  • New discovery at East Niv
  • Lorraine – large land package, existing high-grade trends, potential synergy with Kwanika-Stardust
• New MRE on Lorraine (Jun. 30) comprising:
  • Indicated: 12.9 million tonnes grading 0.66% CuEq
• Ongoing drilling on all four of NorthWest’s assets in 2022
• Part of the Oxygen Capital group of companies
• $25 million in cash on hand as of June 2022
• Substantial ownership by insiders and associates (over 14%)
• Strong institutional investment following (~10%)
• Ongoing drilling on all four of NorthWest’s assets in 2022

For more details, please refer to the press release by clicking here.