REG - Phoenix Copper Ltd - Commencement of Navarre Creek Drilling Programme

Phoenix CopperAnnouncement

17/07/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 1432G  Phoenix Copper Limited  17 July 2023

Phoenix Copper Limited / Ticker: PXC / Sector: Mining

 17 July 2023

 

Phoenix Copper Limited

("Phoenix" or the "Company")

Navarre Creek Drilling Programme

First Drill Programme at the Navarre Creek Project is now Underway

 

Phoenix Copper Ltd (AIM: PXC, OTCQX: PXCLF), the AIM quoted USA focused
base and precious metals emerging producer and exploration company, is pleased
to announce that the Company's 2023 drilling programme is now underway at the
Navarre Creek exploration project in Custer County, Idaho.

The 2023 drilling programme marks a new phase of work on the gold exploration
project located approximately five kilometres ('km') west of the Company's
Empire Mine copper oxide deposit.

The 2023 Navarre Creek drilling programme is scheduled to comprise up to 60
reverse-circulation ('RC') drill holes from 30 drill pads ("Drill Programme")
located at targets throughout the Navarre Creek claim block.

The programme is expected to build on the Company's current understanding of
the area from previous exploration activities including geologic mapping,
surface geochemistry, airborne hyperspectral mineral imaging, and geomagnetic
ground surveys.

Ryan McDermott, Chief Executive Officer, said: "Based on our team's
exploration work up to this point, the results of the fieldwork conducted at
Navarre Creek are extremely prospective. The area exhibits geological traits
consistent with hydrothermal precious metal deposition common in volcanic
terrains in the Western United States. These geological characteristics, along
with the area's hydrothermally altered brecciated sedimentary units, make
Navarre Creek a primary target for precious metal exploration. As always, I
look forward to reporting assay results as soon as they are available.

Background on Navarre Creek

During the 2021 field season, Phoenix contracted Magee Geophysical Services
to acquire approximately 169 line-km of total field magnetic measurements at
the Company's Navarre Creek project and SpecTIR, LLC of Reno, Nevada to
complete an airborne hyperspectral survey of the same Navarre Creek area to
identify prospective exploration targets in an area, many of which are largely
concealed by glacial till.

The ground magnetics survey looked specifically for magnetite and
magnetic-bearing minerals, some of which have been identified in limited
outcroppings, while the hyperspectral imaging helps to identify alteration
minerals often associated with precious metal deposition.

Hyperspectral imaging incorporates a small airplane with mounted infrared
lights and sensors to detect a wide range of wavelengths, mineral absorption
and reflectance within the target area. The wavelength data collected in this
survey are VNIR (Visible and Near-Infrared), SWIR (Short-Wave Infrared), and
LWIR (Long-Wave Infrared). The human eye can detect wavelengths (colours) from
390 nanometers ('nm') to 700nm. The VNIR and SWIR sensors collected wavelength
data from 390nm to 2,450nm, while the LWIR sensors ranged from 8,000nm to
12,000nm.

The Navarre Creek project is located within an intrusive dome complex, where
the magnetic components in overlying volcanic lithologies are destroyed by
silicic alteration associated with steam-heated, acidic, and oxidised
hydrothermal fluids. The survey highlighted several such areas including
the Lehman Creek fault, one or more porphyry plugs, and several
contacts/faults.

The survey identified volcanic associated alteration that is both acidic and
of fairly high temperature as evidenced by pyrophyllite and dickite. As would
be expected in the Challis Volcanic Field, the white mica is Al-rich
(paragenetic) and also shows zoned crystallinity patterns, typical of
intermediate-to-high sulfidation systems and is likely proximal to a magmatic
heat source. The presence of iron oxide associated with some of these zones
adds prospectivity. The alteration pattern is useful in developing an
exploration model to optimise future drill targets.

During the summer of 2020, Konnex Resources' exploration team previously
mapped and sampled the Company's Navarre Creek gold property, which was then
comprised of 2,420 acres of unpatented mining claims, located approximately
5km north-northwest of the Empire Mine.  90 rock chip and grab samples were
collected in the hydrothermally altered volcanic rocks that make up
the Navarre Creek claims and sent to ALS Laboratories in Reno, USA for
geochemical analysis.

Of the 90 samples, 53 were above the detection limit for gold with a high of
0.569 grammes per tonne ('g/t'), and 25 above the detection limit for
silver.  There was also a strong correlation between elevated gold values and
elevated antimony values, typical of epithermal gold and silver systems in the
western US.  With the exception of one sample, all samples with a gold value
greater than 0.1 g/t occurred within the same alteration type, that being
predominantly a jasperoid-hosted quartz stockwork and micro-veining system.
This provides valuable information for future sampling and drill targeting.
The quartz stockworking and micro-veining appear to occur predominantly in
felsic volcanic tuff units in the Navarre Creek area.  One anomalous
sample, 32519, registered a gold value of 0.387 g/t, in a magnetite skarn
sample located on the southern end of the Navarre Creek claim block where
the skarn body is exposed as subcrop through the surface volcanics tuffs.
Additionally, the presence of limestone in surface float near the skarn sample
location is evidence that the Paleozoic sedimentary rocks that occur at
the Empire Mine may be near the surface.  The Empire orebody is partly
comprised of a magnetite skarn body hosted in Paleozoic limestone.   It was
also noted that volcanic outcropping across the Navarre Creek area is
strongly weathered and highly leached to depths of two to four metres.

The Navarre Creek claim block now covers 3,577 acres (14.48 km²),
representing over 6km of prospective strike length, including an area of
secondary alteration thought to be epithermal in nature, with over 2.5km of
highly brecciated, west-trending jasperoid intersecting argillically and
silicically altered Eocene Challis volcanics.

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

The Company deems the information contained within this announcement to
constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations
(EU) No. 596/2014, which has been incorporated into UK law by the European
Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. Upon the publication of this announcement via
the Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered
to be in the public domain.

Contacts

For further information please visit https://phoenixcopperlimited.com
(https://phoenixcopperlimited.com/)  or contact:

 Phoenix Copper Limited                       Ryan McDermott                                Tel: +1 208 954 7039

                                              Brittany Lock                                 Tel: +1 208 794 8033

                                              Richard Wilkins                               Tel: +44 7590 216 657
 SP Angel (Nominated Adviser)                 David Hignell / Kasia Brzozowska              Tel: +44 20 3470 0470
 Tavira Financial Limited (Joint Broker)      Jonathan Evans / Oliver Stansfield            Tel: +44 20 7100 5100

 WH Ireland (Joint Broker)                    Harry Ansell / Katy Mitchell                  Tel: +44 20 7220 1666
 Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited (Joint Broker)   John Prior / Hugh Rich / Ailsa Macmaster      Tel: +44 20 7886 2500
 EAS Advisors (US Corporate Adviser)          Matt Bonner / Rogier de la Rambelje           Tel: +1 (646) 495-2225
 BlytheRay                                    Tim Blythe / Megan Ray                        Tel: +44 20 7138 3204

(Financial PR)

 

Notes

Phoenix Copper Limited is a USA focused, base and precious metals emerging
producer and exploration company, initially targeting copper and zinc
production from an open pit mine.

Phoenix's primary operations are focused near Mackay, Idaho in the Alder
Creek mining district, at the 80% owned Empire Mine property, which
historically produced copper at grades of up to 8%, as well as gold, silver,
zinc and tungsten, from an underground mine.

Since 2017, Phoenix has carried out extensive drill programmes which have
defined a NI 43-101 completed PEA (preliminary economic assessment) for an
open pit heap leach solvent extraction and electrowinning ("SX-EW") mine,
which was updated in October 2020. From the 2020 PEA, the measured and
indicated resource is: 22,909,059 tonnes at an average grade of 0.38% copper,
0.324 g/t gold, 10.3 g/t silver, and 0.19% zinc. The contained metal for the
measured and indicated resource is 87,543 tonnes of copper, 238,406 ounces of
gold, 7,595,198 ounces of silver and 43,871 tonnes of zinc. Phoenix updated
its economic model in February 2021 to include the processing of all
contained metals through a two phased approach.

In addition to Empire, the district includes the historic Horseshoe, White
Knob and Blue Bird Mines, past producers of copper, gold, silver, zinc, lead
and tungsten from underground mines. A new discovery at Red Star, 330 metres
northwest of the Empire Mine proposed open pit, has revealed high grade
silver / lead sulphide ore, and from three shallow exploration drill holes a
maiden inferred resource of 103,000 tonnes containing 173.4 g/tonne silver,
0.85 g/tonne gold and 3.85% lead (1.6 million ounces silver equivalent) was
reported in an NI 43-101 technical report published in May 2019.
Additionally, the district includes Navarre Creek, a volcanic hosted precious
metals target in a 14.48 sq km area. The Company's total land package at
Empire comprises 8,034 acres (32.51 sq kms).

At Empire, it is estimated that less than 1% of the potential ore system has
been explored to date and, accordingly, there is significant opportunity to
increase the resource through phased exploration. The stated aim of the
Company is to fund this phased exploration through free cashflow generated by
its initial mine. A Plan of Operations in respect of the initial open pit mine
was filed with the relevant regulatory authorities in June 2021.

Phoenix also has two wholly owned cobalt properties on the Idaho Cobalt Belt
to the north of Empire. An Earn-In Agreement has been signed with Electra
Battery Materials, Toronto, in respect of one of those properties.

Phoenix is listed on London's AIM (PXC), and trades on New York's OTCQX
Market (PXCLF and PXCLY (ADRs)). More details on the Company, its assets and
its objectives can be found on PXC's website
at    https://phoenixcopperlimited.com/
(https://phoenixcopperlimited.com/)

 

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