NorthWest Copper Discovers New Mineralized Zone at the Lorraine-Top Cat Project
Press Release
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 10, 2024 — NorthWest Copper (“NorthWest” or “the Company”) (TSX-V: NWST) is pleased to announce the discovery of a new mineralized zone at the Lorraine-Top Cat project (the “Project”). The first ever drill assays from the Project’s Road IP Target returned 104.7 metres of 0.13% copper (“Cu”). This area has never been drilled before and the closest historical drill hole is 6.3 kilometres away. Highlights from the Project’s 2024 drill program include:
- IP-24-002: 104.7 metres 1 of 0.13% Cu from 58.3 metres downhole;
- including 7.4 metres of 1.10% Cu from 147.6 metres downhole.
- IP-24-001: 60.0 metres of 0.06% Cu from 127.0 metres downhole.
- NV-24-001 : 24.0 metres of 0.08% Cu from 241.0 metres downhole.
“We are very encouraged by the results from holes drilled at the Road IP and Nova Targets this summer,” said Tyler Caswell, NorthWest Copper’s VP Exploration. “We drilled two new target areas and hit base metal mineralization in all of the holes.”
“The results from this drilling support our thesis that we can find more mineralized centres outside of the existing Lorraine resource,” commented Mr. Caswell. “There is still a lot of discovery potential at Lorraine-Top Cat. The geology we are seeing at the Road IP target area is similar in style to a calc-alkalic porphyry copper system, analogous to the Central Zone at our Kwanika-Stardust project, and which is potentially a large tonnage, high-grade target type.”
Exercise of Top Cat Option
As of the date of this news release, the Company has now made all required cash payments, issued all required common share payments, and incurred the required exploration expenditures under an option agreement entered in July 2019. The Company has now acquired 100% ownership of the Top Cat claims, subject to a 3% net smelter royalty (NSR). The Company may purchase 2% of the NSR for $2,000,000 at any time prior to the first anniversary of commercial production on the Top Cat property.
2024 Lorraine-Top Cat Program
Approximately 800 metres of drilling was completed in July 2024 at the regional Nova and Road IP Targets 2 . The objective of the program was to expand known mineralization to areas outside of the current Lorraine mineral resource estimate (“MRE”) (indicated resources of 12.952 million tonnes (“Mt”) grading 0.55% Cu and 0.16 g/t gold (“Au”), and inferred resources of 45.252 Mt grading 0.43% Cu and 0.10 g/t Au at 0.20% copper cut-off grade) 3 , 4 . Three holes were drilled, one at the Nova Target (356 metres) and two at the Road IP Target (456 metres total). The program was successful in its objective as it discovered mineralization in two previously un-drilled target areas. Follow-up drilling is recommended at these targets to delineate size potential and the potential high-grade core of the system.
Figure 1. Location of the Nova and Road IP Targets relative to NorthWest’s mineral tenure at Lorraine-Top Cat.
Road IP Target
The Road IP Target is defined by an IP chargeability anomaly that is coincident with a magnetic low (630 x 425 metres) with a subtle magnetic high in the middle (Figure 2). Additionally, historical surface geochemical samples show a geochemical anomaly coincident with these geophysical anomalies. Outcrop has not been identified in the area and the target area remains covered by a veneer of glacial sediments. The closest historical drill hole at Lorraine-Top Cat is 6.3 km away from this target area. Two diamond drill holes were completed from a single drill pad at the Road IP Target and both encountered mineralization. The first hole IP-24-001 was drilled to a depth of 187 metres and stopped in mineralization due to challenging ground conditions, whereas the second was drilled to a depth of 269 metres.
Drill hole IP-24-001 (Road IP Target)
IP-24-001 was the first of two diamond drill holes drilled at the Road IP Target (Figure 2 & Figure 3). Drilling was terminated prior to planned target depth due to difficult ground conditions. Drilling results show a broad zone of anomalous copper-silver mineralization with 60.0 metres of 0.06% Cu and 0.2 g/t Ag from 127.0 metres to the end of hole. Mineralization remains open downhole. Chalcopyrite occurs on fracture coatings and within quartz-sulphide veinlets hosted by a quartz monzodiorite to quartz monzonite intrusion. The mineralized interval starts within a fault zone that marks a significant change to a more intense potassium feldspar alteration that hosts chalcopyrite-pyrite and trace molybdenite mineralization.
Figure 2. Plan view of the Road IP magnetics anomaly with lithology and copper grade plotted downhole.
Figure 3. Cross-section of Road IP Drill hole IP-24-001 with lithology and copper grade plotted downhole.
Drill hole IP-24-002 (Road IP Target)
Hole IP-24-002 was the second of two diamond drill holes at the Road IP Target. Assay results show a broad zone of anomalous copper-silver mineralization with 104.7 metres of 0.13% Cu, 0.01 g/t Au and 0.5 g/t Ag from 58.3 metres , which includes 7.4 metres of 1.10% Cu, 0.04 g/t Au and 5.6 g/t Ag from 147.6 metres downhole . Mineralization occurs as chalcopyrite and pyrite hosted in quartz-sulphide veinlets and as fine disseminations and fracture coatings in quartz monzodiorite to quartz monzonite intrusion. Higher grade mineralization is coincident with zones of increased quartz-sulphide vein density and an increase in potassium feldspar alteration intensity.
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