July 26, 2018: Vancouver, British Columbia: Surge Copper Corp. (the “Company”) (SURG: TSX-V) is pleased to announce it has discovered a new copper zone within a covered area at the Company’s 100% owned Ootsa Property. The Ootsa Property is an advanced stage copper-gold exploration project containing the East Seel, West Seel and Ox porphyry deposits, and is located adjacent to the Huckleberry Copper Mine in British Columbia.
New Discovery
A 3000 metre drill program is currently underway at the Ootsa Property and the second hole of the program, hole S18-212, has intersected a new zone of mineralization located 500 metres northeast of the East Seel deposit. Hole S18-212 was drilled at an azimuth of 135 degrees, a dip of -50 degrees, and is intensely altered from the start of bedrock at 10 metres depth, to the end of the hole at 483.4 metres depth. The hole contains localized and variable zones of mineralization consisting of pyrite, chalcopyrite, and sphalerite along with carbonate and quartz. The mineralization occurs as a sulfide rich breccia matrix and in sulfide veins and veinlets and is best developed between about 218 and 296 metres depth. Hole S18-214 is a 100 metre step out from hole S18-212 and was also drilled at an azimuth of 135 degrees and a dip of -50 degrees. Hole S18-214 intersected the same mineralized sulfide breccia as hole S18-212 and has traced the mineralized zone closer to surface. Hole S18-214 encountered 55.3 metres of overburden prior to hitting highly altered bedrock, and intersected sulfide breccia mineralization from 91 to 120 metres depth with weaker breccia below. Hole S18-214 is still being drilled.
The style of mineralization encountered in holes S18-212 and 214 is distinct from the porphyry style mineralization that occurs at the East and West Seel deposits but this style has been intersected at Ootsa previously. Hole S06-42 encountered this style of mineralization and highlights its potential to host high grades as the hole returned 138 metres grading 0.84% copper and 22.1 g/t silver, including 42 metres grading 1.24% copper, 32 g/t silver, and 0.13 g/t gold (previously released).
The significance of the new discovery, including size, grade, and continuity has not yet been established. Additional drilling is planned to help establish the geometry and further evaluate its potential.
Photographs of the mineralization between 235.5 and 270.2 metres depth in hole S18-212 and 91.9 and 116.1 metres in hole S18-214 are available in the photo gallery on our website at www.surgecopper.com or by clicking here. Note these photographs are from select intervals containing relatively strong sulfide breccia and are not representative of the entire holes. Hole S18-212 has been logged, sampled, and sent for assay with results expected within 4 weeks. Hole S18-214 is still being drilled and will be sent for assay once the hole is complete.
Drill Program Update
The first hole of the 2018 program, hole S18-211, was a 50 metre step out on the East Seel deposit and was designed to evaluate the potential to expand near-surface mineralization along the margin of the deposit. The hole was successfully drilled to a total depth of 209.8 metres. Assay results from this hole are expected within 2 weeks. The second hole of the program (S18-212) hit the new zone of mineralization described above, and the 3rd hole of the program (S18-213) targeted a coincident magnetic-chargeability-resistivity geophysical anomaly located 650 metres east of the East Seel Deposit. Hole S18-213 was abandoned in an altered fault zone at 120.7 metres depth due to difficult drilling conditions and did not fully test the target. The drill is currently working on the 4th hole of the program (S18-214) which is a 100 metre step out from hole S18-212.
About Surge Copper Corp.
The Company owns a 100% interest in the Ootsa Property, an advanced stage exploration project containing the East Seel, West Seel and Ox porphyry deposits located adjacent to the open pit Huckleberry Copper Mine. The property contains NI 43-101 compliant resources of 224 million tonnes in the Measured and Indicated categories with contained metals of 1.1 billion pounds of copper and 1 million ounces of gold as summarized in the table below.
Ootsa Project Pit Constrained Mineral Resource Estimate at $8.50/t NSR Cut-off Value
|
Category |
Tonnes (‘000’s) |
CuEq % |
Cu % |
Au g/t |
Mo % |
Ag g/t |
CuEq M lbs |
Cu M lbs |
Au K oz |
|
Mo M lbs |
Ag K oz |
|
Measured |
187,148 |
0.38 |
0.23 |
0.15 |
0.021 |
2.8 |
1,568 |
934 |
916 |
|
85 |
17,089 |
|
Indicated |
37,041 |
0.35 |
0.21 |
0.12 |
0.023 |
2.8 |
286 |
175 |
146 |
|
19 |
3,368 |
|
M&I |
224,189 |
0.37 |
0.22 |
0.15 |
0.021 |
2.8 |
1,854 |
1,109 |
1,062 |
|
104 |
20,457 |
On February 9, 2016, the Company announced a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for the Ootsa Property with potential for low capital cost, low risk and rapid pay back utilizing existing infrastructure in the district with a contract mining and toll milling scenario. The study recommends the Company continue to advance the Ootsa Project with extended and advanced technical studies with the intention of moving the project toward a production decision.
The current technical report supporting the resource statement and PEA is available on SEDAR or the Company’s website at www.surgecopper.com and has an effective date of January 2016. The resource estimate uses $8.50 per tonne NSR cut-off value. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and by definition do not demonstrate economic viability. There is no certainty that all or any part of the mineral resource will be converted into mineral reserves. A ‘Measured Mineral Resource’ is that part of a mineral resource for which quantity, grade or quality, densities, shape and physical characteristics are so well established that they can be estimated with confidence sufficient to allow the appropriate application of technical and economic parameters, to support production planning and evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit. An ‘Indicated Mineral Resource’ is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity, grade or quality, densities, shape and physical characteristics can be estimated with a level of confidence sufficient to allow the appropriate application of technical and economic parameters, to support mine planning and evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit. Copper Equivalent (CuEq) calculations are based on base case metal price (US$3/lb Cu, US$1260/oz Au, US$10.30/lb Mo, and US$17/oz Ag) and process recovery assumptions, and take into account smelter payable rates and refining costs. M&I = measured and indicated. The resource update and Preliminary Economic Assessment was completed by P&E Mining Consultants Inc. in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
Dr. Shane Ebert P.Geo., is the Qualified Person for the Ootsa project as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has approved the technical disclosure contained in this news release.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
“Shane Ebert”
President and Chief Executive Officer
For Further information, please contact:
Telephone: 604-718-5454
Toll Free: 888-500-4587
info@surgecopper.com
Or
Don Mosher
Corporate Development
Telephone: 604-685-6465
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 release.
This News Release contains forward-looking statements, which relate to future events. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "will", "may", "should", "expects", "plans", or "anticipates" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company’s actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking-statements. Such uncertainties and risks may include, among others, actual results of the Company's exploration activities being different than those expected by management, delays in obtaining or failure to obtain required government or other regulatory approvals or financing, inability to procure equipment and supplies in sufficient quantities and on a timely basis, equipment breakdown and bad weather. While these forward-looking statements, and any assumptions upon which they are based, are made in good faith and reflect the Company's current judgment regarding the direction of its business, actual results will almost always vary, sometimes materially, from any estimates, predictions, projections, assumptions or other future performance suggests herein. Except as required by applicable law, the Company does not intend to update any forward-looking statements to conform these statements to actual results.