December 7, 2021, Vancouver, British Columbia – Surge Copper Corp. (TSXV: SURG) (OTCQX: SRGXF) (Frankfurt: G6D2) (“Surge” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce complete assay results for 11 holes from the Seel Breccia Zone at the Company’s 100% owned Ootsa Property in central British Columbia. The Seel Breccia Zone is located 200 metres north of the East Seel deposit and is known to contain high-grade copper and silver mineralization that extends from surface along a series of steeply dipping brecciated zones. Drilling during the summer program encountered this style of breccia mineralization in a stepout to the north of the known zone, and this release contains the first of several batches of results from follow-up exploration drilling in this area.
Highlights
- Hole S21-281 intersected 46 metres grading 1.7% copper equivalent from 24 metres downhole depth, including 28 metres grading 2.0% copper equivalent and 10 metres grading 3.6% copper equivalent
- Hole S21-280 intersected 23 metres grading 1.2% copper equivalent from 3 metres downhole depth, including 12 metres grading 1.6% copper equivalent
- Holes S21-280 and 281 are 180 metres apart and demonstrate a substantial increase in dimensions of the known high-grade zone with assays pending from holes along strike
Leif Nilsson, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “Delineating near-surface, high-grade mineralization is an evergreen objective in exploration, as such ‘starter zones’ can drive significant project value. Higher-grade breccia-style mineralization is known to occur in the periphery of the Seel porphyry system and has been encountered in multiple locations, including the Seel Breccia to the north of the Seel porphyry deposits. As outlined in this first batch of results, drilling this summer has significantly expanded this zone, and represents a potentially high-value exploration target for the Ootsa project.”
Assay results have been received for 11 holes from the Seel Breccia Zone including holes S21-270, S21-272 to 278, and S21-280 to 282. Significant results are summarized in the table below. Hole locations and orientations are shown on the drill hole map and select holes are illustrated on the cross sections below.
Hole S21-280 was collared on the western end of the zone and intersected 23 metres grading 0.84% copper and 19.9 g/t silver (1.15% copper equivalent) from 3 metres downhole, including 12 metres grading 1.23% copper and 20.5 g/t silver (1.60% copper equivalent). Hole S21-281 was collared 180 metres east of hole S21-280 within the same breccia zone and also returned high-grade intersecting 46 metres grading 1.24% copper and 34.0 g/t silver (1.71% copper equivalent) from 24 metres downhole, including 28 metres grading 1.50% copper and 40.7 g/t silver (2.03% copper equivalent). Holes S21-270, 272, 273, and 274 were collared from approximately the same location in the middle of the zone, midway between S21-280 and 281, and each hit moderate zones of breccia style mineralization starting near surface. Holes S21-275, 276, and 277 were collared along the north side of the zone along its strike length and angled back toward the south, encountering deeper portions of the zone and each intersecting moderate zones of breccia style mineralization with some narrower, higher-grade subintervals. Holes S21-278 and S21-282 were angled obliquely against the prevailing orientation of the zone and did not intersect significant mineralization.
The Seel Breccia is proving to be a near vertical to steeply south dipping breccia body ranging from 25 to 50 metres wide and extending to depths exceeding 100 metres from surface. Smaller parallel and irregular breccia bodies locally surround the main zone. These initial drill results show potential to significantly expand near surface high-grade mineralization well beyond the zone of historical drilling, and the area is being evaluated for its potential as a high-grade starter pit. A historical resource from 2014 on the Seel Breccia Zone located to the southeast of the current drilling outlined a zone containing approximately 1.1 million tonnes grading 0.42% copper, 12.6 g/t silver, and 0.06 g/t gold.
Figure 1. Photographs from hole S21-281. Left: Close up brecciated zone with semi-massive chalcopyrite at 45 metres depth. Right: Breccia zone from 39 to 52 metres depth.
Results are pending from 35 additional holes testing exploration targets in the near vicinity of the Seel and Ox deposits, including the Seel Breccia Zone. An additional nine core holes are also pending from the Company’s 2021 Berg drill program.
|
Summary of Assay Results for Selected Holes |
|||||||
|
Drill Hole |
From (m) |
To |
Width (m)1 |
CuEq (%)2 |
Cu |
Au |
Ag |
|
S21-270 |
5 |
26 |
21 |
0.43 |
0.30 |
0.06 |
7.7 |
|
including |
10 |
16 |
6 |
0.85 |
0.62 |
0.10 |
13.1 |
|
S21-272 |
13 |
46 |
34 |
0.44 |
0.32 |
0.03 |
8.8 |
|
including |
32 |
38 |
6 |
1.18 |
0.89 |
0.05 |
23.2 |
|
S21-272 |
68 |
88 |
20 |
0.31 |
0.23 |
0.02 |
6.5 |
|
S21-273 |
3 |
18 |
15 |
0.26 |
0.16 |
0.06 |
4.1 |
|
S21-274 |
3.5 |
14 |
10.5 |
0.28 |
0.17 |
0.07 |
4.7 |
|
S21-275 |
82 |
116 |
34 |
0.23 |
0.15 |
0.05 |
4.5 |
|
S21-276 |
76 |
88 |
12 |
0.63 |
0.49 |
0.02 |
10.3 |
|
including |
76 |
80 |
4 |
1.25 |
1.01 |
0.03 |
20.4 |
|
S21-277 |
28 |
48 |
20 |
0.38 |
0.27 |
0.03 |
7.5 |
|
including |
28 |
38 |
10 |
0.59 |
0.43 |
0.04 |
11.0 |
|
S21-280 |
3 |
26 |
23 |
1.15 |
0.84 |
0.11 |
19.9 |
|
including |
12 |
24 |
12 |
1.60 |
1.23 |
0.18 |
20.5 |
|
S21-281 |
24 |
70 |
46 |
1.71 |
1.24 |
0.12 |
34.0 |
|
including |
38 |
66 |
28 |
2.03 |
1.50 |
0.10 |
40.7 |
|
including |
38 |
48 |
10 |
3.62 |
2.66 |
0.21 |
73.1 |
|
1. Width refers to drill hole intercepts; true widths have not been determined. 2. CuEq (copper equivalent) has been used to express the combined value of copper, gold, and silver as a percentage of copper, and is provided for illustrative purposes only and to provide ease of comparison. No allowances have been made for recovery losses that may occur should mining eventually result. Calculations use metal prices of US$3.00/lb copper, US$1,800/oz gold, US$10/lb molybdenum, and US$22/oz silver, using the formula CuEq % = Cu % + (Au g/t x 0.875) + (Mo % x 3.33) + (Ag g/t x 0.0107). |
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Figure 2. Drill hole location map for the Seel Breccia Zone.
Figure 3. Seel Breccia Zone cross section B1-B1’ showing results for holes S21-277, 278, and 280. See Figure 2 for section location.
Figure 4. Seel Breccia Zone cross section B2-B2’ showing results for holes S21-270, 272, 273, and 274. See Figure 2 for section location.
Figure 5. Seel Breccia Zone cross section B3-B3’ showing results for holes S21-281 and 282. See Figure 2 for section location.
Quality Control
All drill core is logged, photographed, and cut in half with a diamond saw. Half of the core is bagged and sent to ALS Geochemistry in Kamloops, British Columbia for analysis (which is ISO/IEC 17025 accredited), while the other half is archived and stored on site for verification and reference purposes. Gold is assayed using a 30g fire assay method and 33 additional elements are analyzed by Induced Coupled Plasma (ICP) utilizing a 4-acid digestion. Duplicate samples, blanks, and certified standards are included with every sample batch and then checked to ensure proper quality assurance and quality control.
Qualified Person
Dr. Shane Ebert P.Geo., is the Qualified Person for the Ootsa and Berg projects as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has approved the technical disclosure contained in this news release.
Upcoming Catalysts
The Company anticipates updating the market on results from the following activities:
- Drill results from 35 remaining drill holes from 2021 Ootsa drill program
- Drill results from 9 drill holes from 2021 Berg drill program
- Resource update for the Ootsa project
- Inversion and targeting results from regional airborne geophysics, and update on regional exploration pipeline
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, owned by Imperial Metals. The Ootsa Property contains pit constrained NI 43-101 compliant resources of copper, gold, molybdenum, and silver in the Measured and Indicated categories.
The Company is also earning into a 70% interest in the Berg Property from Centerra Gold. Berg is a large, advanced stage exploration project located 28 km northwest of the Ootsa deposits. Berg contains pit constrained 43-101 compliant resources of copper, molybdenum, and silver in the Measured and Indicated categories. Combined, the adjacent Ootsa and Berg properties give Surge a dominant land position in the Ootsa-Huckleberry-Berg district and control over four advanced porphyry deposits.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
“Leif Nilsson”
Chief Executive Officer
For Further information, please contact:
Riley Trimble, Corporate Communications & Development
Telephone: +1 604 416 2978
Email: info@surgecopper.com
Twitter: @SurgeCopper
LinkedIn: Surge Copper Corp
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. All statements included herein, other than statements of historical fact, are forward looking statements, including but not limited to the Company’s plans regarding the Berg Property and the Ootsa Property. 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, the ability to obtain adequate financing to conduct its planned exploration programs, inability to procure labour, equipment and supplies in sufficient quantities and on a timely basis, equipment breakdown, impacts of the current coronavirus pandemic, 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 suggestions 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.