Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. (TSXV: BAY) has received significant new drill results from the spring reverse circulation (RC) drilling programme at the Storm Copper Project on Somerset Island, Nunavut, Canada.
The programme was conducted this April and May by American West Metals Limited, who are the project operator since entering an option agreement with Aston Bay in March 2021.
“We continue to receive impressive results from the RC programme conducted at Storm by our partners America West Metals,” CEO, Thomas Ullrich, said.
“The high grades, up to 8% copper in these results and higher elsewhere at Storm, speaks to the quality of the mineralized system, while its apparent continuity and consistency demonstrates a significant increase in the known near-surface high-grade mineralization.
“The 4100N Zone sits directly above the largest of several geophysical targets recently delineated at Storm, adjacent to faults that may have served as conduits for the mineralizing fluids. Our exploration model suggests that the 4100N Zone may be the uppermost of a series of stacked mineralized zones. This would be a game-changing discovery, and we eagerly look forward to testing this hypothesis in the upcoming summer drill programme.”
Assay results have been received and interpretation has been completed on drill holes SR23-07, SR23-08, SR23-09, SR23-13, SR23-14, and SR23-15. The drill holes are located within the central part of the 4100N Zone and have been prioritised to allow resource modelling on drill sections with complete data sets.
The drilling results continue to demonstrate consistent copper grades and excellent lateral continuity of the known copper mineralization. The mineralization is open along most sections and is defined by broad intervals of vein and fracture-style chalcocite, bornite and lesser chalcopyrite hosted within a distinct, horizontally extensive dolomite.
Multiple very high-grade lenses are located within the broader zones of mineralization, and these targets and further expansion of the mineralized footprint will be a focus for follow-up drilling in this zone.
Hole SR23-07 was drilled to a downhole depth of 137.2m and is located on drill section 464,800E, the same section as historical drill holes ST97-14, ST99-56, and ST99-54.
SR23-07 intersected two horizontal zones of strong vein and fracture-style copper sulphide mineralization hosted within fractured dolomite. The grade and mineralogy are identical to that of the historical drill holes and confirm the excellent lateral continuity of the mineralization along this section.
Drill holes SR23-08 and SR23-09 were drilled along section 464,725E. The drill holes were completed to a downhole depth of 118.9m and 164.6m respectively and were designed to test the continuity of the mineralization between the thick intervals of copper encountered within historical drill holes ST00-61 and ST00-62.
Both drill holes intersected wide zones of vein and fracture-style copper sulphide mineralization hosted within fractured dolomite. Higher-grade zones of mineralization (>2% Cu) are contained within the broader intervals of >1% copper sulphide mineralization.
The mineralization on drill section 464,725E remains open to the north.
Drill hole SR23-13 was completed on the same section (465,050E) as drill holes SR23-03 and SR23-04 (Figure 4). The drill hole is located to the north of SR23-03 (67m (core length) @ 1.1% Cu) and was drilled to a downhole depth of 175.3m.
The drill hole confirmed the extension of the thick mineralization to the north and intersected a broad interval of strong copper sulphide mineralization with three higher-grade bands. The lower 1.5m thick band consists of very dense chalcocite veining and averages 8.2% Cu.
Importantly, SR23-13 remains open to the north in an area with significant EM anomalism.
Drill holes SR23-14 and SR23-15 were drilled to test continuity along the East-West main strike of the mineralization. The holes were drilled to a downhole depth of 160m and 166.1m respectively.
The drill holes have successfully confirmed the consistency of the copper mineralization between the historical sections and increased the resource confidence in the central part of the 4100N Zone.
Drill hole SR23-14 has intersected a single, very wide interval of vein and fracture-style copper sulphide mineralization with individual assays up to 4.9% Cu.
Drill hole SR23-15 also intersected a wide zone (30m) of >0.5% Cu mineralization with higher-grade bands of >1% Cu mineralization toward the base of the interval.
4100N Zone – Tip of the Iceberg?
The new drill hole data at the 4100N Zone is helping to further the understanding of the geological setting and mineralization processes of the Storm copper system. The drilling is revealing a laterally extensive zone of mineralization that displays many of the features of a typical sediment hosted copper deposit, including multiple stacked copper horizons. The recent gravity survey data has highlighted a large and dense body underneath the 4100N Zone which is interpreted to potentially represent a larger accumulation of copper sulphides.
Importantly, the geology of the 4100N displays marked similarities to that observed in drilling that has tested deeper parts of the system. Drill hole ST22-10, drilled to the west and below the stratigraphic level of the 4100N Zone, targeted a large EM anomaly and intersected 68 m of a typical sediment hosted mineral assemblage including chalcopyrite, pyrite, sphalerite, and galena. At the 4100N Zone and elsewhere at Storm, this mineral assemblage is located peripheral to a larger and higher-grade core dominated by chalcocite, bornite and covellite.
The geological similarities and spatial association between the 4100N Zone and ST22-10 suggest that the two types of mineralization may be related and form part of a large, stacked copper system hosted in several prospective stratigraphic horizons.
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