Phoenix Copper Limited / Ticker: PXC / Sector: Mining

23 May 2024

Phoenix Copper Limited

('Phoenix' or the 'Company')

Navarre Creek Exploratory Drilling Intercepts Consistent Gold Values

Update on Empire Mine Feasibility Engineering

Phoenix Copper Ltd (AIM: PXC, OTCQX: PXCLF and PXCLY (ADRs)), the AIM-quoted USA-focused base and precious metals company, is pleased to announce the drilling results from the 2023 Navarre Creek exploratory drilling programme in Idaho, USA and an update on feasibility engineering activities at the Empire Mine.

Highlights

·    28 reverse-circulation drill holes into four target areas within 4,000 acre (16.18 sq km) claim block

·    Two of four target areas identify mineralisation of significance

·    All seven drill holes into the Lehman Creek target identify a continuous zone of anomalous, low-grade gold mineralisation ranging from 4.5 metres to 22.9 metres thick

·    Mineralised zone is open along strike and down-dip

·    20 unpatented mining claims totaling 400 acres staked on the southwest end of the contiguous Navarre Creek claim block 

Ryan McDermott, Chief Executive Officer, said, "Further to our announcement on 24 October 2023, I am pleased to confirm that we have now received and assessed the assay results from the 28 exploratory reverse-circulation drill holes completed at our Navarre Creek project in 2023. Navarre Creek is a vast exploration zone, multiple times larger than the Empire Mine open-pit area. We initially selected four target areas, and it is very encouraging to note that two of those areas have returned mineralization of significance, worthy of further follow-up.

"Holes NC23-01 through NC23-07 were drilled to test Target Area 1 on the southwest end of the claim block specifically targeting the mineralized Lehman Creek fault Holes. NC23-08 through NC23-11 were drilled in Target Area 2, 4.77 kilometers northeast of Target Area 1. Target Area 2 tested a surface geochemical anomaly identified during previous field mapping and surface sampling in 2020. Target Area 3, holes NC23-12 - NC23-18, tested a gold-antimony geochemical anomaly identified during field mapping, and Target Area 4, holes NC23-19 - NC23-28, tested a jasperoid exposure identified during field mapping.

"I am pleased to report that all seven of the Target Area 1 holes encountered a continuous zone/band of low-grade gold mineralization. Each of the drill holes NC23-01 to NC23-07 were angled and drilled perpendicular to the strike of the Lehman Creek fault and cross dip. The seven holes were widely spaced at various angles along 580 meters of the fault. The mineralized zone was encountered between 19.2 meters and 44.2 meters true vertical depth along strike, indicating that the zone is open along strike and down-dip. The mineralized zone is clearly defined geochemically, and the consistency along the strike is important in that it demonstrates the fault as a conduit for gold-bearing fluids and at least one volcanic unit in the hanging-wall as a suitable host for mineralization. The drilling results are representative of a relatively shallow, near-surface portion of the mineralized system.  I am very much looking forward to further testing down-dip and further along strike. The initial drilling results in Target Area 1 were considered significant enough that we expanded the Navarre Creek claim block to the southwest by an additional 400 acres, bringing the total claim block size to 3,977 acres (16.09 km²).

"The assay results from the four drill holes NC23-13 through NC23-16, which targeted an area with a gold-antimony surface anomaly identified during field work, returned anomalous low-grade silver and silver-antimony.  1.5 meters of 1.10% (10,100 parts per million ('ppm')) antimony was present at a depth of 4.6 meters.  Antimony can be an important trace element in mineralized systems as it can be associated with precious metals. While the four drill holes tested a relatively small area, we now have a better understanding of the subsurface geology and mineral potential in that specific area. The remainder of the 28 drill holes showed little to no significant gold mineralization. 

"The Navarre Creek project covers nearly 4,000-acres. As we have reported in the past, surficial evidence of mineralization is widespread and pervasive. While the overall gold assay grades were low, the presence, location, depth, and host lithology of the mineralization is important and will be used as a tool for further stages of exploration. The activities at Navarre Creek are very much grassroots, very early-stage exploration, not development drilling, and we are satisfied to initially encounter this low-grade mineralization early in the program as we continue to develop an understanding of the dynamics of the system and explore for more substantial quantities of mineralization.

"Given the latest bond funding news, we are clearly focusing our resources on the development of the open-pit and will be for the foreseeable future. However, our Idaho team will continue field work at Navarre Creek, Redstar, and the Horseshoe area for the purposes of developing drill targets.  We will update as appropriate as to progress on our exploration programs.  

"In addition to reporting the Navarre Creek drilling results, I would like to provide a brief update on the feasibility engineering for our Empire Open-Pit Mine. We recently reported that the Company's corporate copper bond issue has been fully subscribed for a principal value of US$80,000,000, which will be drawn down and used for the construction of the open pit mine and processing facility. While this funding will not have an impact on the mineral reserve estimate or the metallurgical and design engineering completed to date, it will provide the Company with the opportunity to outfit the open pit operation with lower-cost, pre-owned equipment. Much of this equipment has already been identified and is currently located within a 550-mile radius of the Empire Mine. The purchase of this equipment is expected to have a material impact on overall initial and sustaining capex, as well as on certain aspects of the process design detail, construction logistics, and the overall equipment procurement schedule. We have already procured pre-owned ball mills, assay laboratory equipment and disk filtration units, at an estimated capex reduction of US$8 million. These items all form an important part of the feasibility work, which is now being updated accordingly."   

Gold Mineralised Zone

Tables 1a - 1g highlight a consistent zone of gold mineralisation evident in each of the seven reverse-circulation drill holes, NC23-01 through NC23-07, completed in the southwest Target Area 1 along approximately 580 metres of the Lehman Creek fault.  In each of the seven angled drill holes, a distinct zone of low-grade gold mineralisation was consistently encountered in the hanging-wall of the fault.   While the individual gold values in the mineralised zone are low-grade, the zone itself is clearly defined and appears to be laterally continuous along strike and open down dip.

Table 1a

*drilling is measured in feet, multiplied by 0.3048, and reported in metres to one significant digit

Table 1b

*drilling is measured in feet, multiplied by 0.3048, and reported in metres to one significant digit

Table 1c

*drilling is measured in feet, multiplied by 0.3048, and reported in metres to one significant digit

Table 1d

*drilling is measured in feet, multiplied by 0.3048, and reported in metres to one significant digit

Table 1e

*drilling is measured in feet, multiplied by 0.3048, and reported in metres to one significant digit

Table 1f

*drilling is measured in feet, multiplied by 0.3048, and reported in metres to one significant digit

Table 1g

*drilling is measured in feet, multiplied by 0.3048, and reported in metres to one significant digit

Figure 1

Figure 1 is a cross-section illustrating the mineralised zone described in tables 1a-1g. Cross-sections represented by individual drill holes can be seen at https://phoenixcopperlimited.com/navarrecreek.

Tables 2a to 2d highlight anomalous silver + antimony values above a 0.25 ppm detection limit.  There is geological evidence suggesting that elevated silver and antimony values are hosted within a specific geological unit located in the central portion of the Navarre Creek claim block.  The geological unit is capped by younger rocks on the west and south, limiting surface exposure.  Further geochemical characterisation and study is warranted to the west and south to determine, if possible, the source of mineralisation.

Table 2a

*drilling is measured in feet, multiplied by 0.3048, and reported in metres to one significant digit

Table 2b

*drilling is measured in feet, multiplied by 0.3048, and reported in metres to one significant digit

Table 2c

*drilling is measured in feet, multiplied by 0.3048, and reported in metres to one significant digit

Table 2d

*drilling is measured in feet, multiplied by 0.3048, and reported in metres to one significant digit

Assay results for the remainder of the 28 drill holes showed little to no significant gold mineralisation.  

Background on Navarre Creek

During the 2021 field season, Phoenix contracted Magee Geophysical Services to acquire approximately 169 line-kilometres 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. 

The Navarre Creek claim block now covers 3,977 acres (16.09 km²), representing over 6 km of prospective strike length, including an area of secondary alteration thought to be epithermal in nature, with over 2.5 km of highly brecciated, west trending jasperoid intersecting argillically and silicically altered Eocene Challis volcanics.

Qualified Person

The foregoing technical information in this news release has been reviewed and verified by Dennis Thomas, ACSM, FIMMM, FGS, CEng, Eurlng, co-founder of Phoenix Copper Limited and Member of the Company's Advisory Board.  Mr. Thomas has held both executive and non-executive roles in a number of international private and public natural resources companies and is a chartered mining engineer from the Camborne School of Mines. He is a Qualified Person under the AIM Rules and consents to the inclusion of the information in the form and the context in which it appears.

Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling was conducted by Midnight Sun Drilling, Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada, and was supervised by the Konnex exploration team. All assays reported are uncut unless otherwise stated. Samples reported herein were assayed by ALS USA, Inc. of Reno, Nevada which is independent of Phoenix. All Reverse Circulation assays reported were obtained using a four-acid digestion and ICP-AES finish with overruns completed on values exceeding 10,000 ppm for Cu, Zn, and Pb and 100 g/t for Ag. The only exception being that Au assays reported were obtained using a fire assay with AA-finish or using gravimetric finish for values over 100 g/t Au.

Intercepts cited do not necessarily represent true widths, unless otherwise noted, however, drilling is generally intersecting interpreted mineralised zones at angles between ±30°. True width determinations are not estimated due to the irregular shape of the skarn mineralisation.

Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance

Phoenix is committed to meeting and exceeding the environmental standards required by law as a core value of the Company. The baseline environmental data collected to date will be used for furthering the permitting process, but as importantly, will be used as the building blocks for the Company's ongoing Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) platform, overseen by the Company's ESG & Sustainability Committee. The Company has recently published its 2023 Sustainability Report, which can be viewed on the Company's website.

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.

For further information please visit  https://phoenixcopperlimited.com.

Contacts

Notes

Phoenix Copper Limited is an emerging producer and exploration company specialising in base and precious metals, with an initial focus on copper, gold, and silver extraction from an open-pit mining operation within the United States.

Located in the historic Alder Creek mining district near Mackay, Idaho, Phoenix's flagship asset is the Empire Mine, in which the Company holds an 80% ownership stake. The historic Empire underground mine, located beneath the surface of the Company's proposed open pit, boasts a rich history of producing high-grade copper, gold, silver, zinc, and tungsten.

Since 2017, Phoenix has executed extensive drilling initiatives, resulting in the estimation of mineral reserves.  The Proven and Probable reserves at Empire are 10.1 million tonnes containing 109,487,970 lbs of copper, 104,000 ounces of gold, and 4,654,400 ounces of silver, equating to 66,467 copper equivalent tonnes.

In addition to the Empire Mine, Phoenix's holdings in the district also encompass the Horseshoe, White Knob, and Blue Bird Mines, all of which have been producers of copper, gold, silver, zinc, lead, and tungsten from underground operations, a new high-grade silver and lead orebody at Red Star, and the Navarre Creek gold exploration project, which was first drilled in 2023. The Company's land package at Empire spans 8,434 acres (34.13 sq km).

Phoenix also owns two cobalt properties situated along the Idaho Cobalt Belt to the north of Empire. An Earn-In Agreement has been established concerning one of these properties.

Phoenix is listed on London's AIM (PXC), and trades on the New York 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/