Dec 13 2019
Granite Creek Copper Ltd., a Canadian exploration company, has announced that its inaugural field exploration campaign has been completed at the fully owned Stu Copper-Gold Project situated in the Minto Copper Belt of Yukon Territory in Canada.
Property map with target areas. Image Credit: Granite Creek Copper Ltd.
Acquired in January 2019, the Stu Copper-Gold Project is located between Pembridge Resource’s operational Minto copper mine situated to the north and Copper North’s advanced Carmacks Copper Project situated to the south.
After acquiring the project, Granite Creek Copper obtained and assessed a large, privately held exploration database and, on the basis of those findings, initiated the 2019 exploration program. The program was developed to improve the drill targets for a scheduled campaign to be performed in 2020.
A summary of the program, together with an update on other associated initiatives, is given below.
South Target Area
Apart from performing geological mapping as well as access rehabilitation, an Induced Polarization (IP) survey comprising seven lines that total 24-line km was concluded in the South Target area.
The survey was designed to validate the proposed northern continuation of Copper North mineralized zones concealed by a cover. It spanned the historic Gran Zone and Zone 2 extension. IP surveys can effectively identify subsurface sulfide mineralization. Therefore, other operators in the Minto Copper Belt have successfully used these IP surveys as a targeting tool to further develop drilling.
In association with geophysicists, Granite Creek Copper has designed a survey that is expected to identify prospective mineralization along strike from the neighboring Carmacks project and, most significantly, penetrate sufficiently deep to identify sulfide mineralization under the shallow layer of copper oxide.
In order to develop oxide and sulfide mineral resources, survey data is being compiled with notable geophysical data and these will be utilized to target upcoming drill programs.
The historic “Zone D” and “East Target” were also explored by crews. Both these targets lie within a northwest-trending, regional-scale structure hosted in Povoas Formation volcanics. The historic Zone D was first identified in 2012 and was added to the Stu Copper-Gold Project during a staking program conducted in 2017.
Granite Creek Copper completed the compilation work that brought the Zone D into focus, and an extra 21 new claims were staked on the property’s northeast section.
Follow-up prospecting showed a fracture zone with iron oxides and malachite inside the larger structure trending northwest. Soils contained anomalous copper values indicating that mineralization continues along the structure in two directions from Zone D.
A rock sample collected at Zone D confirmed the presence of copper mineralization in this area. The sample returned 0.4 g/t gold and 0.74% copper, and sample 1481712 that was collected 1200 m southeast of Zone D carried anomalous copper (180 ppm).
Central and North Target Areas
The North and Central target regions were the subject of multi-year drilling and trenching permit applications that are presently being reviewed. Granite Creek Copper has already received and replied to a request for further data on the permit and believes to obtain it in the first quarter of the forthcoming year. Once the property is in hand, it will be completely permitted for drilling.
Since the launch of Granite Creek Copper in January 2019, the dynamics in the Minto Copper belt have improved considerably. Pembridge Resources restarted operations at the nearby Minto mine in October and already have copper concentrate shipments underway. We are very pleased to be working within this active district and taking a prominent role in the development of copper and precious metal resources.
Tim Johnson, President and CEO, Granite Creek Copper Ltd.
Johnson continued, “After graduating from the NEX board in January this year, Granite Creek has acquired an extensive private exploration database, strengthened our team with the creation of a technical advisory board, completed an initial field program, and acquired a 30% interest in neighbouring Copper North Mining.”
We see favourable fundamentals for copper and gold continuing to build into 2020 and beyond. We look forward to providing investors with additional updates about our Stu project, and developments in the broader Minto Copper belt as a whole, over the next few weeks and months.
Tim Johnson, President and CEO, Granite Creek Copper Ltd.