Universal Copper Ltd, a Canadian-based copper exploration company, has announced that it has finished the 2021 Phase I drilling program at its flagship Poplar Copper Project, situated southwest of Houston, British Columbia.
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Apex Diamond Drilling Ltd finished 3,003 m in six vertical holes throughout the deposit. The first two holes have been sent to the main ALS Minerals Lab in North Vancouver, an ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited facility. At present, the four remaining holes are being sawn top to bottom, where each hole will be sent to ALS as soon as the sampling is completed.
The program’s focal point was to extend the copper mineralization to depth and stretch the limits of the higher-grade mineralization inside the existing mineral resource. The drill program concluded as expected.
Furthermore, the six holes will offer material for metallurgical work, where the testing will include the following: sample preparation and characterization, comminution testing, mineralogy, flotation testing and product characterization. Universal Copper is reviewing quotes from several firms with the expectation of shipping the metallurgical samples once sampling is completed. Metallurgical testing was one of the suggestions by the QP in the recently reported Mineral Resource Estimate.
We are very pleased our drill program was executed without a hitch and we eagerly await the assay results. As with our earlier drill programs, the Company anticipates further increases in tonnage and grade of the overall mineral resource from this program.
Clive Massey, CEO and President, Universal Copper
“The Company views Poplar as an undervalued asset, with a continually strengthening copper market driven by the Green Revolution where New York COMEX copper forward delivery in December reached $4.8055 per pound ($10,572 per ton), a record high,” added Massey.
About Poplar
The 61,600-hectare Poplar Project hosts a presently undiluted indicated mineral resource of 152.3 million tons grading 0.009% molybdenum, 0.32% copper, 0.09 gram per ton gold and 2.58 g/t silver, as well as an undiluted inferred mineral resource of 139.3 million ton grading 0.29% copper, 0.005% molybdenum, 0.07 g/t gold and 4.95 g/t silver.
The mineral resource figure consists of a cut-off grade of 0.20% copper. Universal Copper cautions investors that mineral resources, which are not mineral reserves, do not have proven economic viability.
Poplar comes under a historic mining region, situated 35 km from the Huckleberry Mine and 42 km from Equity Silver Mine, where low snowfalls will enable year-round work. The property is accessible by road and is sectioned by a 138 Kva Hydroelectric line. It is located 88 km from Houston and 400 km from the deep-water port at Prince Rupert by rail.