Robust Drilling Results from Empire Mine Gold Zone

Phoenix Copper Limited / Ticker: PXC / Sector: Mining 

29 July 2020

 

Phoenix Copper Limited

('Phoenix' or the 'Company')

 

 

Robust Drilling Results from the Empire Mine Open Pit Gold Zone

First Bulk Metallurgical Samples delivered to the Laboratory

 

 

Phoenix Copper Ltd (AIM: PXC, OTCQX: PXCLF), the AIM quoted, North American-focused base and precious metals exploration and development company, is pleased to announce initial results from the Company's ongoing drilling programme at the Empire Mine open pit project in Idaho, USA (the 'Empire Mine').

 

Programme Highlights

 

·      30 Reverse Circulation ('RC') drill holes totalling 1,500 metres ('m') and two Diamond core holes totalling 108 m have been completed at the Empire Mine Open Pit Gold Zone

 

·      7 RC drill holes assayed to date with 23 pending shortly

 

·      Drilling Highlights from the first batch of 7 at the Empire Mine Open Pit Gold Zone

           

o  Hole KX20-01:               13.7 m of 2.12 grammes/tonne ('g/t') gold from 4.6 m depth

including                       1.6m of 3.45 g/t gold from 10.7 m depth

including                       1.6 m of 4.40 g/t gold from 13.7 m depth

o  Hole KX20-02:               4.6 m of 2.07 g/t gold from 30.5 m depth

including                       1.6 m of 3.23 g/t gold from 32.0 m depth

o  Hole KX20-05:               1.6 m of 8.45 g/t gold from 4.6 m depth

o  Hole KX20-07                1.6m of 3.4 g/t gold from 53.3. m depth

 

·      Channel samples at the Empire Mine Open Pit Gold Zone show grades of up to 3.84 g/t gold, 74.1 g/t silver, and 2.83% copper on surface

 

·      The first two, 1-ton bulk metallurgical test samples for thiosulfate gold recovery have been delivered to the laboratory for pilot scale testing

 

 

Ryan McDermott, Chief Executive Officer, said, "I am pleased to present the first assay results from the Company's 2020 drilling programmes. The results are from the first seven RC drill holes completed in the Empire Mine Open Pit Gold Zone and are intended to follow-up on additional precious metals modelling completed in May of this year. 

 

Of particular note are drill holes KX20-01 and KX20-05, both of which returned near-surface gold values greater than 4.40 g/t at 13.7 metres depth and 8.45 g/t at 4.6 metres depth.  More importantly, these drilling intercepts appear to be closely related to the higher-grade gold trend defined from the 2018 drilling and channel sampling.  During the 2018 field season, channel sample 15486 assayed 36 g/t gold from a surface outcrop, and drill hole KX18-54, a three metre long interval at 24.4 to 27.4 metres depth, assayed 22.3 g/t gold in the same zone on the north end of the Empire Mine property. These assay results were included in the resource modelling completed since that time, but were not singled out for reporting in 2018 due to the fact that the associated copper assays from those samples did not meet the copper cut-off reporting criteria.

 

"In addition to the results from the first seven drill holes, the assays for 48 channel samples collected in the Empire Mine Open Pit Gold Zone returned respectable gold and copper grades on the surface, most notably 3.84 g/t gold, 74.1 g/t silver, and 2.83% copper.  The channel samples were collected to aid in drill targeting and to provide grade and geological information on the magnetite skarn contact.

 

"I am also pleased to mention that the first bulk metallurgical sample of the Empire thiosulfate gold recovery testing programme has been delivered to AuRIC Laboratories in Salt Lake City, Utah. Additional samples are being collected and will be shipped over the course of the next several weeks. 

 

"We will keep shareholders informed as additional assay results for the 23 holes are received, as well as the Red Star core hole assays."  

 

 

Empire Mine Drilling Update

 

Phoenix has completed a total of 1,608 m of drilling at Empire in 2020. To date this consists of 1,500 m of RC drilling and 108 m of diamond drilling. All drill samples have been delivered to the ALS Global laboratory in Nevada for assay with a turnaround time of approximately seven to eight weeks. The drill hole results received to date are from RC drill holes KX20-01 through to KX20-07. The results for RC drill holes KX20-08 through to KX20-30, and diamond drill holes KXD20-01 and KXD20-02, are pending. 

 

Table 1 - Drill Hole Assays

Drill Hole	Intersection Metres			g/t
Number	From	To	Interval	Au	Ag
KX20-01	4.6	18.3	13.7	2.12	9.13
including	10.7	12.2	1.6	3.45	7.6
including	13.7	15.2	1.6	4.4	4.1
including	15.2	16.8	1.6	2.9	3.5
KX20-02	30.5	35.1	4.6	2.07	10.56
including	32.0	33.5	1.6	3.23	8.9
KX20-05	4.6	6.1	1.6	8.45	29.7
KX20-06	18.3	19.8	1.6	1.36	2.3
and	42.7	44.2	1.6	1.42	13.1
KX20-07	53.3	54.9	1.6	3.4	5.5

 

Empire Channel Sampling

 

48 channel samples, each 1.6 m in length, were collected from limited outcroppings around the Empire Mine Open Pit Gold Zone to provide geological and mineralogical information particular to the magnetite skarn contact.  The information from the channel samples will be used to target additional drilling.  Table 2 shows selected channel samples and assays.

 

Table 2 - Channel Samples

Sample	g/t		%
Number	Au	Ag	Cu
476554	0.39	48.7	1.215
476558	0.39	59.6	2.17
476559	0.06	17.2	2.86
476560	0.07	15.4	1.46
476564	0.9	49.0	1.04
476565	0.88	74.1	1.13
476578	0.09	26.1	1.615
476579	0.08	30.5	1.66
476580	0.26	52.6	2.21
476587	0.08	11.6	0.996
476588	0.07	8.9	1.065
476589	0.12	22.3	0.984
476593	1.05	17.2	1.39
476594	0.45	23.1	1.185
476596	0.25	8.2	1.235
476597	3.84	30.6	2.8
476598	0.66	10.3	2.11
476599	1.35	16.9	1.82
476600	1.19	38.4	2.55
476601	1.5	25.9	2.75
476602	0.93	11.3	2.83

 

 

Other Results Pending Analysis

 

There are currently 23 Empire RC holes and two Empire diamond drill holes, as well as 10 Red Star core holes, awaiting assay results which should be received over the coming weeks and will be reported as soon as possible.

 

Empire Mine - Gold and Silver Resource and Drilling Programme

 

In May 2020, an updated NI 43-101 compliant resource was completed by Hardrock Consulting (HRC) and reported for the polymetallic Empire Mine open-pit oxide deposit.  The updated resource contained measured, indicated, and inferred metal content of 130,000 tonnes of copper, 342,000 ounces of gold, 9.5 million ounces of silver and 50,550 tonnes of zinc.  The May resource showed an increase in all metals, but particularly gold and silver, which increased 56% and 13%, respectively, from the previous May 2019 resource.  Resource report details can be found on the Company's website at www.phoenixcopperlimited.com/news and www.phoenixcopperlimited.com/research.

 

As a result of the May 2020 resource update, and the favourable ammonium thiosulfate gold and silver recovery tests reported in June 2020, the Company initiated a RC drilling programme targeting potential extensions to the gold and silver mineralization identified in the report, as well as targeting areas of inferred mineralization in an attempt to upgrade to measured and indicated.  The current RC drilling is focused on the area adjacent to a 2018 channel sample that assayed 36 g/t gold.

 

Qualified Person

 

The information in this announcement has been reviewed by Roger Turner A.C.S.M., M.Sc., M.I.M.M.M., C.Eng., Chief Technical Officer and Director of the Company. Mr Turner is a graduate mining engineer from the Camborne School of Mines with an MSc in Economic Geology from Leicester University with more than 40 years' experience in mine development, construction and operation and is a qualified person under the AIM Rules. Mr Turner consents to the inclusion of the information in the form and context in which they appear.

 

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 future Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) platform.

 Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 until the release of this announcement.

 

Contacts

For further information please visit www.phoenixcopperlimited.com or contact:

Phoenix Copper Limited	Ryan McDermott Dennis Thomas Richard Wilkins	Tel: +1 208 954 7039  Tel: +44 7827 290 849 Tel: +44 7590 216 657
SP Angel (Nominated Adviser)	David Hignell / Caroline Rowe	Tel: +44 20 3470 0470
Brandon Hill Capital (Joint Broker)	Jonathan Evans / Oliver Stansfield	Tel: +44 20 3463 5000
WH Ireland (Joint Broker)	Harry Ansell / Adam Pollock / Katy Mitchell	Tel: +44 207 2201666
Blytheweigh (Financial PR)	Tim Blythe / Camilla Horsfall / Megan Ray	Tel: +44 20 7138 3204

 

 

Notes

 

Phoenix Copper Limited is a North American focused, base and precious metal explorer and developer, which has carried out a drilling programme and generated a copper, gold, silver and zinc resource on which it is carrying out a feasibility study to bring the historically producing Empire Mine in Idaho, USA, back into production. It is also evaluating the silver and gold resources around three other past producing mines within the 23 km² Empire claims block as well as cobalt in two claims blocks north of Empire in Idaho.

Phoenix's primary operations are focused near Mackay, Idaho in the Alder Creek mining district. This district includes the historical Empire, Horseshoe, White Knob and Blue Bird Mines, past producers of copper, gold, silver, zinc, lead and tungsten from underground mines in the first half of the twentieth century. Additionally, the district includes Navarre Creek a Carlin-trend gold discovery which hosts a 6.1 km gold strike length within a 9.8 km² area.

Phoenix acquired an 80% interest in the historical Empire Mine property in 2017 and, based on a total of 320 drill holes, an oxide resource was completed in late 2017. A NI 43-101 compliant PEA (preliminary economic assessment) for an open pit heap leach solvent extraction and electrowinning ("SX-EW") mine was completed in April 2018. In 2018 a further 8,600 metres in 93 holes was completed to upgrade the oxide resources, provide samples for ongoing metallurgical test work, geotechnical and hydrological studies and condemnation drilling for the heap leach pad site, waste dump and plant site. An updated NI 43-101 compliant resource was completed in early May 2019, which was generated for a heap leach copper SX/EW operation where only copper was recovered. A further updated NI 43-101 compliant resource was generated in May 2020 for all metals, which resulted in an increase of measured and indicated resources of +56% gold, +11% copper, +13% silver and +26% zinc. Present contained metal in all NI 43-101 compliant categories of resources, measured, indicated and inferred, stand at 342,249 ounces of gold, 129,923 tonnes of copper, 9,502,494 ounces of silver and 50,550 tonnes of zinc. 

Since acquiring the Empire project, Phoenix has increased the claim area from 818 acres to 5,717 acres, mainly to the northwest and west, and in so doing has increased the potential for additional oxide and sulphide copper resources, as well as the potential for stand-alone gold and silver resources, along a strike length of approximately 5.4 km towards the other brownfield mines of the Horseshoe, White Knob and Blue Bird Mines now within the property boundary. In particular, a new discovery at Red Star, 330 metres north west of the Empire Mine proposed open pit, has revealed sulphide ore and from three shallow exploration drill holes a NI 43-101 compliant maiden resource of 1.6 million silver equivalent ounces was reported.

At Empire, it is estimated that less than 1% of the potential ore system has been explored to date and, accordingly, there is significant opportunity to increase the resource through phased exploration.

More details on the Company, its assets and its objectives can be found on PXC's website at www.phoenixcopperlimited.com.