Visible outcrop confirmed at Mt Oxide Project

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 10 August 2020

 

CASTILLO COPPER LIMITED
("Castillo" or the "Company" or the "Group")

 

Pre-site visit to Mt Oxide Project confirms visible outcrop ahead of drilling campaign

Tier one copper targets comprise Big One Deposit and Arya Prospect

 

Castillo Copper Limited (LSE: CCZ; ASX: CCZ), a base metal explorer primarily focused on copper across Australia and Zambia, is pleased to announce that on a pre-site visit to the Mt Oxide Project, it has identified a prominent shear zone, surface outcrop and visible copper mineralisation. Furthermore, the Company announces plans for its inaugural drilling campaign at Mt Oxide Project, which is scheduled to commence soon.

 

Following the fundraising and listing in London, Castillo has sufficient funds to rapidly expand exploration activities across tier one assets. The priorities are the Big One Deposit and Arya Prospect in the Mt Oxide Project within the Mt Isa copper-belt in Queensland.

 

Highlights

·    As part of pre-drilling formalities, Castillo's geology team visited the high-grade Big One Deposit and noted:

o  A prominent shear zone and surface outcrop with visible copper mineralisation; and

o  Confirmed the location of three pits with visible copper mineralisation

·    The objective of drilling at the Big One Deposit is to extend known mineralisation where an earlier Reverse Circulation ("RC") drilling campaign hit excellent economic intercepts up to 28.4% Cu¹ along 600m strike of surface mineralised porphyry dike including:

o  B07: 3m @ 12.25% Cu from 42m incl: 2m @ 17.87% Cu from 43m; and 1m @ 28.4% Cu from 44m;

o  B05: 8m @ 2.33% Cu from 44m incl: 6m @ 3.00% Cu from 45m; and 5m @ 3.28% Cu from 45m;

o  B06: 4m @ 2.20% Cu from 44m incl: 2m @ 3.19% Cu from 46m and 1m @ 3.63% Cu from 47m; and

o  B25: 6m @ 1.55% Cu from 66m incl: 5m @ 1.79% Cu from 66m and 2m @ 2.08% Cu¹ from 66m

·    For the Arya Prospect, the primary drill target (EG01)^2,3 is an interpreted potential massive sulphide from a geophysical conductor ~130m thick, with dimensions ~1,500m by ~450m and ~426m below surface:

o  Complementing this are two secondary targets (EG02 & EG10) that are interpreted supergene copper mineralisation - both ~25m below surface and ~25m thick, with dimensions at ~160m by 50m and ~270m by 280m respectively^2,3

o  Objective of the drilling campaign is to test for potential shallow supergene copper mineralisation and potential massive sulphides at depth³

 

Next steps

·    Further clarity on the timeline will be forthcoming once the drilling contractor is appointed - a decision is expected shortly as the tender evaluation process is nearing completion.

·    Reviews on Valparaisa⁴ and Eldorado⁴ prospects within the Mt Oxide Project.

 

 

Simon Paull, Managing Director of Castillo Copper, commented: "We soon intend to commence drilling tier one copper targets at the Mt Oxide Project which is a pivotal moment in CCZ's evolution. Our objective is to extend known high-grade copper mineralisation at the Big One Deposit and test drill the enormous 130m thick interpreted potential massive sulphide target at the Arya Prospect. Thereafter, the focus shifts to eight additional prospects within the Mt Oxide project, which reflects the substantial exploration upside this asset delivers."

 

Ged Hall, UK Director of Castillo Copper, commented: "As preparations for the drilling campaign ramp up, our geology team has been delighted with the amount of outcropping and visible mineralisation at surface around the Big One Deposit. In short, the prominent shear zone, coupled with surface outcrops deliver clear demonstrable targets, which is excellent news during our maiden week trading on the LSE." 

 

In addition to this release, a PDF version of this report, with supplementary information can be found on the Company's website: https://www.castillocopper.com/asx-announcements/ 

 

 

Overview of Mt Oxide Project

 

Castillo is targeting the development of a viable copper mining operation at the Mt Oxide Project, which is located approximately 150km north of Mt Isa in northwest Queensland. The project is within the proximity of several historic and currently operating copper mines including Lady Annie and Capricorn Copper.

 

On 22 March 2017, the Company announced that it had entered into an agreement with certain sellers to acquire the entire issued capital of QComm, an Australian copper and cobalt company which owns three assets targeting high grade copper and cobalt systems in New South Wales and Queensland (including the Mt Oxide Project). On 4 July 2017, the Company completed the QComm Acquisition on 4 July 2017 and in August 2017, the Company received notice from Queensland's Department of Natural Resources and Mines that the final exploration application had been granted.

 

Currently, the main highlight within the Mt Oxide Project is the exploration targets known as Big One Deposit and the Ayra Prospect, which was identified through an airborne electromagnetic survey conducted by Geoscience Australia in March 2019. On 12 December 2019, Castillo applied for an additional tenure contiguous and to the north of the Mt Oxide Project, once granted this will add an additional ~215km² to the ~737km² of granted tenure. The Company's main objective is to progress with several site visits to conduct geochemical sampling and geophysical surveys on known exploration targets to facilitate an inaugural test drilling campaign for developing a clear exploration strategy.

 

Further information on Castillo and the Mt Oxide Project is available on the Company's website: www.castillocopper.com.

 

Competent Person Statement

The information in this report that relates to Exploration Results for the Mt Oxide Project for the 'Big One' deposit and the 'Arya prospect' contained in this announcement is based on a fair and accurate representation of the publicly available information at the time of compiling the RNS, and is based on information and supporting documentation compiled by Nicholas Ryan, a Competent Person who is a Member of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Nicholas Ryan is Consultant Resource Geologist employed by Xplore Resources Pty Ltd. Mr Ryan has been a Member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy for 14 years and is a Chartered Professional (Geology). Mr Ryan is employed by Xplore Resources Pty Ltd. Mr Ryan has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. Mr Ryan consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on his information and the form and context in which it appears.

 

 

For further information, please contact:

 

Castillo Copper Limited	+61 8 6558 0886
Simon Paull (Australia), Managing Director Gerrard Hall (UK), Director
SI Capital Limited (Financial Adviser and Corporate Broker)	+44 (0)1483 413500
Nick Emerson
Luther Pendragon (Financial PR)	+44 (0)20 7618 9100
Harry Chathli, Alexis Gore, Joe Quinlan

 

 

Notes to Editors:

About Castillo Copper

Castillo Copper Limited is an Australian-based explorer primarily focused on copper across Australia and Zambia. 

The three main projects across Australia and Zambia include:

Australia

Mt Oxide Project

Castillo is targeting the development of a viable copper mining operation at the Mt Oxide Project, which has significant exploration upside with several high-grade targets including an interpreted 130m thick by 1,500m by 450m massive sulphide bedrock conductor that is about to be drilled. The project is located approximately 150km north of Mt Isa in northwest Queensland. The project is within the proximity of several historic and currently operating copper mines including Lady Annie and Capricorn Copper.

Cangai Project

The Cangai Project in northern New South Wales, where the Cangai Copper Mine is located, is one of Australia's highest grading historic copper mines. Castillo's focus is the development and expansion of the Cangai Copper Mine, which comprises a volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit and high-grade assayed diamond core intersections.

Zambia

Four high-quality Projects

Castillo has four high-quality prospective assets across Zambia's copper-belt, the second largest copper producer in Africa. Castillo intends to initially focus on the Luanshya Project, which sits on the Zambian copper belt's Lufilian Arc geological structure. The second priority is the Mkushi Project, which contiguously surrounds an operating open-pit copper mine, in a region proven to be highly prospective for Cu-Au mineralisation.

 

Reference

1)    CCZ ASX Release - 14 January 2020

2)    CCZ ASX Release - 10 June 2020

3)    CCZ ASX Release - 1 July 2020

4)    CCZ ASX Release - 14 July 2020