Vancouver, BC – Coast Copper Corp. (“Coast Copper” or the “Company”; TSX-V: COCO) (formerly Roughrider Exploration Limited) is pleased to announce that it has commenced drilling on its optioned Empire Mine Property located on Northern Vancouver Island. As previously announced on September 9, 2021, diamond drilling will follow up on multiple previously identified targets. The initial priorities of the planned 3,500 metre (“m”) program include:
- Merry Widow Pit: Drilling down dip and to the north and south of the National Instrument (“NI”) 43-101 historical resource of 960,000 tonnes grading 2.03 grams/tonne (“g/t”) gold (“Au”), 5.64 g/t silver, 0.34% copper (“Cu”), 0.013% cobalt, and 16.1% iron (using a 0.50 g/t Au cut-off) ¹. This also includes infill drilling to test gaps within the historical resource.
- Copper Knob: Testing mapped magnetite skarn and pyrrhotite skarn with copper mineralization. Coast Copper completed channel sampling in late 2020 with results returning 9.77 g/t Au and 2.35% Cu across 10.5 m as announced on October 20, 2020 ².
- Raven Pit: Drilling below the past producing Raven Pit, which extracted approximately 22,000 tonnes of magnetite ore (historical reports note they had to close as a result of too much copper and pyrite in the magnetite when they were specifically looking for magnetite) ³.
- Benson Lake Mine - Old Sport Horizon: Ongoing surface Induced Polarization (“IP”) Surveys and initial drill testing of Cominco Resources (1972) remaining reserve blocks (454,500 tonnes at 0.59 g/t Au and 1.3% Cu classified as “measured and indicated” and a further 2,700,000 tonnes at 1.7 % Cu (no Au grades estimated) classified as “inferred”) ⁴ and possible areas on trend.
Adam Travis, Company CEO and Director comments: “We have quickly transitioned from closing our financing to commencing our drill program on Empire. We have carefully analyzed the previous resource models with the help of Moose Mountain Technical Services and spent much of this year doing the surface groundwork (geophysics, geology and geochemistry) to increase our chances of exploration success. Northern Vancouver Island’s extensive logging road networks and milder climate allows us to complete work now when contractors are more readily available, and laboratories have better turnaround times. We are also completing surface IP surveys in an area south of the historic Benson Lake underground mine, where in August 2021 we discovered a new 200 m IP chargeability high which may represent the southernward extension of mineralization. This mineralization was mined up until 1972 with head grades up to 2 g/t Au and 2% Cu over 4 kilometers (“km”) of strike (note the northern 2 km off the current property) from massive sulphide zones up to 31 m thick. We anticipate completing this drill program by the beginning of January, focusing first in the historical Merry Widow pit to hopefully extend copper-gold mineralization southwards and to depth and then focus in an area up to 200 m north of the Merry Widow pit. The Company is planning to have initial results and drillcore on display at the Metals Investor (January 14 -15) and AME Roundup (January 31 – February 3) conferences in Vancouver in 2022.”
About Coast Copper Corp.
Coast Copper’s exploration focus is the optioned Empire Mine Property, located on Northern Vancouver Island, B.C., which covers three historical open pit mines and two past-producing underground mines that yielded iron, copper, gold and silver. Coast Copper’s other properties include its 100% owned Eldorado, Gin and Bonanza properties located in the Golden Triangle of northern B.C. which are adjacent to the Red Chris Mine, the Knob Hill NW Property located on northern Vancouver Island and the 100% owned Sterling, Sandy and Home Brew properties which are located in central B.C. Coast Copper’s management continues to review precious and base metals opportunities in western North America.
Qualified Persons
The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been prepared, reviewed and approved by Wade Barnes, P.Geo. (British Columbia) of Tripoint Geological Services, Coast Copper's Geological Consultant and a Qualified Person (“QP”) within the context of Canadian Securities Administrators' NI 43-101; Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors:
“Adam Travis”
Adam Travis, Chief Executive Officer and Director
For further information, please contact:
Adam Travis, CEO
Coast Copper Corp
409 Granville Street, Suite 904
Vancouver, B.C. V6C 1T2, Canada
P: 877-578-9563
E: adamt@coastcoppercorp.com
NR21-12
Cautionary Notes Related to this News Release
Historical Information contained in this release regarding the Company’s Project or Adjacent Properties cannot be relied upon as the Company’s QP, as defined under NI 43-101 has not prepared nor verified the historical information. Source information relating to these historical estimates is very limited, and therefore, the classification and validity of the resource cannot be validated by the author. The estimation is not N143-101 compliant and should not be relied upon.
1. NI 43-101 Technical Report: Giroux, G.H., & Raven, W. (November 30, 2008). Technical Report on the Copper Gold Resources for the Merry Widow Property. Filed on SEDAR January 22, 2009. The 2008 Grand Portage resource estimate was completed by Gary H. Giroux, P.Eng, MASc, of Giroux Consulting Ltd. in Vancouver, B.C. The estimate was based on a 3D geological model integrating 4,448 metres of diamond drilling of 43 drill holes, 2,290 assays, with 104 down-hole surveys collected between June and December 2006. The resource was reported utilizing gold cut-off grades ranging from 0.10 g/t to 3.00 g/t gold, as more particularly set out in the report. A complete copy of the report is available on Grand Portage's public filings on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). A gold cut-off grade of 0.50 g/t gold was selected as representing one possible mining scenario. For the purposes of the calculations, lognormal cumulative frequency plots were used to assess grade distribution to see if capping of high values was required and if so at what levels. For all elements, capping levels were established based on the individual grade distributions as follows: Gold -- a total of 18 gold assays were capped at 32.0 g/t gold, Silver --a total of 9 silver assays were capped at 165 g/t silver, Copper -- a total of 7 assays were capped at 11.7% copper, Cobalt -- a total of 5 assays were capped at 0.48% cobalt, Iron -- all iron assays were capped at 50% iron (the analytical detection limit).
2. As announced in Coast Copper News Release October 20, 2020
3. Geological, Mining History and Mineral Deposits, Merry Widow Group Property, Warren Geiger, September 7, 2005
4. Cominco Resources, Drill Section Maps “Plan of Cominco’s Benson Lake Operations on Empire Claims Showing Ore Reserves & Proposed Exploration Program”, 1970, Private Files. While Coast Copper notes that Cominco’s historical results are not NI 43-101 compliant and have not been verified by the Company’s QP, these combined historical resources total nearly 3.154 million tonnes and will help guide Coast Copper’s exploration programs
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
Certain information contained or incorporated by reference in this press release, including any information regarding the proposed Transaction, private placement, board and management changes, as to our strategy, projects, plans or future financial or operating performance, constitutes "forward-looking statements." All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Coast Copper, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, geological and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Although Coast Copper believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance. Known and unknown factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Such factors include but are not limited to: fluctuations in market prices, exploration and exploitation successes, continued availability of capital and financing, changes in national and local government legislation, taxation, controls, regulations, expropriation or nationalization of property and general political, economic, market or business conditions. Many of these uncertainties and contingencies can affect our actual results and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, us. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release, or incorporated by reference, are qualified by these cautionary statements. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.