Vancouver, BC – Coast Copper Corp. (“Coast Copper” or the “Company”; TSX-V: COCO) is pleased to report high-grade silver assays from rock and soil samples collected from a 2 square kilometer (“km2”) area on its recently acquired 15 km2 Sweeney property (“Sweeney” or the “Property”) located approximately 135 kilometer (“km”) southwest of the town of Houston in the Central Interior of British Columbia (“BC”). Sweeney is road accessible, centrally located in the Huckleberry Mine Camp and is 7 km north-northwest of the past producing Huckleberry Mine, 3 km west of Huckleberry Mines Ltd.’s Whiting Creek deposit and 8 km southeast of the Berg Deposit owned by Surge Copper Corp¹.
The Property includes the past-producing, epithermal vein-hosted, high-grade silver-lead-zinc-gold (“Ag-Pb-Zn-Au”) Emerald Mine that ceased small scale production in 1968. The last recorded exploration work on the project occurred in 2012 and included a modest trenching along trend and a shallow diamond drill program perpendicular to the trend of the Miya Vein and demonstrated shallow, high-grade Ag-Pb-Zn-Au and copper (“Cu”) over widths of 1-3 meters (“m”) (drill intercept, not true width) located within approximately 300 m of the footprint of the Emerald Mine [see Coast Copper news release of September 3, 2024]. No systematic or modern exploration program appears to have been undertaken outside an area of 1 km2 around the Emerald Mine, possibly due to previous snow and ice cover.
Glacial retreat over recent years has improved overall ground access including newly accessible areas located to the north and northwest of historically identified mineral occurrences. Coast Copper completed initial work on the Property in early September which included the collection of 47 rock and 34 soil samples (see Tables 1 and 2 and Figure 1 for selected results). Assay results indicate that the main Ag-Pb-Zn trend (“Main Trend”) may now extend for over 1.5 km. Coast Copper is also pleased to report identification of a new target area (“Northwest Ridge”) with high-grade Ag, Pb, Zn and Cu values in soil samples.
Assay Highlights from the Main Trend (Emerald- Bluff-Roymac-Rhine View and new extension “North Bowl”):
- Emerald: composite rock samples returned 2.58 grams per tonne (“g/t”) Au, 1,042 g/t Ag and 37.8% Pb over 2.5 m and 4.76 g/t Au, 980 g/t Ag, 1.10% Cu, 11.79% Pb and 15.45% Zn over 1.5 m.
- Bluff: rock grab sample results include 197 g/t Ag, 8.91% Pb, and 1.08% Cu.
- Roymac to Rhine View: rock grab sample results include 1.71 g/t Au, 304 g/t Ag and 13.01% Pb.
- North Bowl: rock grab sample results include 187 g/t Ag, 16.09% Pb and 4.26% Zn.
Highlights from the newly identified Northwest Ridge target area:
- Northwest Ridge (1,200-1,700 m northeast of Emerald Mine): soil samples returned up to 550 parts per billion (“ppb”) Au, 63.23 parts per million (“ppm”) Ag, 1,042 ppm Cu, >10,000 ppm Pb and 5,374 ppm Zn (see Table 2).
Adam Travis, CEO comments: “We’re thrilled by these initial survey results at Sweeney. Epithermal deposits of this kind tend to consist of multiple vein trends that may extend over square kilometers and are often underlain by a porphyry deposit generating the mineralizing fluids. If multiple high-grade silver-lead-zinc-copper-gold veins can be identified, the tonnage potential can build rapidly. The key is to find and prioritize them for drill testing. The historical exploration around the Emerald Mine was sparse and focused on small-scale production. It did not test the Emerald Mine deposit to depth or the potential strike to the north which now appears to extend for over 1.5 kilometers. Our discovery of high-grade silver-lead-zinc in rocks from ‘North Bowl’ and very impressive silver-lead-zinc-copper and gold in soils taken along the ‘Northwest Ridge’ where the glacier has receded, opens up a significant new area for extension and multiple vein potential that merits systematic exploration including mapping, geophysics, sampling and potentially drilling. Another known example where silver-rich historical epithermal projects have been successfully re-visioned through modern exploration include the Silver Queen deposit¹ located approximately 50 kilometers to the east of Sweeney.”
Fletcher Morgan, Chair comments: “The Sweeney purchase and subsequent work program is a great example of how Coast Copper is continuing to advance its generative mineral property acquisition program and creating value for its shareholders. Completing inexpensive, fiscally responsible field programs is a strategic priority for the Company in preparing for the continuing market turn we are starting to see within the junior mining and exploration space.”
Emerald Mine and Miya Vein Detail
Historical exploration was focused in and around the Emerald Mine where mining occurred intermittently between 1951 and 1968. Historical underground development on the Emerald Vein took place on four levels (6400, 6275, 6000 and 5400 levels), producing 83,493 ounces (“oz”) Ag, 49 oz Au; 1,966,396 pounds (“lbs”) of Zn; 1,689,449 lbs of Pb; 19,872 lbs of Cu; and 3,713 lbs of cadmium from the milling of 8,293 tonnes of ore. Unclassified historical reserves were reported on the Emerald Vein of 40,800 tonnes grading 355 g/t Ag, 8.23% Pb, 9.49% Zn and 1.13 g/t Au with ore zones noted open to depth (see cautionary notes 2 and 3 regarding historical mining and reserves).
No drilling or underground exploration work was completed on the Property between 1971-2011, until a 2012 diamond drill program which focused on the Miya Vein (cross-cuts the north-south trending Emerald Vein trend at 300 degrees) and consisted of 30 drillholes with an average depth of 52 m, covering over 350 m of strike length and returning gold values up to 7 g/t Au with high-grade silver, lead and zinc over 1-5 m intervals⁴.
The 2012 drilling on the Miya Vein remains open to depth and along strike and was the last recorded work on the Property.
The geological mapping undertaken in 2012 noted at least 40 occurrences where galena-sphalerite and/or chalcopyrite were observed but never assayed (see Figure 1) ⁴, further underlying the potential of the Property.
Quality Assurance/Quality Control (“QA/QC”) Procedures
Sampling completed on the projects in 2024 was supervised by on–site Coast Copper personnel and sub-contractors who collected and tracked samples. Rock samples were collected in areas of interest and noted as either in place grab, composite or chip samples and if not in place as float samples. Soil samples were primarily collected from the weathered rock horizon along ridge crests consisting of “C” horizon due to the recently unglaciated terrain. Fieldnotes, GPS locations and photographs were taken at sample locations
The samples were sealed on site and shipped to MSA Labs in Langley BC for analysis. MSA Labs’ quality control system complies with global certifications for Quality ISO9001:2008. Soil samples were dried and screened to 80 mesh and then analyzed in 20g samples with multi-element ICP-MS Aqua Regia digestion (IMS-130 and IMS-131). Rock samples were dried and crushed to 70% passing 2mm mesh and split to 250g samples which were pulverized to 85% passing 75μm and then analyzed by 4-acid digestion with a ICP-MS finish (IMS-240). Gold was analyzed for by fire assay 30g sample with an AA finish (FAS-111). Sweeney Rock samples were analyzed for Gold by fire assay with a ICP-ES finish on a 30g sample. Ag samples >1000 ppm were analyzed FAS-418. Lead assays greater than 20% were completed with STI-8Pb.
Qualified Persons
The technical information contained in this news release has been prepared, reviewed, and approved by Wade Barnes, P.Geo. (BC), Coast Copper’s geological consultant and a Qualified Person within the context of the Canadian Securities Administrators’ NI 43-101; Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
About Coast Copper Corp.
Coast Copper’s primary exploration focus is the Empire Mine property, located on northern Vancouver Island, BC, which covers three historical open pit mines and two past-producing underground mines that yielded iron, copper, gold, and silver. In 2023, Coast Copper launched a generative program aimed at advancing its other properties in parallel with Empire. In 2024, Coast Copper acquired two new projects bringing its total number of 100% owned projects in BC to six, consisting of the mineral titles comprising the Empire Mine property, the Sully property located in southeastern BC, the Knob Hill NW property located on northern Vancouver Island, the Home Brew property located in central BC, its Sweeney property located in the central interior of BC and its Scottie West property located in the “Golden Triangle” of northern BC. Coast Copper’s management team continues to review precious and base metals opportunities in western North America.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors:
“Adam Travis”
Adam Travis, CEO 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
NR24-12
Cautionary Notes related to News Release/Maps
¹ This news release may contain information about adjacent properties on which Coast Copper has no right to explore or mine. Investors are cautioned that mineral deposits on adjacent properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on the Company’s properties.
² BC Minfile Record Summary 093E 001 https://minfile.gov.bc.ca/Summary.aspx?minfilno=093E++001 , Minfile Inventory Detailed Report, BC Geological Survey, Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources https://minfile.gov.bc.ca/report.aspx?f=PDF&r=Inventory_Detail.rpt&minfilno=093E++001
³ Historical information provided cannot be relied upon as the Company's QP as defined under NI 43-101 has not prepared nor verified the historical information. The stated resource is not NI 43-101 compliant, and a Qualified Person has not done sufficient work as per NI 43-101 to classify the historical estimate as a current mineral resource and Coast Copper Corp. is not treating this historical estimate as current mineral resources. No additional work has been completed on the Property to upgrade or verify the historical estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves.
⁴ 2012 Technical Assessment Report for the Miya Property, Lowprofile Ventures Ltd. BC Assessment Report 34241. Details of the historical drillcore sampling and assay methodology can be found in the historical assessment report using this link: https://apps.nrs.gov.bc.ca/pub/aris/Report/34241.pdf/
Neither the 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 a guarantee 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.