QC Copper Publishes the Technical Report for Opemiska Deposit's Pit Constrained Mineral Resource Estimate
Canada NewsWire
TORONTO, Nov. 4, 2021
TORONTO, Nov. 4, 2021 /CNW/ - QC Copper and Gold Inc. ("QC Copper" or the "Company") (TSXV: QCCU) is pleased to announce the publication of the Technical Report for the pit-constrained mineral resources estimate on the Opemiska Deposit which the Company announced on September 20, 2021. The Technical Report is available on the Company's website and SEDAR.
Highlights of Opemiska's Mineral Resource Estimate Include:
-- The Opemiska Deposit consists of 81.7M tonnes @ 0.88% CuEq of pit
constrained Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources and 21.4M tonnes @
0.73% CuEq of Inferred Mineral Resources.
-- The Mineral Resource is pit-constrained and contains more than 532,000
tonnes or 1.17 billion lbs of copper and 816,000 ounces of gold in the
Measured & Indicated (M&I) classification and an additional 109,000
tonnes or 240.0 million lbs of copper and 209,000 ounces of gold in the
Inferred classification.
-- Over 79% of the total Mineral Resource reports to the M&I classification.
-- Opemiska's initial Mineral Resource includes over 1.05 million metres of
drilling completed by QC Copper and former operators of the Project.
Significant drilling density and extensive records from previous
operators have supported a high-confidence Mineral Resource.
-- Within the larger Mineral Resource, the Company has identified a
high-grade potential starter pit of 10.6M tonnes of Measured & Indicated
Mineral Resources grading 1.26% CuEq.
-- The Mineral Resources are pit constrained at a 0.2% CuEq cut-off,
inclusive of US$3.50/lb copper and US$1,650/oz gold prices.
-- The Company has outlined multiple targets for expansion and discovery
drilling this coming winter. These targets include extensional drilling
to expand the existing Mineral Resource envelope, proximal former mines
including the adjacent Cooke & Robitaille deposits, and other prospective
targets along the Gwillim and Beaver Lake fault zones.
A summary of the Mineral Resource Estimate is presented in Table 1, and the optimized pit shell is shown in Figure 1.
Table 1: Opemiska Deposit Summary of Pit Constrained Mineral Resources, 0.2% CuEq cut-off (see footnotes 1-8)
Category Tonnage Copper Gold CuEq Contained Contained Contained
(millions) (%) (g/t) (g/t) Copper Gold(k oz)* CuEq(million lbs)*
(million
lbs)*
Measured 64.94 0.64% 0.32 0.88% 918.2 676.6 1,254.9
Indicated 16.73 0.69% 0.26 0.88% 255.2 139.0 325.8
Total M&I 81.67 0.65% 0.31 0.88% 1,173.4 815.6 1,580.7
Inferred 21.35 0.51% 0.30 0.73% 239.8 209.2 345.8
1. Mineral Resources which are not Mineral Reserves do
not have demonstrated economic viability. The estimate
of Mineral
Resources may be materially affected by environmental,
permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political,
marketing, or other
relevant issues, although QC Copper & Gold is not
aware of any such issues.
2. The Inferred Mineral Resource in this estimate has
a lower level of confidence than that applied to an
Indicated Mineral
Resource and must not be converted to a Mineral Reserve.
It is reasonably expected that the majority of the
Inferred
Mineral Resource could be upgraded to an Indicated
Mineral Resource with continued exploration.
3. The Mineral Resources were estimated using the Canadian
Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM),
CIM
Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves, Definitions
(2014) and Best Practices Guidelines (2019).
4. All historical underground excavations and stopes
and vein envelopes were digitized from scanned historical
plans and
sections. A bulk density of 2.97 metric tonnes per
cubic metre was used for all resources except for
the inferred in the
Springer pit where 2.94 was used.
5. The Mineral Resource reported here is based on a pit
optimization. All interpolation routines for the block
model were
constrained by hard boundary domained halos constructed
from the sectional interpretation of the disseminated
mineralization surrounding the historical mined veins.
Veins were interpolated separately and stope volumetrics
were
subsequently subtracted from the vein blocks to report
the correct tonnages and metal content of the residual
high-grade
vein material.
6. The 0.20% CuEq cut-off grade was derived from the
approximate August 2021 Consensus Economics long term
forecast
Cu and Au prices of US$3.50/lb and US$1,650/oz, US$
exchange rate of $0.76, 80% Cu process recovery and
smelter
payable, mining C$2.25/t, processing C$13/t, G&A $3/t.
7. CuEq% = Cu% + (Au g/t x 0.72) + (Ag g/t x 0.01)
8. Cu lbs and Au oz may not calculate exactly due to
rounding.
Click Here Figure 1: Graphical Depiction of Opemiska Mineral Resources and Constraining Pit Shell
Opemiska "Starter" Pit
The image below (Figure 2) depicts two high-grade potential starter pits which host 10.6 million tonnes grading 1.26% CuEq, or +45% higher grade than the overall Mineral Resource.
Click Here Figure 2: Plan View of Constraining Pit Shell and Potential High-Grade Starter Pits
Next Step: Drill to Expand the Initial Mineral Resources Estimate
At this time, the Company is focused on expanding the initial mineral resources estimate by drilling targets that could add significant open-pit tonnage to Opemiska. A follow-up drill program is currently underway that will complete 6,000 metres before 2021 year-end, with a more extensive, multi-drill rig program being planned for 2022.
Opemiska Infrastructure
The area has a rich history of mining and the resident population is favorably disposed to mining activities and hosts locally available skilled labour. The Opemiska Deposit is next to the Town of Chapais with a population of 1,609 (2019) and the Town of Chibougamau with a population of 7,559 (2020) is located approximately 40 kilometres to the east. Ample electrical power is available from a nearby substation on the James Bay powerlines which cross QC Copper's land holdings. An operational rail line is located within few kilometers from Chapais. Paved highways lead south to Lac St-Jean and Quebec City and southwest to Val d'Or and Rouyn-Noranda. Finally, the project is located in Quebec, the most mining friendly jurisdiction in Canada and north of the 49th parallel and as such is part of the Quebec government's Plan Nord initiative and could benefit from special fiscal and financial incentives.
About the Opemiska Copper Complex
The Opemiska Copper Complex is located adjacent to Chapais, Quebec, within the Chibougamau district. Opemiska is also within the Abitibi Greenstone Belt and within the boundaries of the Province of Quebec's Plan Nord, which promotes and funds infrastructure and development of natural resource projects. The Opemiska Property covers over 155 square kilometres and includes the past producing Springer, Perry, Robitaille and Cooke mines, previously-owned and operated by Falconbridge between 1953-1991. The project hosts excellent on-site infrastructure, including a power station and direct access to Highway 113 and the Canadian National Railway.
QP Statement
The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Charles Beaudry, P.Geo and géo., Director and Vice President Exploration for QC Copper & Gold, and Eugene Puritch, P.Eng. of P&E Mining Consultants Inc., both Qualified Persons, as defined in "National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects." Mr. Puritch is independent of QC Copper & Gold.
All drilling performed by QC Copper and Gold was done using NQ sized drill rods and holes were stabilized to minimized deviations. All core is stored in Chapais in a locked yard. All pulps have been preserved as well as mineralized rejects.
For the exploration undertaken by QC Copper & Gold, all assay batches are accompanied by rigorous Quality Assurance procedures that include insertion of standards and blanks and verification assays in a secondary laboratory. Quality Control results, including the laboratory's control samples, are evaluated immediately on reception of batch results and corrections implemented immediately if necessary. All drill collars in 2019 and 2021 were positioned in UTM coordinates and post-drilling surveyed using differential GPS instrumentation. The historical mine holes were surveyed on surface and underground at the time of drilling by mine personnel using conventional surveying methods. The collars for 2019 were oriented by compass but in 2021 accurate non-magnetic orientation of collars was achieved using the gyroscopic Azimuth Aligner by Minnovare. Downhole deviations surveys were done with Flex-it instrument by Reflex instrument at 30m intervals, and all erroneous azimuths caused by excessive magnetism were purged from the database. A systematic bulk density measurement program using the water displacement method was implemented to measure the bulk density of all rock types. A total of 779 bulk density measurements were done for the 2019 drilling program and an additional 267 measurements were done in 2021. No bulk densities are available for the vendor drill holes or for the historical mine holes. A specific susceptibility measurement protocol was also implemented to estimate the relative abundance of magnetite in the Ventures Sill's variably magnetic rocks. A focused optical and acoustic televiewer surveying program was