Kodiak Copper Corp. (TSX-V:KDK) has announced plans for its 2023 exploration program, together with results of geophysical and geochemical surveys, prospecting, trenching and drilling from the 2022 program on its 100%-owned MPD copper-gold porphyry project in southern British Columbia.
In a statement, Claudia Tornquist, president and CEO of Kodiak, said: "We are getting ready to commence a big drill program in March, in what will be an important year for Kodiak. Until now we drilled primarily at and around our first discovery, the Gate Zone which we have successfully expanded to significant size. In 2023 we will broaden our focus to drill a suite of compelling new targets with equally as much potential."
She added: "We will replicate the approach we took at the Gate Zone with the aim to discover one or several more high-grade porphyry centres and demonstrate the size potential of what we believe is a district-scale multi-centre porphyry system at MPD. All the pieces are in place for this to be a rewarding year for our shareholders. I would like to extend a big thank you to Kodiak's hard-working team whose track record speaks for itself and to the First Nations we work with for all their contributions which are integral to our success."
READ: Kodiak Copper inks deal to acquire a 100% interest in 11 claims contiguous with its MPD copper-gold porphyry project
Kodiak said it has identified 18 prospective target areas on the MPD Project. Only three of these have seen significant drilling by the company to date: the Gate, Prime and Dillard Zones.
2023 Exploration plans include:
- A large drill program of 25,000 metres (m) planned will focus on multiple new targets with the goal of making one or more new discoveries.
- Target areas on Kodiak's original MPD claims, which comprise the northern half of the project include the Man, Beyer, Dillard East, Blue, Sky and Eclipse areas.
- Target areas at the Axe claims, which comprise the southern half of the project, include the 1516, South and West Zones.
- 25-line kilometres (km) of new 3D Induced Polarization (3D IP) surveying and a geochemical survey with 1500 soil samples is planned in 2023 to advance newer prospects to drill-readiness.
- New targets are primarily porphyry-related copper-gold mineralization like the Gate Zone, but also include new high-grade gold-silver trends like the Beyer Zone.
Drill Targets, New Target Areas & 2022 Results
Kodiak noted that the Man area contains some of the strongest at-surface copper-gold mineralization discovered at MPD by past operators. A new 3D Induced Polarization (3D IP) geophysical drill target has been identified in the Man area extending from surface to 600m depth below historic shallow copper-gold identified in drilling and trenching.
Multiple porphyry copper-gold mineralization centres underlie the Axe claims and prior to the Gate Zone discovery, the Axe claims hosted the highest grade copper-gold values historically reported in drill core at what is now the MPD property. The highly prospective 1516 Zone has been confirmed to host elevated copper, gold and molybdenum values through Kodiak's 2022 soil and bedrock sampling programs and has been prioritized for drilling.
Like Kodiak's pre-discovery observations at the Gate zone, shallow historical drilling at Axe's South zone ended in significant copper grades and well-developed porphyry mineralization, which will be drill tested at further depth,
Work on the new high-grade gold-silver Beyer discovery will include additional trenching and shallow drilling to determine structural controls and orientation of this wide hydrothermal zone, as well as further exploration further along the associated 2.2-km long, 750m wide gold-in-soil corridor.
Two large new 2-plus km-long geochemical trends with confirmatory copper-gold mineralized bedrock samples have been identified in the southern MPD claims, the Sky and Blue trends.
The new Eclipse showing includes high-grade copper-gold mineralized bedrock grab samples on the eastern MPD claims. A surface sample collected by Kodiak assayed 3.96% copper (Cu), 0.61 grams per ton (g/t) gold (Au) and 64.4 g/t silver (Ag). The area has never been drilled.
Drill results at the Dillard Zone continue to intersect long intervals of shallow copper-gold mineralization similar to previous results from this area. To date a broad area of mineralization to 530m depth over a strike of 900m has been confirmed.
Drill Targets - 3D Induced Polarization (3D IP) Survey
Kodiak contracted SJ Geophysics Ltd. to conduct a two-phase DC Resistivity/Induced Polarization (3DIP) survey on the MPD Project in 2022.
Results include:
- In the Man Zone, new 3D IP anomalies (chargeability and resistivity) define a drill target to a depth of 600m.
- Much like the Gate Zone, these responses coincide with, and extend below, significant copper-gold grades reported in historic drilling and trenching, thereby highlighting the potential to expand Man mineralization to depth.
- The new 3D IP data will also assist drilling at the Beyer Zone and the associated 2.2-km-long gold in soil trend.
Drill Targets - Axe Claims
Kodiak noted that the Axe claims host a porphyry complex comprised of at least four drill-proven copper-gold porphyry centres and other untested geochemical-geophysical anomalies and have potential for additional discoveries like the Gate Zone. In preparation for drilling, Kodiak conducted its first exploration work on the Axe claims in 2022 through a program of confirmatory mapping, prospecting, soil sampling and relogging of select historic core.
Results include:
- Confirmation of significant copper-gold-molybdenum anomalies in soil at the 1516 target area, situated within a broader 2,200m by 400m anomalous zone identified by previous operators.
- Like the Gate Zone, the 1516 area also exhibits coincident chargeability and conductivity geophysical anomalies situated on a north westerly trending magnetic low structural break.
- Several targets on the Axe claims, including the South and West Zoneshave significant copper grades and well-developed porphyry mineralization that could continue to depth.
Prior to the Gate Zone discovery, the Axe claims reported the highest-grade copper-gold values in drill core at what is now Kodiak's MPD property. Examples of historic intercepts reported include 111m of 0.56% Cu at the Adit target and 124.5m of 0.38% Cu and 0.22 g/t Au at the West target.
Prospecting & Trenching Results
Kodiak said it collected a total of 187 rock samples from prospecting and trenching across the property in 2022. Rock samples collected over broad target areas continue to return significant copper mineralization with associated gold and silver.
Results include:
- The highest copper assay from the 2022 prospecting program assayed 3.96 % Cu, 0.61 g/t Au and 64.4 g/t Ag from rock sample 222202. This new showing is called the Eclipse target area.
- Eclipse is a magnetite-biotite-actinolite-rich altered volcano-sedimentary outcrop (possible hornfels) with significant chalcopyrite and fine-grained magnetite veins, located in a relatively underexplored part of the property 6km southeast of the Gate Zone.
- Four trenches in the Dillard East area also yielded significant mineralization, with the best samples assaying 0.17% Cu, 1.30 g/t Au and 1.53 g/t Ag over 10m and 0.78% Cu, 3.22 g/t Au and 4.83 g/t Ag over 2m.
- Significant gold was also returned from two trenches at the new Beyer Zone gold discovery, 3.02 g/t gold and 24.18 g/t silver over 12m.
Soil Geochemical Survey Results
In 2022, Kodiak carried out soil geochemical surveying with 1,708 samples collected on the MPD claims and 148 samples on the Axe claims.
Highlighted results from soil surveying in the MPD area are:
- A new 3-km long, north-south copper-gold enriched corridor now named the Sky trend. This trend is corroborated by a prospecting sample from 2021 that assayed 0.49% Cu, 0.03 g/t Au and 4.4 g/t Ag (Sample 137142).
- A new kilometre scale copper-in-soil anomaly in the Blue target area, previously identified by significant prospecting results in 2021.
- Results also extend other soil geochemical anomalies such as Dillard and Star.
Dillard Drill Results
Work in 2022 included exploratory drilling within the large Dillard soil anomaly, focussed on geophysical targeting and areas with copper-gold in historic work.
Highlights:
- Drilling at the Dillard target in 2022 to date has confirmed a broad area of lower-grade copper-gold mineralization from bedrock surface to 530m depth over a strike of 900m.
- All holes at Dillard to date have intersected broad intervals of lower-grade mineralization from surface and confirmed the continuity of copper over a wide-ranging area at the Dillard Zone.
- Holes MPD-22-026 and MPD-22-029 tested the north end of the 2.7-km-long copper-in-soil anomaly to determine the extent and nature of mineralization (see Figure 8). MPD-22-028 was lost before target depth and redrilled as MPD-22-029. Hole MPD-22-036 set-up 100m southeast of holes MPD-22-026 to 029 and drilled southward to investigate higher grades reported from this area. Hole MPD-22-038 was collared 450m further south to similarly test zones reporting higher grades and geophysical targets.
- While drilling continues to intersect copper-gold mineralization and alteration consistent with the pyrite-chalcopyrite dominated envelope of a large porphyry centre at Dillard, Kodiak will prioritize making new discoveries in 2023 and will focus on this target area at a later date and after receiving complete drill results.
Kodiak staff are sampling the remaining 2022 drill core. The company said it will continue to report outstanding drill results from the 41 holes drilled in 2022 (26,103m) through early 2023. Results from 27 holes have been reported to date.
Kodiak is focused on its 100%-owned copper porphyry projects in Canada and the USA. The company's most advanced asset is the MPD copper-gold porphyry project in the prolific Quesnel Trough in south-central British Columbia, Canada. MPD has all the hallmarks of a large, multi-centered porphyry system.
Kodiak has made the Gate Zone discovery of high-grade mineralization within a wide mineralized envelope, and MPD hosts several other targets with similar discovery potential. Kodiak also holds the Mohave copper-molybdenum-silver porphyry project in Arizona, USA, near the world-class Bagdad mine. Kodiak's porphyry projects have both been historically drilled and present known mineral discoveries with the potential to hold large-scale deposits.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com