QC Copper and Gold Inc. (TSX-V:QCCU, OTCQB:QCCUF) told investors that metallurgical results from its current testing program on samples from its Rogers Property, 5 kilometres morth of the historic mining center of Chibougamau in Quebec, suggest similarities with its nearby Opemiska project.
Like Opemiska, the company noted in a statement that the Roger Projects gold-copper mineralization appears very amenable to floatation processing.
Also, it said the metallurgical results indicate that material from Roger could be processed in the same circuit as Opemiska.
"These preliminary results are very encouraging and suggest we could include roughly 17.5 million tonnes of mineralized material in the Roger deposit in a development scenario for Opemiska,” QC Copper chairman and CEO Stephen Stewart commented.
“Factors such as cut-off grade, average grade, metal prices, and transportation costs will ultimately determine whether Roger can be accretive to Opemiska. However, as of now, the metallurgical studies suggest it is possible.”
Metallurgical sampling
At Roger, two samples of mineralized core were collected: sample P1 from the porphyry zone and sample N from the mineralized mafic volcanics to the north. The company said the testing aims to determine whether the mineralized material at Roger could be processed using the same flowsheet being tested at Opemiska.
Preliminary results of testing done at SGS show that material ground to the same specs as Opemiska (P80 = 105microns) have 79% and 73% liberated chalcopyrite in the P1 and N composite samples, respectively and gold is exposed on 87.3% of the grains for P1 and 75.1% for N.
Moreover, the company noted that free gold accounts for 96.8% of the gold of the P1 composite and 83% of the N composite.
“Roger, together with Cook and Robitaille, are well-understood projects where QC Copper will drill out to bring into the 43-101 regime for resource growth in 2024,” Stewart added.
“All three of these projects are proximate to Opemiska's open pit and are being evaluated as part of a broader development plan for the District, which we will define in a forthcoming Preliminary Economic Assessment for our District.”
The company said the Roger deposit is interpreted as a reduced-type intrusion-related porphyry gold-copper deposit that shows strong structural control. Mineralization occurs in the porphyry intrusion and in mafic volcanics to the north.
A historical, conceptual-pit enclosed mineral resource estimate in 2018 revealed 10.9 million tonnes of indicated resources at a grade of 0.85 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold, 0.80 g/t silver and 0.06% copper and an additional 6.57 million tonnes of inferred mineral resources at 0.75 g/t gold, 1.18 g/t silver and 0.11% copper.
QC Copper owns a 50% interest in the Roger Project with a right of first refusal to acquire the other 50%, which SOQUEM, a subsidiary of Investissement Québec, owns.
Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com