QC Copper and Gold Inc. (TSX-V:QCCU, OTCQB:QCCUF) shares surged 25% after the company reported an upgraded Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) results for its Opemiska Project in Quebec's Chapais-Chibougamau District that it said defined "Canada's highest-grade copper open pit deposit."
The updated MRE, a result of extensive drilling and a two-year recompilation of geological data, revealed a significant increase in grade and contained metal.
"This MRE details the immense value of owning such a sizable, high-grade asset with excellent accessibility and infrastructure," QC Copper CEO and chairman Stephen Stewart commented in a statement.
"Furthermore, QC Copper and Gold's Opemiska is in the heart of NW Quebec, a stable mining jurisdiction, where we see Opemiska as the anchor to revitalizing the storied Chapais-Chibougamau copper-gold district in Eastern Canada."
Highlights of the MRE include a mineral resource in Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources of 2.09 billion pounds (lbs) of copper equivalent (CuEq) contained in 97.5 million tonnes, including 1.75 billion lbs of copper, 845,000 ounces (oz) of gold and 5.5 million oz of silver.
Additionally, it indicates Inferred Mineral Resources of 157 million lbs of copper equivalent contained in 11.0 million tonnes, including 127 million lbs copper, 70,000 oz gold and 907,000 oz silver.
The company said it achieved a 26% increase in the copper total grade, an 11% increase in CuEq total grade, and a 16% rise in CuEq pounds compared to the 2021 Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource Estimate.
A sizable starter pit comprises 19.1 million tonnes at 1.1% CuEq, all in the Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources categories, it added.
The company said the improved MRE not only bolsters the project's geological model but also holds substantial value for upcoming economic and engineering assessments. The database enhancements serve as a crucial foundation as QC Copper and Gold moves forward to inform stakeholders, attract investors, and generate strategic interest.
"With a total resource grade of 0.78% Cu (copper), Opemiska is Canada's highest grade open pit copper deposit with resources greater than 1 billion pounds of contained copper," QC Copper director and vice president of exploration Charles Beaudry said.
"This updated Mineral Resource for Opemiska is a major step towards advancing the project to mine development. The grade and reconciliation of the new Mineral Resource has held up to a much more rigorous interpretation due to our two-year initiative."
Beaudry said the next step will be to establish the economic parameters for a conceptual mining operation through a Preliminary Economic Assessment and simultaneously, QC Copper will continue drilling at depth on Perry and in satellite zones that can provide additional near-surface Mineral Resources to enhance the development of Opemiska.
The company's shares traded 3 cents higher at C$0.15 shortly before noon in Toronto.
~Updated with share price movement~