Domestic Metals Corp (TSX-V:DMCU, OTCQB:DMCUF, FRA:03E0) has kicked off a 9,000-metre diamond drill program at its Smart Creek Project in Montana, targeting high-grade porphyry copper mineralization identified through the company's 2025-2026 exploration campaign.
In a statement Tuesday, the company said the program will consist of six to eight holes across the Smart Creek and Sunrise Mine targets and is fully funded through Domestic Metals' existing treasury.
Smart Creek is an 8,000-hectare copper porphyry project located 50 kilometres northwest of the Butte Mine Complex, acquired by Domestic Metals in August 2024 and held as a joint venture with Rio Tinto, which owns 40% of the asset. The project is considered prospective for both porphyry copper and copper-gold-silver enriched carbonate replacement deposit (CRD) mineralization.
"We are pleased to confirm the rig is now on site, and drilling has commenced after nearly two years of systematic exploration at Smart Creek," said Gordon Neal, CEO of Domestic Metals. "We believe Smart Creek is highly prospective for porphyry copper as well as copper-gold-silver enriched carbonate replacement deposits."
Drilling is being carried out by KP Drilling of Arizona using a Boart Longyear LF-90 D diamond drill rig, with first assay results expected six to eight weeks after the start of drilling.
Rio Tinto previously drilled 26 of 40 permitted sites at the project, vectoring toward a porphyry centre at the Smart Creek target, with the best hole returning 109.73 metres at 0.75% copper, including 89 metres at 0.97% copper. Domestic Metals' 2025 summer field program returned surface sampling results of 102 g/t gold, 23.1% copper and 3,810 g/t silver.
The Smart Creek target, the program's Phase 1, includes three drill holes of 600 to 800 metres, expected to take approximately 45 days to complete. The 2026 IP geophysical survey showed the chargeability feature at Smart Creek extends further west than previously known.
The Sunrise Mine target, Phase 2, includes four drill holes of 600 to 800 metres, expected to take approximately 60 days to complete. The IP survey identified chargeability features both north of Sunrise and to its south, with the southern anomaly continuing toward the Radio Tower target, an area considered prospective for copper porphyry and skarn mineralization.
Ahead of the current drill program, Domestic Metals' exploration work at Smart Creek included geological mapping, reconnaissance sampling and compilation of historic drill hole and assay data. Reconnaissance sampling at the Sunrise target returned 4.26 g/t gold, while IP geophysics identified chargeability features coincident with previously established alteration footprints and high-grade sampling results.
