NorthWest Copper Corp (TSX-V:NWST) told investors that it has boosted its overall copper-gold resource with an updated estimate for its Lorraine project, which sits in the middle of the explorer's British Columbia project portfolio.
The report, dated June 30 this year, is based on drilling between 1949 and 2009 and pegged higher confidence indicated resources at 12.9 million tonnes for 156,093 pounds of copper at 0.55% copper and 0.66% copper-equivalent. The inferred resource was 45.2 million tonnes for 427,931 pounds at 0.43% copper and 0.50% copper-equivalent.
"This updated mineral resource estimate adds to our overall copper-gold resource base with both size and good grades close to surface," NorthWest Copper CEO Peter Bell said in a statement. "Our portfolio continues to deliver results and the proximity of Lorraine to our flagship Kwanika-Stardust projects is significant.
READ: NorthWest Copper welcomes first drill results from Kwanika deposit, which hit 'significant' copper-gold grades
"We have just begun our work at Lorraine and look forward to our planned first drilling program later this summer," he added.
The updated resource estimate for Lorraine is based on "reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction", the company said, and is constrained in a Lerchs Grossman (LG) open pit shell, which was constructed using US$3.50 per pound copper and US$1,650 per ounce for gold.
The Lorraine asset lies about 40km away from NorthWest's Kwanika-Stardust projects and spans 56,000 hectares (Ha), while the resource area at the 0.20% copper cut-off grade spans 42.1 Ha in size and has a footprint of about 1.8 kilometres (km) by 0.5 km.
The deposit appears to have favorable geometry for mining, said NorthWest.
The company said it is planning a strategic drilling program in the second half this year in the resource area at the Lorraine project to better understand the deposit.
"Additionally, there is a large amount of historical data that is currently being analyzed, including historical drill core that is being relogged. Moving forward the company plans to use this data to increase the geological understanding of the project and target new areas for exploration," it said.
The updated resource encompasses the Bishop, Lower Main and Upper Main zones of the deposit and does not include the nearby Top Cat claims.
NorthWest’s subsidiary Sun Metals struck a deal to acquire Teck Resources' 51% joint venture interest in the Lorraine project in 2020 and became the 100%-owner of the Lorraine claims.
Teck is entitled to certain outstanding and contingent payments that may be made in cash or common shares including C$500,000 upon a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) and C$2 million upon a feasibility study.
Teck has also retained a 1% net smelter returns (NSR) royalty on all claims that are not already burdened by a royalty and a 0.25% NSR royalty on all claims that are subject to the existing Tam-Misty royalties.
NorthWest Copper is a new copper-gold explorer and developer with a pipeline of projects in British Columbia. With a robust portfolio in a tier one jurisdiction, it says it is well positioned to participate fully in a strengthening global copper market.
Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com