Markers for Carlin-style gold deposits are the presence of jasperoids and the association of gold, antimony, silver, and zinc. These markers are found at Navarre Creek, Idaho and may signify the potential for this style of deposit.The results of these surveys, together with the results of previous exploration, highlight the prospectivity of the claim block. These positive results will drive further exploration and drill targeting in 2022. Carlin-type gold deposits are an attractive target for explorations, as they boast large tonnages of ore with relatively inexpensive production costs. In 2020, production from these deposits was the largest of any other complex globally.
Phoenix Copper Limited / Ticker: PXC / Sector: Mining
28 January 2022
Phoenix Copper Limited
(‘Phoenix’ or the ‘Company’)
Navarre Creek Geophysical Results
Phoenix Copper Ltd (AIM: PXC, OTCQX ADR: PXCLY), the AIM-quoted USA-focused base and precious metals emerging producer and exploration company, is pleased to provide the results from its ground-based field magnetics survey and airborne hyperspectral mineral survey at the Company’s Navarre Creek project in Custer County, Idaho, USA.
Highlights
· 169-line kilometres (‘km’) of ground-based total field magnetics and airborne hyperspectral imaging completed for the entirety of the Navarre Creek claim block
· Two distinct intrusive bodies identified, partially concealed below glacial till showing strong magnetic signatures which complement the existing jasperoid outcrops
· A northeast trending, approximately 2.3-mile-long by 1-mile-wide corridor of hydrothermal alteration also identified, consistent with the gold and silver bearing Carlin-style epithermal deposits
· Markers for Carlin-style gold deposits are the presence of jasperoids, and the association of gold, antimony, silver and zinc. These markers are found at Navarre Creek and may signify the potential for this style of deposit
· The results of these surveys, together with the results of previous exploration, highlight the prospectivity of the claim block. These positive results will drive further exploration and drill targeting in 2022
Ryan McDermott, Chief Executive Officer, said, “I am excited to finally report the results of two geophysical surveys conducted at our Navarre Creek property this past summer, a ground-based field magnetics survey and an airborne hyperspectral mineral survey. Both surveys covered the entirety of the 3,577-acre claim block, including the 1,054 acres of additional claims filed in July 2021, and identified two magnetic bodies partially concealed below glacial till and overburden, a roughly 2.3-mile-long by 1-mile-wide zone of hydrothermal alteration similar to that associated with Carlin-style epithermal deposits in the western US. The results confirm the geological and geochemical testing results reported by the Company from previous field studies, in particular the iron-rich Lehman Fault and Bear Cave gossan.
“The geophysical results coincide well with the previous mapping and sampling conducted by the Phoenix team, as well as with the findings of the Idaho Geological Survey reported in “Geology and Geochemistry of Jasperoid Near Mackay, Idaho” 1988, Bulletin 27. This report states “Hydrothermal solutions that formed the jasperoids may also have formed large low-grade precious metal deposits within the jasperoid bodies or within altered country rocks associated with the jasperoids.” Jasperoids and the association of gold, antimony, silver, copper and zinc, as found at Navarre Creek, can be the signatures of precious metal deposits. We believe the Navarre Creek area to be quite remarkable, with the combination of iron-rich faults and gossans, jasperoid bodies, and favourable surface geochemistry all supported by the results of the latest geophysical surveys.
“We developed an exploration model at Navarre targeting the geology, geochemistry, and geophysics typical of epithermal precious metal deposits. Our findings thus far, including the recent geophysical results, support our exploration model and will provide the basis for further exploration, including a planned drilling program in 2022. In addition to the evaluation of these latest Navarre Creek results, we continue to focus our efforts on the Empire Open-Pit copper oxide feasibility study, scheduled for completion in Q2 of this year, and with the ongoing permitting of the Empire copper-oxide open pit.”
Navarre Creek Geology, Geochemistry, and Geophysics
During the 2021 field season, Phoenix contracted Magee Geophysical Services to acquire approximately 169 line-km of total field magnetic measurements at the Company’s Navarre Creek project and SpecTIR, LLC of Reno, Nevada to complete an airborne hyperspectral survey of the same Navarre Creek area to identify prospective exploration targets in an area, many of which are largely concealed by glacial till.
The ground magnetics survey looked specifically for magnetite and magnetic-bearing minerals, some of which have been identified in limited outcroppings, while the hyperspectral imaging helps to identify alteration minerals often associated with precious metal deposition.
Hyperspectral imaging incorporates a small airplane with mounted infrared lights and sensors to detect a wide range of wavelengths, mineral absorption and reflectance within the target area. The wavelength data collected in this survey are VNIR (Visible and Near-Infrared), SWIR (Short-Wave Infrared), and LWIR (Long-Wave Infrared). The human eye can detect wavelengths (colors) from 390 nanometers (‘nm’) to 700nm. The VNIR and SWIR sensors collected wavelength data from 390nm to 2,450nm, while the LWIR sensors ranged from 8,000nm to 12,000nm.
The Navarre Creek project is located within an intrusive dome complex, where the magnetic components in overlying volcanic lithologies is destroyed by silicic alteration associated with steam-heated, acidic, and oxidized hydrothermal fluids. The survey highlighted several such areas including the Lehman Creek fault, one or more porphyry plugs, and several contacts/faults.
The survey identified volcanic associated alteration that is both acidic and of fairly high temperature as evidenced by pyrophyllite and dickite. As would be expected in the Challis Volcanic Field, the white mica is Al-rich (paragenetic) and also shows zoned crystallinity patterns, typical of intermediate-to-high sulfidation systems and is likely proximal to a magmatic heat source. The presence of iron oxide associated with some of these zones adds prospectivity. The alteration pattern is useful in developing an exploration model to optimise future drill targets.
During the summer of 2020, Konnex Resources’ exploration team mapped and sampled the Company’s Navarre Creek gold property, which was then comprised of 2,420 acres of unpatented mining claims, located approximately five kilometres north-northwest of the Empire Mine. 90 rock chip and grab samples were collected in the hydrothermally altered volcanic rocks that make up the Navarre Creek claims and sent to ALS Laboratories in Reno, USA for geochemical analysis.
Of the 90 samples, 53 were above the detection limit for gold with a high of 0.569 grammes per tonne (‘g/t’), and 25 above the detection limit for silver. There was also a strong correlation between elevated gold values and elevated antimony values, typical of epithermal gold and silver systems in the western US. With the exception of one sample, all samples with a gold value greater than 0.1 g/t occurred within the same alteration type, that being predominantly a jasperoid-hosted quartz stockwork and micro-veining system. This provides valuable information for future sampling and drill targeting. The quartz stockworking and micro-veining appear to occur predominantly in felsic volcanic tuff units in the Navarre Creek area. One anomalous sample, 32519, registered a gold value of 0.387 g/t, in a magnetite skarn sample located on the southern end of the Navarre Creek claim block where the skarn body is exposed as subcrop through the surface volcanics tuffs. Additionally, the presence of limestone in surface float near the skarn sample location is evidence that the Paleozoic sedimentary rocks that occur at the Empire Mine may be near the surface. The Empire orebody is partly comprised of a magnetite skarn body hosted in Paleozoic limestone. It was also noted that volcanic outcropping across the Navarre Creek area is strongly weathered and highly leached to depths of two to four metres.
The Navarre Creek claim block now covers 3,577 acres (14.48 km²), representing over six kilometres of prospective strike length, including an area of secondary alteration thought to be epithermal in nature, with over 2.5-kilometres of highly brecciated, west-trending jasperoid intersecting argillically and silicically altered Eocene Challis volcanics.
Qualified Person
The foregoing technical information in this news release has been reviewed and verified by Zachary J. Black, SME-RM, General Manager. Mr. Black is a resource geologist with more than 17 years of domestic and international experience in the mining and construction industries. Mr. Black has a degree in Geological Engineering from the University of Nevada, Reno and is a registered member of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc. He is a Qualified Person under the AIM Rules. Mr. Black consents to the inclusion of the information in the form and context in which they appear.
Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance
Phoenix is committed to meeting and exceeding the environmental standards required by law as a core value of the Company. The baseline environmental data collected to date will be used for furthering the permitting process, but as importantly, will be used as the building blocks for the Company’s ongoing Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) platform, overseen by the Company’s ESG & Sustainability Committee.
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
The Company deems the information contained within this announcement to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014, which has been incorporated into UK law by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. Upon the publication of this announcement via the Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.