Aston Bay and American West Metals Announce Extensive Strike of Copper Gossans Discovered in Regional Exploration at the Storm Project, Nunavut, Canada High-priority regional targets identified as ongoing drilling continues to intersect copper sulfides at
Aston Bay and American West Metals Announce Extensive Strike
of Copper Gossans Discovered in Regional Exploration at the
Storm Project, Nunavut, Canada
High-priority regional targets identified as ongoing drilling continues to intersect copper sulfides at
Storm
Highlights:
• Extensive copper gossans and outcrop discovered along 8km of strike. A large mapping and
sampling program aimed to follow up the preliminary MMT survey results in the Tornado area has
discovered extensive visual copper in outcrop, including:
o Extensive chalcocite and malachite in outcrop have been mapped along the interpreted major
fault network, with chalcocite (copper sulfide) confirmed by portable XRF
o RC drilling planned to test a number of the fault-related copper occurrences and stratigraphic
targets at Tornado in the coming days
• Diamond drilling has intersected thick intervals of visual copper sulfides. 8 diamond drill holes
(for a total of 1,786m) are now complete with thick intervals of visual copper sulfides intersected,
including;
o PFS-001 was drilled into the southern margin of the Cyclone Deposit and intersected a
combined total of 43 metres ("m") of chalcocite and chalcopyrite mineralization, including
visual semi-massive sulfides
o PFS-002 was drilled into the northern margin of the Cyclone Deposit and intersected
approximately 49.5m combined total of chalcocite and chalcopyrite mineralization, including
visual semi-massive sulfides
• Reverse-Circulation (RC) drilling continuing: 21 RC drill holes completed to date (for a total of
3,194m), including;
o 12 holes completed at the Thunder, Lightning Ridge, Cirrus, Cyclone and Corona Deposits for
resource category upgrade and expansion purposes
o 2 holes testing resource extensions to the south of the Cyclone Deposit
o 7 exploration holes completed in The Gap, Cyclone West, Squall and Hailstorm areas
• Project financing agreement finalized: Ocean Partners Holdings Ltd. to provide debt finance for up
to 80% of initial capital for the development of Storm
TORONTO, ON / ACCESS Newswire / July 24, 2025 / Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. (TSXV:BAY)(OTCQB:ATBHF) ("Aston Bay" or the
"Company") is pleased to provide an update on exploration activities at the Storm Copper Project ("Storm" or the "Project") on
Somerset Island, Nunavut. American West Metals Limited ("American West"), the Project operator, is conducting the
exploration program. Aston Bay and American West have formed a 20/80 unincorporated joint venture with respect to the
Storm Project property, with Aston Bay maintaining a free carried interest until a decision to mine is made upon completion of
a bankable feasibility study.
Thomas Ullrich, Chief Executive Officer of Aston Bay, commented:
"We are excited to continue exploration during 2025 with additional copper discoveries at Storm. The long intercepts of visual
chalcocite and other copper minerals in the geotechnical drilling bode well for resource expansion.
"As well, the large areas of copper and iron gossans at the surface above conductivity anomalies from the newly-acquired
MobileMT geophysical survey increase our confidence in the prospectivity of these areas and open up new areas for future
potential drilling.
With 80% of the initial development cost now covered in the agreement with Ocean Partners, the Project's development
funding is now significantly de-risked. This is a notable stamp of approval from a very well-respected international metals
trader. Ocean Partners' existing experience with ore-sorting and DSO copper products is a natural fit with Storm and the
partnership has already begun to impact and streamline the technical aspects of the processing work flow for the ongoing PFS
activities. "
Figure 1: Diamond drill core from drill hole PFS-002. The core is from approximately 74m downhole and contains semi-
massive visual chalcocite (dark grey mineral) within dolomite host rock (light grey). This interval has not yet been assayed.
DIAMOND DRILLING
The diamond drilling program at Storm is progressing rapidly with eight drill holes now completed for a total of 1,786m.
After completion of the first deep diamond drill hole, ST25-02, the diamond drill rig moved onto geotechnical (and potential
resource) drilling to allow time for the final processing and interpretation of the MMT data to help refine the deep drill targeting.
The geotechnical drilling was required for the ongoing pre-feasibility study (PFS) work for the Storm Project, and is designed to
gather structural and rock strength information in the conceptual open-pit walls.
Two geotechnical drill holes have intersected wide intervals of visual copper sulfide mineralization on the margins of the
current Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE). Mineralization in these areas was unexpected and has extremely positive
implications for potential resource growth and upgrade.
Drilling is now underway on the Cirrus Deeps target (see June 12, 2025, Aston Bay news release).
Drill hole PFS-001 details
PFS-001 was drilled to a depth of 152m on the southern margin of the Cyclone Deposit (Figures 2, 3 and 9). The drill hole was
designed to test the conceptual open-pit walls for geotechnical study purposes, and was therefore completed on the very
edge of the current resource envelope.
The drill hole has intersected five broad zones of visual sulfide mineralization (see Table 1) between 29-47m, 51-53m, 57-61m,
65-76m, and 83-91m downhole for a total of 43m of visual sulfide mineralization.
The visual sulfide mineralization is hosted within a thick sequence of fractured and brecciated dolomudstones of the Allen Bay
Formation. Two broad styles of mineralization are present within PFS-001: stratabound style to a depth of approximately 53m,
and intermittent fault-hosted to a downhole depth of 91m. The mineralization consists of chalcocite, chalcopyrite and pyrite,
and is zoned with chalcocite commonly located within the core of the mineralization, and chalcopyrite/pyrite on the margins
or within faults. Portable XRF is used to aid in the determination of mineral type.
Figure 2: Dense breccia and semi-massive visual chalcocite in drill hole PFS-001 (33.94-41.4m downhole).
Figure 3: Schematic NE-SW geological section (+/-25m) through PFS-001. Visual copper mineralization has been logged
outside of the conceptual open-pit design.
Drill hole PFS-002 details
PFS-002 was drilled to a depth of 176m on the northern margin of the Cyclone Deposit (Figures 4, 5 and 9), and was designed
to test the conceptual open-pit walls for geotechnical studies.
The drill hole has intersected three broad zones of visual copper mineralization (see Table 2), including chalcocite, between
51-67m, 70.5-83m, and 98-119m downhole for a total of 47m of visual sulfide mineralization.
The sulfide mineralization is hosted within a thick sequence of fractured dolomudstones of the Allen Bay Formation. The visual
mineralization within PFS-002 is interpreted to be entirely stratabound in nature as with the rest of the Cyclone Deposit. The
visual mineralization consists of semi-massive sulfides, veinlets and matrix breccias in the host rock. The mineralization is
zoned, with a core of chalcocite surrounded by lesser pyrite, and coated with a weathering rind of malachite.
Figure 4: Semi-massive and breccia hosted visual chalcocite from PFS-002 (72.7-78.6m downhole).