Aston Bay and American West Metals Announce Exploration Program at the Storm Copper Project, Canada Drilling to focus on immediate resource growth and testing of large-scale copper exploration targets
Aston Bay and American West Metals Announce Exploration Program at the
Storm Copper Project, Canada
Drilling to focus on immediate resource growth and testing of large-scale copper exploration
targets
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / February 26, 2024 / Aston Bay Holdings Ltd.
(TSXV:BAY)(OTCQB:ATBHF) ("Aston Bay" or the "Company") is pleased to report the details
of an aggressive exploration program set to commence at the Storm Copper Project ("Storm" or
the "Project") on Somerset Island, Nunavut. The program will be conducted by American West
Metals Limited ("American West"), who is the operator of the Project. American West will be
solely responsible for funding the program.
Highlights
• Field program will commence in March 2024 focused on resource
expansion/definition and exploration
• Extensive 22,000 metres (m) reverse circulation (RC) and diamond drilling program
planned with a focus on:
o Testing the extensions of the mineralized zones at Storm (National
Instrument 43-101 maiden resource anticipated to be released in March-
April, 2024)
o Resource definition of the known high-grade copper (Cu) discoveries at the
Thunder (48.6m @ 3.0% copper (Cu)), Lightning Ridge (30.4m @ 2.2% Cu)
and The Gap zones (1.5m @ 4.4% Cu and 2m @ 2.5% Cu) at Storm
o Exploration for new high-grade copper zones along strike and below the
existing prospects and copper discoveries
o Exploration along the prospective >100 kilometre (km) long copper belt
including the Blizzard, Tornado and Tempest prospects
• High-resolution surface electromagnetic (EM) surveys are planned at the
underexplored Blizzard, Tornado and Tempest Prospect areas
• Permitting roadmap continuing with environmental, mining and metallurgical
studies underway
"We are excited about this significant exploration program at Storm," stated Thomas Ullrich,
CEO of Aston Bay. "partner American West is fully financed and currently coordinating
mobilization in order to conduct the 2024 resource expansion and exploration program.
Geophysics and 22,000m of planned drilling will focus on expanding the known areas of near-
surface high-grade copper mineralization at several prospects at Storm, as well as continuing to
explore for new targets at depth and along strike over the almost 100-kilometre prospective trend
for sediment-hosted copper mineralization."
Figure 1: Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling at the Cyclone Deposit during 2023.
EXPANSION OF MINERALIZED ZONES
The open zones of the known copper mineralization, recent discoveries of copper mineralization
in the Storm area, and the largely untested 100km prospective copper belt highlight the
outstanding potential for the discovery and definition of further resources within the Project area.
Figure 2: Plan view of the Storm Project showing drilling, overlaying Fixed Loop
Electromagnetic (FLEM) imagery (Late time conductivity - Channel 16. Hotter colours indicate
higher conductivity).
In addition to the potential expansion of the Cyclone Zone suggested by the conductivity
anomaly at Cyclone North, three immediate opportunities have been defined for the expansion
and addition of new zones of mineralization at Storm, including the Thunder and Lightning
Ridge, Cyclone North, and The Gap Prospects (Figure 2).
All of these prospects contain high-grade copper mineralization (including 48.6m @ 3.0% Cu
within drill hole ST23-03 at Thunder) and are characterized by broad zones of late time EM
conductivity and more localized, highly-conductive ‘bullseye' style EM anomalies.
EM anomalies tested to date in the Storm area have a strong correlation with the higher-grade,
>2.0% Cu mineralization.
A recent review and reinterpretation of the historical Induced Polarization (IP) data has also
yielded exciting results and defined numerous targets for the potential discovery of further
copper mineralization (Figure 3).
IP is an effective geophysical method for the detection of network textured and vein-hosted
sulfides. The IP data has been reassessed using a ‘metal factor' algorithm which filters the raw
resistivity and conductivity data to define areas likely containing metallic sulfides (including
copper sulphide), as opposed to other potential sources of the IP (i.e. clay, iron-oxides).
The new imagery highlights a series of extensive IP anomalies that are coincident with the
known copper deposits and main structures of the graben fault system (main copper fluid
sources).
Of particular interest is a newly defined anomaly located immediately to the south of the
Cyclone Zone, across the graben fault. The anomaly is interpreted to be at a deeper stratigraphic
level (~100-200m depth) to Cyclone and covers an area roughly the same size as the known
Cyclone mineralization. This anomaly is located in an area of no drilling and may represent a
southern, offset extension of the Cyclone copper mineralization.
Multiple other anomalies have been highlighted in this data set, including strong coincident
anomalies with the Corona and Cirrus Deposits, and the Thunder, Lightning Ridge, and The Gap
Prospects.
Detailed Moving Loop Electromagnetics (MLEM) and approximately 12,000m of drilling have
been planned for resource expansion activities in the Storm area. These activities will commence
during March/April 2024.
Figure 3: Plan view of the Storm area showing the known copper deposits and drilling,
overlaying IP metal factor imagery (Hotter colours indicate higher conductivity contrast) at -100
to 200m depth.
EXPLORATION PROGRAM
The recent exploration and resource definition activities suggest that Storm and new copper
discoveries are only a small part of a larger sediment hosted copper mineralized system.
High-grade copper sulphide mineralization has been found at a stratigraphic level 200m below
the known copper deposits, and at numerous other locations along the 100km strike of the
prospective copper belt. Significantly, the same high-grade copper mineral assemblage of
chalcocite-bornite-chalcopyrite is present in the new deeper discoveries as in the extensive near-
surface mineralization.
Exploration activities during 2024 will be aimed at extending the coverage of drilling and
detailed geophysics into these underexplored areas.
The exploration program will first focus below the Storm Prospects at depth, and at the Blizzard,
Tornado and Tempest Prospects. Surface geophysics, including Moving Loop Electromagnetics
(MLEM) and gravity, and RC and diamond drilling will be used to screen and test the highest-
priority targets.
Approximately 10,000m of drilling has been allocated to the exploration work.
BLIZZARD AND TORNADO PROSPECTS
The Blizzard and Tornado Prospects are located approximately 5-10km along strike to the
southeast of Storm. The area shares a geological setting that is interpreted to be identical to that
of Storm, and contains numerous outcropping copper occurrences with coincident geophysical
anomalies.
The Tornado Prospect is centered on an area with abundant chalcocite and malachite boulders in
frost heaved sub-crop and float, within a 3.2km x 1.5km geochemical copper anomaly. The large
copper anomaly shares the same linear trend as the main structural features of the Storm graben.
Most of the anomalous copper samples are located around the interpreted northern graben fault,
which is a similar setting to that of the large and laterally extensive Cyclone Prospect at Storm.
The Blizzard Prospect is defined by a broad, oval shaped zone of elevated Vertical Time Domain
Electromagnetics (VTEM) conductance with approximate dimensions of 4.0km x 1.5km. The
target is enhanced locally by elevated levels of copper in rock and soil samples.
Both the Tornado and Blizzard Prospects also contain a number of strong gravity anomalies
(defined using 2015 and 2016 gravity survey data), which share similar features to those defined
at Storm during 2023. The gravity anomalies are located in favourable geological locations and
are coincident with the soil and rock copper anomalies (Figure 4).
Moving Loop Electromagnetics (MLEM) and drilling will be used to follow-up these prospective
areas with the aim of defining another Storm-style copper camp along strike of the existing
copper resources.
Figure 4: Gravity anomalies at the Tornado and Blizzard Prospects - terrain corrected Bouger
gravity anomalies from 2023 survey.
TEMPEST PROSPECT
The Tempest Prospect is located approximately 40 kilometres south of the known copper
discoveries at Storm (Figures 5 to 7). The area was discovered through historical rock and soil
sampling which defined copper gossans over 250m, with assays returning copper grades up to
32% Cu.
The geology of the area is interpreted to contain the southern extension of the highly prospective
Storm copper belt, overlapping much older Proterozoic rocks to the west. This geological setting
and the interpreted unconformity between two main geological terranes are interpreted to be
highly prospective for base metal mineralization.
A small reconnaissance sampling and field mapping program during the 2023 field season was
aimed at expanding the understanding of the area. The mapping revealed a series of gossans that
are significantly more extensive than originally defined. The gossans have now been traced over
4km of strike to the north and south of the original Tempest Prospect, significantly upgrading the
exploration potential of the area.
Seven samples were collected of gossanous rock outcrop and float, and one was collected from
exposed gneiss basement. A number of the gossanous samples yielded highly anomalous base
metals with copper grades up to 38.2% Cu and zinc grades 30.8% Zn.
A ground Loupe Electromagnetic (TDEM) and magnetic survey were also completed over the
Tempest area during August 2023 to aid with mapping the stratigraphy and to define potential
targets for further exploration work (Figure 6).
The TDEM survey has defined a series of conductive anomalies that lie along the strike of the
stratigraphy and are coincident with the copper/zinc gossans in a number of areas (Figure 6). The
conductors are localised and modelling of the data estimates that they are potentially steeply
dipping. The relatively short strike length of the conductive features is positive and suggests that
the anomalies may not be related to conductive stratigraphic horizons such as black shales,
graphite, or iron sulfides.
Moving Loop Electromagnetics (MLEM) and drilling will be used to follow up on these highly
prospective areas.
Figure 5: Photo of the southern Tempest copper/zinc gossan (brown/reddish rocks), looking
north.