Northwest Copper Reports High-Grade Copper and Silver IN Surface ROCK Chip Sample Results from East Niv Bornite-Rich Veins Outline 13 Km Trend of Copper Mineralization
Page 1 of 9
News Release
NORTHWEST COPPER REPORTS HIGH-GRADE COPPER AND SILVER IN SURFACE
ROCK CHIP SAMPLE RESULTS FROM EAST NIV
BORNITE-RICH VEINS OUTLINE 13 KM TREND OF COPPER MINERALIZATION
Vancouver, BC – December 7, 2022 – NorthWest Copper (“NorthWest” or “the Company”) (TSX-
V: NWST) (OTCQX: NWCCF) announces multiple high-grade copper samples over a large area as
part of a program that included 206 surface rock samples collected during the 2022 East Niv
exploration program. The results show a very large footprint of high -grade copper at surface.
This release focuses on new and historical results from rock samples . Other results, including
2022 drilling, will be provided in future releases as assays are received. Highlights from 2022 rock
sampling include:
• 206 Surface Rock samples sent for analysis
o 48 returned values greater than 0.10% copper (Cu),
o 36 returned values greater than 0.25% Cu, and
o 11 returned values of greater than 1.00 % Cu.
• 11 high-grade samples range from 1.08 % Cu to 6.55 % Cu (Table 1)
o Also contain very strongly elevated silver (Ag) concentrations between 3.7 g/t Ag
and 262.0 g/t Ag.
NorthWest’s exploration program in 2022 was designed to follow up on the very successful
discovery of copper-gold porphyry mineralization at East Niv in 2021, including hole ENV21-0041
(81.60 metres of 0.41% Cu, 0.20 g/t Au and 0.90 g/t Ag ). The 2022 program targeted expansion
of the footprint of mineralization around the previously drilled area and covered a much larger
area with surface work to further expand the prospective area. Exploration completed in 2022
included 8 diamond drill holes (results pending), 31.1 line -km of ground -based induced
polarization geophysics, 1,260 line-km of airborne magnetics, 206 surface rock samples, 745 soil
samples, and geological and structural mapping. The rock chip results from this work outline a
very large area of copper at surface with no historical drilling and limited exploration work, which
will help inform targets for future drilling.
“East Niv is our newest project, with the first drilling completed in 2021 including our discovery
hole” said President and CEO Peter Bell. “We are now outlining a very large, mineralized zone
over the southern half of the property with these rock chip samples, including some spectacular
high-grade over a northwest -oriented trend that is at least 13 km long. There is a lot of
1 Please see NorthWest Copper news release dated November 8, 2021 available on our website and SEDAR.
Page 2 of 9
prospective ground on our 43,000 hectare land package and we have been mapping, sampling,
conducting geophysics and drilling. We completed 8 holes in 2022, in addition to the 10 holes in
2021, and anticipate updating the market in the near term with the drill results.”
Table 1: Select East Niv Sample Results
Sample Copper (%) Silver (g/t) Gold (ppb)
4656157 6.55 171.0 8
4656012 5.50 43.7 4
4656078 5.04 262.0 153
4656158 3.96 88.4 7
4656072 3.37 4.1 59
4656171 1.79 8.7 4
4656353 1.32 5.5 12
4656166 1.25 13.0 5
4656167 1.17 3.7 4
4656135 1.14 32.6 42
4656212 1.08 25.7 10
Discussion
The historical and new rock sample results on Figures 1, 2 and 3, along with the porphyry copper-
gold mineralization discovered by drilling in 2021, show t hat strong hydrothermal activity ,
polymetallic metal anomalies, and high-grade rock samples are distributed over a very large and
highly prospective area. The 2022 samples were collected on geological and structural mapping
traverses that extend well beyond historical work areas ( Figure 4) and this mapping will provide
critical geological context to focus exploration and to identi fy and prioritize drill targets.
Importantly, rock sampling has mostly been along ridges to allow more ground to be covered and
an important focus of future exploration will be the extensive areas of outcrop that have not yet
been mapped, prospected, or sampled. Indeed, much of this newly prospective area in the south
half of the property has received no physical exploration other than the sampling reported here.
An exciting outcome of the 2022 and historical sampling programs is that a variety of mineralized
vein types are widespread and commonly contain high -grade copper and silver mineralization,
along with other anomalous metals including gold. Several veins rich in bornite have returned
high-grade copper-silver results ( Figure 5-A). Other vein types also return excellent grades but
more commonly contain chalcopyrite, and some veins have a component o f supergene copper
sulphides and/or carbonates (Figure 5-B). Veins of all types most commonly dip steeply and strike
northwest, parallel to the regional structural grain of the property. Veins range from narrow,
individual structures, to sheeted arrays up to several metres in width , and some veins are
Page 3 of 9
brecciated. Veins have not been traced along strike due to the objectives of the traverses where
they were discovered. Our 2021 porphyry copper -gold discovery can be directly related to the
Late Triassic Takla Group by uranium-lead and rhenium-osmium isotopic dates of approximately
224 million years on intrusions and mineralization. The newly recognized copper-silver veins, in
contrast, are hosted by younger rock types interpreted to be either Early Jurassic Hazelton Group
or slightly older rocks transitional to the underlying Takla Group, and additional isotopic dating is
underway to confirm this. The geochemical results and our current interpretation indicate that
the southern half of the property hosts a widespread and distinct style of commonly high grade,
copper-silver-gold mineralization that forms a completely new exploration target at East Niv.
Page 4 of 9
Figure 1. Copper (Cu) % in surface rock samples on the East Niv Project
Page 5 of 9
Figure 2. Silver (Ag) in surface rock samples on the East Niv Project
Page 6 of 9
Figure 3. Gold (Au) ppb in rock chip samples on the East Niv Project.
Page 7 of 9
Figure 4. Geological Map showing area of detailed work in 2022 (lighter shaded area) vs 2021 area of focus (darker shaded area)
Page 8 of 9
Figure 5. Samples 4656078 and 4656157
Quality Assurance / Quality Control
Surface work at East Niv completed in 2022 was supervised by on-site NorthWest personnel who
collected and tracked samples and implemented a full QA/QC program using blanks and
standards to monitor analytical accuracy a nd precision. The samples were sealed on site and
shipped to AGAT Laboratories (AGAT) in Calgary, Alberta. AGAT’s quality control system complies
with global certifications for Quality ISO 9001:2015. The samples were analyzed using a
combination of AGAT’s 201-071 process for low -level concentrations (ICP-MS/4 Acid digestion)
and the 201 -079 process for overlimit/higher -level concentrations in base metals (Sodium
Peroxide Fusion/ICP -OES). Silver overlimits were analyzed with method 201 -116, a 3 -acid
digestion with ICP -OES finish. Gold assaying was completed with either 202 -052 or 202 -055
methods, both of which are a 30-gram fire assay with ICP finish.
Technical aspects of this news release have been reviewed, verified, and approved by Tyler
Caswell, P.Geo., Principal Geologist of NorthWest, who is a qualified person as defined by
National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Minerals Projects.