US Copper Corp Announces Results from Engels Drilling
US Copper Corp Announces Results from Engels Drilling
TORONTO, CANADA, September 12, 2023 – US Copper Corp (“ US Copper ” or the
“Company”) (TSX Venture: USCU) (OTCQB: USCUF) (Frankfurt: C73) is pleased to announce
results from the 15-hole shallow drill program on its Engels de posit at the Moonlight-Superior
Copper Project in North-East California.
Highlights
1. Mineralized drill hole intercepts were submitted for sequential copper assays and acid
soluble copper was identified in 10 of 15 holes, including one intercept of 200 feet (“ ft”)
of 1.06% recoverable copper;
2. Results confirmed historical drilling completed by previous ope rators in 2005-through
2009;
3. Soluble copper averaged 85% of total copper; and
4. Acid soluble copper greater than 0.2% occurs over an area of 750 ft by 250 ft to an average
depth of greater than 200 ft.
These results are now being reviewed by an independent engineering firm to determine:
1. Parameters for further metallurgical testing;
2. A new resource calculation for the oxide mineralization at Engels; and
3. The viability of an oxide mining operation beginning at Engels before moving to
Moonlight.
Management Commentary
“Results from our exploration drill program confirm high-grade copper oxide mineralization and
furthers our geological model of the Engels Project, whereby a near-surface copper oxide cap sits
above a potentially larger copper sulfide deposit. These types of copper oxide deposits are found
in the major copper mining districts of the worl d and can typically be economically extracted,
usually through low-impact surface mining, and pr ocessed at lower cost than copper sulfide
ores. Furthermore, acid leaching of oxide copper produces high grade copper cathodes, with
grade A cathode typically selling for a premium.” commented Stephen Dunn, President and CEO
of US Copper.
“With the recent addition of copper to the U.S. critical minerals list, we look forward to conducting
a preliminary economic assessment ( “PEA”) to evaluate the viability of a copper oxide mining
operation at the past-producing Engels deposit, towards advancing a secure and responsible
domestic supply of U.S. mined copper,” concluded Mr. Dunn.
Table 1: Summary of drill hole data
(* Total leachable copper is the total of the sulfuric acid recovery and the cyanide recovery;
** void spaces associated with former workings are excluded from interval)
The Engels oxide deposit sits on top of a large vein and dissem inated good grade copper sulfide
deposit which is controlled by a NE trending, high angle, struc tural zone cutting an early Jurassic
gabbroic intrusive. The oxide cap at Engels is developed to depths greater than 200 ft over an area
of at least 750 ft by 250 ft. Sample intercepts from prior drill programs were confirmed as was the
outer edges of the oxide cap. A new resource estimate will now be calculated to update our 2013
resource estimate of 2.5 million tons (“ MT”) at 1.05% as contained in the Company’s National
Instrument 43-101 (“ NI 43-101 ”) Technical Report and Resource Estimate for the Superior
Project, Plumas County, Californi a, by Wm. Tanaka, with a refil ed date of November 7, 2014,
which can be viewed on the US Copper’s website and on www.sedarplus.ca.
Background
The Moonlight-Superior Project has a sulfide mineral resource e stimate of 1.3 billion pounds of
copper indicated and 1 billion pounds of copper inferred across two deposits – M oonlight an d
Superior. The resource estimate is contained in the NI 43-101 Technical Report and Preliminary
Engels Oxide Assays - 2023
Total
Total* Sulfuric a cCyanide
Copper Leachable Leachable leachable
DH# from to
Interval
(ft)
%%%%
23-ERC-01 0 200 200 1.14 1.06 0.45 0.62
Incl 80 140 60 2.05 1.95 0.77 1.18
23-ERC-06 02 2 0 220 0.31 0.26 0.19 0.07
Incl 0 100 100 0.50 0.44 0.38 0.06
02 02 0 0.23 0.13 0.07 0.06
23-ERC-08 02 4 0 240 0.47 0.41 0.30 0.11
Incl 08 0 80 0.63 0.54 0.40 0.14
Incl 160 240 80 0.70 0.64 0.46 0.18
23-ERC-09** 0 280 255 1.20 1.06 0.91 0.14
23-ERC-10** 0 215 205 0.84 0.68 0.07 0.62
Incl 160 215 55 3.03 2.47 0.22 2.26
23-ERC-11 0 445 445 0.17 0.13 0.05 0.08
Incl 04 0 40 0.95 0.59 0.39 0.20
Incl 160 200 40 0.78 0.65 0.20 0.45
Incl 320 360 40 1.43 1.30 0.28 1.02
23-ERC-12 04 0 0 400 0.32 0.25 0.16 0.09
Incl 0 100 100 0.76 0.53 0.33 0.20
Incl 220 240 20 1.67 1.55 1.31 0.24
23-ERC-13 0 185 180 0.83 0.76 0.22 0.53
Incl 40 120 80 0.43 0.40 0.29 0.12
Incl 125 185 60 1.90 1.72 0.28 1.44
23-ERC-14** 04 0 0 375 0.63 0.57 0.45 0.12
Incl 50 160 110 1.02 0.90 0.75 0.16
Incl 175 300 125 0.61 0.56 0.42 0.14
23-ERC-15 5 400 395 0.85 0.75 0.41 0.33
Incl 51 4 0 135 1.00 0.84 0.66 0.18
Incl 220 280 60 2.28 2.10 0.74 1.36
Leach Soluble Copper
Sequential copper assays
Economic Assessment for the Moonlight Deposit, Plumas County, California, by Tetra Tech, dated
April 12, 2018, available on US Copper’s website and on SEDAR. Both deposits are open and
there are other deposits and exploration targets requiring testing and delineation which could add
significantly to the total property resource.
The Engels deposit is one of 3 si gnificant copper deposits on U S Copper’s Moonlight-Superior
property. It is located 6,000 ft east of our 300 MT 0.30% copper Moonlight deposit and 11,000 ft
north of the 60 MT 0.43% copper Superior deposit. Initial effor ts to mine-process the oxide
(carbonate) ore in the early 1900’s failed due to technological shortcomings. In 1914-15 sulfide
ore was discovered at Engels, an d shortly thereafter Engels and the nearby Superior properties
were consolidated under the Engels Mining Company and production and processing of the sulfide
ore began. Consolidated production from Engels-Superior in the 1915-1930 period yielded
approximately 4.2 MT of ore at a grade of 2.2% copper. The majority of the production came from
Engels. Mine workings at Engels are extensive and include many tens of thousands of feet of
drifts, crosscuts, and stopes on ten levels accessed by adits a nd six levels accessed from a winze
sunk from the No. 10 level.
In the 1960s-70s Placer AMEX did extensive work in the district which resulted in the discovery
of the Moonlight deposit, partial delineation of the Superior deposit and an evaluation of the Engels
deposit that included an internal company open pit estimate of 19 million tons of sulfide material
with a grade of 0.63% Copper.
US Copper had a PEA prepared on its Moonlight deposit in 2018 that showed positive economics
at $3.15 per pound copper. It was determined that providing hi gher grade ore from our Superior
and/or Engels deposits into the Moonlight mine plan would subst antially enhance the Project’s
economics by potentially increasin g cash flows in the initial y ears of production. The recently
completed drill program at Superior was designed specifically f or that purpose, and this Engels
Phase I Program will outline the potential for a second starter pit for the Moonlight plant.
Ultimately, the updated Engels and Superior resources will be i ncorporated into a revised
Moonlight PEA.
Technical Information and Quality Control & Quality Assurance
US Copper personnel regularly obser ve procedures including the boxing of core at the drill site.
Core is then securely delivered to the core logging and storage facility in Crescent Mills CA (~10
miles from the drill sites). The core is logged, magnetically scanned, and photographed. Periodic
samples are collected for specific gravity testing and petrographic analysis. The core is then sawn
in half. One half is bagged with appropriate documentation and securely transported to the ALS
lab in Reno, NV. To ensure that proper QAQC accompanies the an alyses appropriate QAQC
elements are included in each batch of samples. The QAQC elements consist of certified standards,
duplicate analyses and certified coarse blanks or blank materia l that has been documented to be
barren for gold and base metals.
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical content of this press release has been reviewed and approved by
George Cole, M.Sc., Director of US Copper who is a "Qualified P erson" as defined in National
Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. George Cole is a Registered
Professional Geologist through AIPG (CPG-11687).
About US Copper Corp
US Copper controls approximately 13 square miles of patented an d unpatented federal mining
claims in the Light’s Creek Copper District in Plumas County, NE California; essentially, the entire
District. The District contains substantial copper (silver) su lfide and copper oxide resources in
three deposits – Moonlight, Superior and Engels, as well as sev eral partially tested and untested
exploration targets.
The Superior and Engels Mines operated from about 1915-1930 pro ducing over 161 million
pounds of copper from over 4 million tons of rock containing 2. 2% copper with silver and gold
credits.
The Moonlight Deposit was discovered and drilled by Placer Amex during the 1960’s. Details of
the resources on US Copper’s property and the parameters used to calculate them can be found in
the "Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment for t he Moonlight Deposit,
Moonlight-Superior Copper Project, California, USA" dated April 12, 2018, on both the
company’s website at www.uscoppercorp.com or on www.sedar.com under the US Copper Corp
profile.
For Further Information Contact:
Mr. Stephen Dunn, President, CEO and Director, US Copper Corp ( 416) 361-2827 or email
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the
TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities
laws and regulations, including statements regarding th e future activities of the Company. Forward-looking
statements reflect the current beliefs and expectations of management and are identified by the use of words including
“will”, “hopes”, “anticipates”, “expected to”, “plans”, “p lanned”, “intends” and other similar words. Actual
results may differ significantly. The achievement of the resu lts expressed in forward-looking statements is subject to
a number of risks, including those described in the Company’s management discussion and analysis as filed with the
Canadian securities regulatory authorities which are availabl e at www.sedar.com. Investors are cautioned not to
place undue reliance upon forward-looking statements.