The share price of TSX-V-listed QC Copper and Gold surged 30% on Monday, as the company announced an initial resource estimate on the Opemiska project, in the Chibougamau district of Quebec.
The deposit contains 81.7-million tonnes at 0.88% copper-equivalent of pit constrained measured and indicated mineral resources and 21.3-million tonnes at 0.73% copper-equivalent of inferred resources.
The pit-constrained mineral resource contains more than 532 000 t, or 1.17-billion pounds, of copper and 816 000 oz of gold in the measured and indicated classification and a further 109 000 t, or 240.3-million pounds, of copper and 209 000 oz of gold in the inferred classification.
“Leveraging over one-million metres of drilling completed by QC Copper and previous operators, the current mineral resource demonstrates a high degree of confidence with 82% of the mineral resource in the measured and indicated classification,” said chairperson and CEO Stephen Stewart.
Within the larger resource, the company has identified a high-grade potential starter pit of 10.6-million tonnes of measured and indicated mineral resources grading 1.26% copper-equivalent.
Stewart emphasised that the mineral resources reported were constrained to an optimised openpit and said that, given the geologic model and knowledge of existing mineralisation, the company saw ample room to grow the resource with further exploration and definition drilling.
VP for exploration Charles Beaudry added that the exploration team was already pivoting towards growing the resource from continued drilling.
“Our initial drilling will focus on defining near surface mineral resources proximal to the Springer-Perry pit as well as the definition of underground mineral resources in the Perry mine at depth beneath the conceptual pit. Looking beyond Springer and Perry, we will investigate the Beaver Lake Fault corridor over its 3.5 km of mineralised trend; this includes an in-depth assessment of the historical Cooke and Robitaille mines. Like the Opemiska, Cooke and Robitaille were previously mined in significantly lower metal price environments, host known mineralisation, and benefit from significant historical exploration data from previous operators.
“In addition to these high confidence targets we also plan to explore the Gwillim Fault trend to the northeast of Chapais and we will explore for Scott Lake-type volcanogenic massive sulphide targets on the eastern extremity of our land holdings,” Beaudry continued.
The Opemiska deposit is near the town of Chapais and in an area with a rich mining history.
“We see few comparable copper/gold deposits that offer this combination of substantial size, robust grades, and excellent on-site infrastructure all located in the Province of Quebec. This initial mineral resource firmly establishes Opemiska as a unique and attractive project backed by a team focused on additional mineral resource growth, aggressive exploration of local exploration targets and advancing Opemiska towards future development,” concluded Stewart.
QC Copper and Gold’s shares rose to C$0.24 a share on Monday, from the previous close of $0.18 a share.