Drill hole #035A intersected 500 feet of 0.82% copper starting at surface Drill hole #012 intersected 246 feet of 0.70% copper starting at surface Drill hole #011 intersected 440 feet of 1.38% copper All new intersections are on Hudbay’s wholly-owned private land Hudbay Minerals Inc. today announced the intersection of high-grade copper sulphide and oxide mineralization at shallow depth on its wholly-owned …
Drill hole #035A intersected 500 feet of 0.82% copper starting at surface
Drill hole #012 intersected 246 feet of 0.70% copper starting at surface
Drill hole #011 intersected 440 feet of 1.38% copper
All new intersections are on Hudbay’s wholly-owned private land
Hudbay Minerals Inc. (“Hudbay” or the “company”) ( TSX, NYSE: HBM) today announced the intersection of high-grade copper sulphide and oxide mineralization at shallow depth on its wholly-owned patented mining claims located within seven kilometres of its Rosemont copper project in Arizona. The drill program was initiated in 2020 to confirm historical drilling in this past-producing copper region formerly known as Helvetia. After receiving encouraging initial results, the company launched a larger drill program in early 2021 and has since doubled the number of drill rigs at site to six to further test the four known deposits at Copper World and the potential for additional mineralization.
“This new discovery on our private land in Arizona demonstrates our team’s strong expertise in exploration,” said Peter Kukielski, Hudbay’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “They saw an opportunity to consolidate mineralization in the region and we are excited to continue to explore Copper World while remaining committed to advancing Rosemont through the appeals process.”
Regional View of Copper World
The Copper World deposits are located adjacent to the Rosemont deposit as shown in the plan view in Figure 1. To date, four deposits have been identified with a combined strike length of over five kilometres with opportunities to discover additional mineralization between the deposits. The mineralization occurs at shallower depths than at Rosemont as shown in Figure 2.
“We are very encouraged by the results from the recent drill program at Copper World, where we have intersected copper mineralization that contains higher grades closer to surface than at Rosemont,” said Cashel Meagher, Hudbay’s Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. “Copper World has the potential to host at least four economic deposits with a relatively low strip ratio and may prove to be a viable open-pit operation that is either separate from or additive to our Rosemont project.”
The Copper World region has a rich history of mining from 1874 to 1969, during which time more than 20 small underground mines produced a total of approximately 440,000 tons at an average copper grade of 4.42%. Figure 3 illustrates the historical mining activity in the region. This is the first time the region has been explored as a zone of continuous mineralization.
A three-dimensional visualization of the Copper World drill results can be found at the link noted below. This visual shows the location of the Copper World targets, the historical mine sites in the area, the historical drilling coverage (the results of which are under review and will be reported once the data is validated by Hudbay in accordance with NI 43-101), as well as drill hole intercepts from Hudbay’s 2020 drill campaign.
https://vrify.com/embed/decks/Hudbay-PR-Deck-03-29
Copper World 2020 Drill Program
Hudbay’s 2020 exploration work began by compiling and validating all historical data on its private land claims and refining the geological model. This initial review included the discovery of records of historical drilling results for which assay results cannot be disclosed until the data is validated by Hudbay in accordance with NI 43-101. However, this review suggested the potential for both copper sulphide and oxide mineralization in skarns and porphyries near surface in several areas. In September 2020, the company initiated a 15,000-foot drill program which was quickly expanded to a 40,000-foot drill program after early encouraging intersections of mineralization. During this initial program, three drill rigs focused on testing the Broad Top Butte, Copper World, Peach and Elgin targets (referred to collectively as the “Copper World deposits”).
Hudbay has recently received the assay results from the 2020 drill program and the results have exceeded Hudbay’s expectations. The program confirmed the discovery of four new deposits based on significant volumes of high-grade copper sulphide and oxide mineralization starting, in most cases, near surface or at shallow depth.
Broad Top Butte Targets
Drill hole #011 intersected 440 feet of 1.38% copper, including 70 feet of 4.2% copper
Drill hole #012 intersected 246 feet of 0.70% copper starting at surface
Drill hole #023 intersected 300 feet of 0.91% copper
The 2020 drilling at Broad Top Butte confirmed the occurrence of significant shallow copper oxide and sulphide mineralization. Sulphide mineralization was found in a quartz-monzonite porphyry intrusive and in surrounding skarns at the contact with carbonate units in a similar geological setting as Rosemont. Drill hole #011 intersected a very strong mineralized zone of 440 feet of 1.38% copper starting at 365 feet from surface, including 70 feet of 4.2% copper in a massive sulphide zone with chalcopyrite and bornite in skarn (please refer to Figure 4 for a visual of the drill core). This high-grade sulphide mineralization appears to be similar in copper content to the historical production from the nearby King Exile mine located approximately 200 feet to the north of this drill hole intersection. King Exile mine was discovered in 1899 and was in production until 1959. Copper oxide mineralization was found in the upper portion of the mineralized zones both in porphyry and skarns. The drilling also intersected significant mineralization in areas with no historical drilling along a major regional structure, known as the backbone fault. This domain consists of quartzite and other sedimentary units located along a north trending steep dipping fault zone that hosts significant oxide mineralization that can be mapped on surface almost as a continuum from Broad Top Butte to the Rosemont deposit. Notably, drill hole #012 intersected 246 feet of 0.70% copper from surface. The samples included in this mineralized interval were also tested for their solubility in sulfuric acid to measure the copper content in oxides. The average grade of soluble copper in sulfuric acid (CuSS) is 0.53% indicating that approximately 75% of the copper is contained in oxides and easily recoverable by a proven and low-cost leaching technology. Please refer to Figure 5 for a visual of the drill core from hole #012.
Peach and Elgin Targets
Drill hole #035A intersected 500 feet of 0.82% copper starting at surface
Drill hole #037 intersected 600 feet of 0.40% copper starting at surface
Drill hole #048 intersected 280 feet of 0.46% copper starting at surface
Drill hole #051 intersected 140 feet of 1.01% copper starting at surface
Drill hole #062 intersected 300 feet of 0.64% copper starting at surface
All of the 2020 drill holes at the Peach target included at least one significant mineralized intercept. Many included high-grade thick intercepts starting at or very near surface, with significant copper oxide in the upper portion of the profile. Drill hole #035A intersected 500 feet of 0.82% copper from surface with 40% of the copper in oxides (please refer to Figure 6 for a visual of this intersection). Similarly, hole #062 intersected 300 feet of 0.64% copper from surface with 40% of the copper in oxides.
At the Elgin target, shallow mineralization also starts at surface in most cases. Drill hole #051 intersected 140 feet of 1.01% copper from surface and hole #048 intersected 280 feet of 0.46% copper from surface. The Elgin deposit remains open to the south and to the east where another porphyry intrusive similar in geometry and nature as those identified at Rosemont and Broad Top Butte appears to be the main controlling feature associated with the occurrence of copper mineralization.
Next Steps
Given the very positive results from last year’s drill program, Hudbay initiated a second phase of exploration drilling in 2021 with a 70,000 foot follow-up drill program and has doubled the number of drill rigs operating at site to six. The 2021 program will focus on developing an understanding of the full extent of the mineralization at the Copper World deposits and potentially defining initial mineral resource estimates. Mineralogical studies and metallurgical testing have also been initiated and are expected to continue in the coming months. Geophysical surveys are underway to assist in generating further targets in this prolific region. Hudbay has a current exploration budget of approximately $10 million for its Arizona properties in 2021 which is likely to increase with further exploration success. Hudbay will review the results from its 2021 exploration program to determine the next steps for its Copper World properties and the potential synergies with Rosemont.
Copper World Detailed Assay Results
Broad Top Butte – Copper World
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Drill hole #035A intersected 500 feet of 0.82% copper starting at surface
Drill hole #012 intersected 246 feet of 0.70% copper starting at surface
Drill hole #011 intersected 440 feet of 1.38% copper
All new intersections are on Hudbay’s wholly-owned private land
Hudbay Minerals Inc. (“Hudbay” or the “company”) ( TSX, NYSE: HBM) today announced the intersection of high-grade copper sulphide and oxide mineralization at shallow depth on its wholly-owned patented mining claims located within seven kilometres of its Rosemont copper project in Arizona. The drill program was initiated in 2020 to confirm historical drilling in this past-producing copper region formerly known as Helvetia. After receiving encouraging initial results, the company launched a larger drill program in early 2021 and has since doubled the number of drill rigs at site to six to further test the four known deposits at Copper World and the potential for additional mineralization.
“This new discovery on our private land in Arizona demonstrates our team’s strong expertise in exploration,” said Peter Kukielski, Hudbay’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “They saw an opportunity to consolidate mineralization in the region and we are excited to continue to explore Copper World while remaining committed to advancing Rosemont through the appeals process.”
Regional View of Copper World
The Copper World deposits are located adjacent to the Rosemont deposit as shown in the plan view in Figure 1. To date, four deposits have been identified with a combined strike length of over five kilometres with opportunities to discover additional mineralization between the deposits. The mineralization occurs at shallower depths than at Rosemont as shown in Figure 2.
“We are very encouraged by the results from the recent drill program at Copper World, where we have intersected copper mineralization that contains higher grades closer to surface than at Rosemont,” said Cashel Meagher, Hudbay’s Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. “Copper World has the potential to host at least four economic deposits with a relatively low strip ratio and may prove to be a viable open-pit operation that is either separate from or additive to our Rosemont project.”
The Copper World region has a rich history of mining from 1874 to 1969, during which time more than 20 small underground mines produced a total of approximately 440,000 tons at an average copper grade of 4.42%. Figure 3 illustrates the historical mining activity in the region. This is the first time the region has been explored as a zone of continuous mineralization.
A three-dimensional visualization of the Copper World drill results can be found at the link noted below. This visual shows the location of the Copper World targets, the historical mine sites in the area, the historical drilling coverage (the results of which are under review and will be reported once the data is validated by Hudbay in accordance with NI 43-101), as well as drill hole intercepts from Hudbay’s 2020 drill campaign.
https://vrify.com/embed/decks/Hudbay-PR-Deck-03-29
see & read more on
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