CopperCorp Intersects 43.0m at 0.62% Cu in Initial Drilling at Alpine Stellar Zone

VANCOUVER, BC, May 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - CopperCorp Resources Inc. (TSXV: CPER) (OTCQB: CPCPF) ("CopperCorp" or the "Company") is pleased to announce preliminary assay results from its first four drill holes (holes AP022, AP023, AP024 and AP025) at the Stellar Zone, part of the Alpine Prospect target area located at the southern end of the Company's 100% owned , 1,066 km² AMC Project located in western Tasmania, Australia.

• Best significant mineralized intercepts include:

• These results further confirm the Company's interpretation from historic drilling of multiple continuous zones of copper mineralization at the Stellar Zone over a strike length of 700m (open) and to a vertical depth of 300m (open). 
• The Stellar Zone forms part of the larger Alpine Prospect target at the southern end of the Company's 1,066 km² AMC Project. Copper mineralization at the Stellar Zone is interpreted to be Iron-Oxide-Copper-Gold (IOCG) in style and occurs within a strong, regional, north-south striking magnetic zone associated with the Arthur Metamorphic Complex that continues over 100 km of strike length within the AMC Project.
• Additional high-priority exploration drill targets, Alpine West and Alpine North, have been identified at the Alpine Prospect through surface sampling and geophysical surveys. These new targets cover an area of approximately 1km by 300m at Alpine North and 800 by 300m at Alpine West (Figure 2). The Company is particularly encouraged by the discovery potential of these additional targets due to interpreted similarities with the geochemical and geophysical expressions over the drilled copper mineralization at the Stellar Zone.
• The Company's ongoing drilling program is focused on step-out drilling to depth and along strike at the Stellar Zone, and will also begin sequential drill testing of additional targets at the Alpine Prospect.
• Assays from a further seven drill holes from the initial Stellar Zone drilling are pending.  There has been significant delay in processing times at the laboratory and the additional seven holes will be reported shortly after they are received.

Stephen Swatton, President and CEO of CopperCorp, stated, "The Company is very encouraged by these first drill assay results received from the Stellar Zone at Alpine which is the first exploration drilling to be conducted in the area in 14 years. The results are consistent with the historical drilling and, importantly, confirm continuity of mineralization between historical holes. Mineralization at the Stellar Zone is open along strike and at depth and results from recent geophysical and surface geochemical work has confirmed potential for a large-scale Iron-Oxide-Copper-Gold (IOCG) system at Alpine which the Company plans to continue testing as recently announced with the Alpine Phase 1 drilling program being expanded to 10,000m. The results further highlight the prospectivity of the Arthur Metamorphic Complex for IOCG style mineralization over which the Company has a dominant land holding."

At the time of reporting, the Company has completed drilling of 11 diamond core holes for a total of 3,925m at the Alpine Stellar Zone, with a 12^th hole in progress. The drill program comprises confirmation and infill holes designed to confirm historical copper grades, test continuity of mineralization, and provide geological and structural context to the mineralization.

Assay results from the first 4 drill holes have been received. All 4 holes intersected broad zones of copper mineralization and significant mineralized drill hole intercepts are listed in Table 3. The overall grade and width of the mineralized intercepts are consistent with historical intersections (Table 4) and provide support for the continuity of mineralization between historical drill holes.

Drilling to date has intersected up to three zones of mineralization at the Stellar Zone and has confirmed a steep southeast to east dipping trend of the mineralization.

Location Data for Alpine Prospect Drillholes (CopperCorp)

Table 1. Alpine Prospect CopperCorp drill hole location and summary data.

Alpine Prospect CopperCorp Drill Hole Significant Mineralized Intervals (0.1% Cu cut-off)

The Alpine Prospect was discovered by CRA Exploration in the early 1980's after following up an airborne magnetic survey with gridding, ground magnetics, and soil geochemistry followed by two diamond drill holes in 1985. Stellar Resources drilled a further 19 holes between 2006 and 2008. The historical, wide-spaced drilling intersected significant IOCG-style copper mineralization, with significant intercepts including (See Table 4):

• AP004: 38.2m @ 0.79% Cu from 57.7m, including 28.2m @ 1.03 % Cu from 58.7m and 41.8m @ 0.3% Cu from 111.0m
• AP007: 86.0m @ 0.50% Cu from 62.0m
• AP008A: 41.0m @ 0.48% Cu from 29.8m
• AP017: 24.7m @ 0.52% Cu from 222.0m

Mineralization at Alpine is hosted in intensely deformed and metamorphosed amphibolites, mafic and pelitic schists, graphitic phyllites and carbonates belonging to the Bowry Formation of the Arthur Metamorphic Complex. Copper mineralization is associated with up to three sub-parallel magnetite-hematite-sulphide lenses in strongly silica-siderite altered chlorite schists (see examples in Figures 7 and 8). Mineralization consists mainly of chalcopyrite with lesser covellite and bornite. Additional chalcopyrite-pyrite breccia mineralization is hosted in silica-siderite altered and veined quartzites and schists adjacent to the ironstone lenses. Anomalous levels of cobalt is associated with the copper mineralization, typically averaging 200 to 300ppm Co and locally reaching up to 0.1% Co over short intervals.

The mineralization strikes east-northeast and dips steeply to the southeast, forming an interpreted fault-bound boudinage within the highly deformed schists of over 600m in strike length. Drilling completed to date indicates that the thickest part of the Stellar mineralized zone is over 100m in width, thinning to the west and thickening towards an interpreted faulted fold hinge in the east. The deposit remains open down dip and along strike to the west. 

As previously reported¹, results from recent geophysical modelling indicate that the drilled IOCG style mineralization at the Alpine Stellar Zone is defined by coincident gravity and magnetic anomalies (see Figure 1). The model further indicates additional areas of high IOCG prospectivity indicated by coincident, partially coincident, or offset gravity and magnetic anomalies – the Alpine West and Alpine North targets (Figures 2 & 3) which the Company plans to drill test.

The drilling program at the Stellar Zone is ongoing with assays from a further 7 drill holes awaited.  As previously announced¹, the Company plans to expand the diamond drilling program from 4,200m to 10,000m. The expanded drill program will be focused on vectoring towards potential zones of thicker and higher-grade mineralization in the Stellar Zone, testing the Stellar Zone at depth, and step-out drilling to test high-priority targets at Alpine West and Alpine North. Planning and permitting for the Alpine West and Alpine North exploration drill programs is underway. The Company currently has one drill at Alpine and plans to source another to expedite the planned drilling. Further infill and extension gridding and soil sampling programs are also planned.

The AMC Project covers a total of 1,066 km² along approximately 100 km of strike length and establishes CopperCorp as the dominant owner of prospective ground in the district. The rocks are Neoproterozoic-Cambrian age and comprise a regional-scale metamorphic structural deformation zone that is host to widespread magnetite-sulphide-silicate alteration and mineralization indicative of a large Iron Oxide Copper Gold (IOCG)-style system and includes the Savage River 498 Mt @ 46% DTR magnetite mine (owned by Grange Resources Limited)³ and CopperCorp's Alpine copper prospect.

The Alpine Prospect is located 30 km northwest of the local mining hub of Zeehan and within 5 km of two large-scale operating wind and hydro-electric renewable energy plants.

CopperCorp is a well-financed mineral exploration company with approximately C$8.8M targeting world class copper-gold discoveries in western Tasmania, Australia. The Company is currently undertaking confirmation and infill drilling and ground exploration programs at the Alpine Prospect (our initial target on the larger AMC Project, formerly the Alpine Project) where wide spaced historical drilling delineated IOCG-style mineralization over a 700m strike length.

Figure 9. Location plan showing CopperCorp's exploration licenses and project areas in western Tasmania, Australia.

Full information on historical exploration activities and results at the Alpine Prospect and AMC Project are included in the Technical Report (NI 43-101) dated 18 April 2021². 
CopperCorp's diamond core drill holes are drilled at HQ and NQ core diameters using triple tube to maximize recovery. Core recovery is generally good in mineralized zones (95-100%) with poorer recoveries associated with brittle faulting on zone margins. Sample collection is supervised by CopperCorp geological staff. Mineralized zones are marked up for sampling by an experienced geologist. Half core is split by diamond saw on nominal 1.0m sample lengths while respecting geological contacts. Samples are bagged and ticketed prior to delivery by Company personnel to the ALS commercial laboratories in Burnie, Tasmania, for sample preparation. The half core samples are crushed to 80% passing 2mm, riffle split to 500g and then pulverized to pass 75um. Coarse duplicate sampling is conducted every 20 samples to assess variability of the coarse crush. Cu and multi-element assay is by 4-acid digest followed by ICP-MS at ALS laboratories by method ME-ICP61a). Au assay is by 30g fire assay at ALS laboratories by method Au-AA25. Certified reference materials (CRMs), blank and duplicate QAQC samples are included in sample submissions at 20 sample intervals. All QAQC samples were within acceptable limits (2 standard deviations for CRMs, duplicates <5%).

Reported significant mineralized intervals in this news release (including for new and historical drillhole intervals) are calculated as down-hole length-weighted intercepts using a 0.1% Cu lower cut-off grade and carry a maximum internal dilution of 4m (except for AP012A which has a maximum internal dilution of 7m). The calculated intervals for historical drill holes may vary from previously reported interval calculations that used a cut-off grade of 0.3% Cu. The 0.1% Cu cut-off grade is considered to appropriately define the boundaries of mineralized zones and provides for more balanced reporting of drilling results during the exploration stage, enabling reporting of both low- and high-grade intercepts. For consistency, drill hole intercepts from all historical drill holes using the 0.1% Cu cut-off are also displayed in Table 4. No top-cut grade was applied.  True widths of drill hole intercepts are yet to be determined. 

The Company's disclosure of technical or scientific information related to the Alpine Prospect and AMC Project in this news release was reviewed and approved by Sean Westbrook, VP Exploration for the Company. Mr. Westbrook is a Qualified Person as defined under the terms of National Instrument 43-101. This news release also contains information about adjacent properties on which the Company does not have an interest. Information sources regarding the adjacent properties are listed in the References section of this news release. The QP has been unable to verify the information on these adjacent properties and the information is not necessarily indicative to the mineralization on the properties that is the subject of this news release.

¹CPER: TSXV News Release 27^th April 2022.
²Independent Technical Report on EL2/2018 Tasmania Australia. Prepared in accordance with Canadian National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Properties (NI43-101).  Effective date: 18 April 2021.
³Grange Resources Limited, 2021. Update to Savage River Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves, ASX Release 31 March 2021.

Additional information about CopperCorp can be found on its website: www.coppercorpinc.com and at www.sedar.com.            

Location Data for Alpine Prospect Drillholes (Historical)

Alpine Prospect Historical Drill Hole Significant Mineralized Intervals (0.1% Cu cut-off):

This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: the Company's ongoing diamond drilling program from the Alpine Prospect Stellar Zone, Alpine Prospect at the AMC Project in western Tasmania, Australia; the potential for a large-scale Iron-Oxide-Copper-Gold (IOCG) system at Alpine which the Company plans to continue testing as recently announced with the Alpine Phase 1 drilling program being expanded to 10,000m; the Company plans to expand the diamond drilling program from 4,200m to 10,000m; that the expanded drill program will be focused on vectoring towards potential zones of thicker and higher-grade mineralization in the Stellar Zone, testing the Stellar Zone at depth, and step-out drilling to test high-priority targets at Alpine West and Alpine North; that planning and permitting for the Alpine West and Alpine North exploration drill programs is underway; that the Company currently has one drill at Alpine and plans to source another in order to expedite the planned drilling; that further infill and extension gridding and soil sampling programs are also planned; and other business plans of the Company. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements, including risks related to: that the Company may experience difficulties in drilling and carrying out related work; the timing and content of upcoming work programs; geological interpretations based on drilling that may change with more detailed information, and other risks and uncertainties. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if they do occur, what benefits the Company will obtain from them. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE CopperCorp Resources Inc.