Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 18, 2020) - Bell Copper Corporation (TSXV: BCU) ("Bell Copper" or the "Company")reports that it has received the first analytical results from surface samples collected recently from the BIG SANDY project, a large, truncated porphyry copper-molybdenum prospect located in northwestern Arizona, approximately 30 kilometers from the Company's Perseverance Project.
Highlights
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Fanglomerate clasts carrying +1% copper as chrysocolla and chalcocite (supergene copper minerals) found across a distance of 1250 meters on the Company's claims.
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Exotic mineralization comprising copper, manganese, iron, and arsenic present in young valley-filling sediments.
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Ferricrete clasts and quartz vein clasts in fanglomerate carrying anomalous molybdenum.
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Quantec Spartan MT survey completed.
No copper occurrences had been previously reported in any government databases from the area, but upon field investigation by the Company, several surficial occurrences have now been discovered. These unusual copper occurrences are one attribute of porphyry copper deposit models.
| No. |
Material |
Ag |
As |
Bi |
Cu |
Fe % |
Mn |
Mo |
| BS-1 |
hematitic conglomerate |
0.1 |
23 |
0.1 |
12 |
2.77 |
675 |
2 |
| BS-2 |
goethitic fault zone in sandstone |
<0.1 |
174 |
0.2 |
108 |
7.65 |
938 |
11 |
| BS-3 |
neotocite cementing conglomerate |
<0.1 |
119 |
<0.1 |
606 |
10.65 |
18,100 |
11 |
| BS-4 |
hematitic sandstone |
<0.1 |
1375 |
0.3 |
32 |
5.60 |
363 |
8 |
| BS-5 |
hematitic sandstone |
<0.1 |
363 |
0.3 |
30 |
3.82 |
316 |
2 |
| BS-6 |
hematitic sandstone |
<0.1 |
463 |
0.2 |
38 |
2.60 |
425 |
2 |
| BS-7 |
hematitic conglomerate |
<0.1 |
72 |
0.2 |
10 |
2.35 |
373 |
1 |
| BS-8 |
white fault gouge |
<0.1 |
9 |
<0.1 |
11 |
1.27 |
139 |
0 |
| BS-9 |
chalcocite + chrysocolla clast in fanglomerate |
33.7 |
34 |
1.6 |
13,700 |
2.57 |
147 |
8 |
| BS-11 |
chrysocolla on porphyry clast in fanglomerate |
0.3 |
32 |
2.6 |
11,800 |
2.70 |
120 |
5 |
| BS-12 |
goethitic ferricrete clast in fanglomerate |
0.6 |
96 |
2.3 |
890 |
8.55 |
707 |
102 |
| BS-13 |
goethitic ferricrete clast in fanglomerate |
0.5 |
42 |
1.0 |
6670 |
15.40 |
995 |
75 |
| BS-14 |
milky quartz vein clast in fanglomerate |
0.3 |
21 |
0.6 |
153 |
2.67 |
344 |
81 |
| BS-15 |
D-vein clast in fanglomerate |
0.4 |
3 |
0.3 |
77 |
1.16 |
90 |
31 |
| BS-16 |
goethitic quartz vein breccia in fanglomerate |
0.7 |
157 |
0.8 |
135 |
5.07 |
272 |
32 |
| BS-17 |
neotocite spots on clast in fanglomerate |
4.7 |
12 |
0.9 |
844 |
1.85 |
6772 |
161 |
*Concentrations in parts per million by weight, except Fe which is in weight percent.
*Grab samples are selected samples and are not necessarily indicative of mineralization hosted on the property
Exploration Activities
Quantec Geoscience has completed a property-wide Spartan magnetotelluric (MT) survey at Big Sandy. The survey is expected to shed light on the distribution of electrically conductive rocks that might indicate the presence of copper porphyry-related sulfide mineralization and hydrolytic alteration beneath the fanglomerate at Big Sandy. Survey results and interpretation are anticipated within the next 4 weeks.
Tim Marsh, Bell's President and CEO, and a Qualified Person as defined by NI43-101, said,
"It was shocking to find chalcocite and chrysocolla on the surface while Quantec collected MT data at Big Sandy. We expanded our claim block to cover the area of these occurrences, and in the process found ferricrete and many other types of porphyry-related clasts in the same peculiar formation. It is hard to avoid concluding that at least some remnant of a porphyry copper deposit lies buried nearby. Quantec's Sparton MT survey is expected to show where this remnant might lie, how deeply it might be buried, and how much of it might be left to discover. Once the MT data is understood, shareholders can expect Bell to work quickly to put a drill on any credible porphyry copper target."
Exotic Copper, Copper Fanglomerate, and Ferricrete
Copper minerals found at Big Sandy by the Company are hosted in geologically recent terrace gravels of the Big Sandy River, in young faults that have recently conducted metalliferous groundwater up to the surface, and as clasts in an extensive fanglomerate formation. Black manganese-copper oxide deposits crop out on the property in young terrace deposits of the Big Sandy River, demonstrating the recent discharge of metal-rich, acidic groundwater from the target area. This exotic copper deposit is expected to lie down hydrologic gradient from a concealed copper-molybdenum porphyry system, analogous to the "Exotica" copper deposit below the Chuquicamata porphyry in Chile.
Neotocite cementing young terrace gravel along the Big Sandy River
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Neotocite (bright) surrounding sand grains
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Two angular fanglomerate clasts carrying chrysocolla and chalcocite (supergene copper minerals) have been found across a distance of 1250 meters on the Company's claims. The association of chrysocolla and chalcocite with earthy red hematite is typical in supergene-enriched blankets of porphyry copper deposits. Both chrysocolla-bearing clasts from the Big Sandy fanglomerate returned copper grades in excess of 1% copper. These observations support the idea that the source of the clasts in the copper fanglomerate was a proximal supergene enrichment blanket.
Ferricrete clasts were also found in the fanglomerate at Big Sandy. These angular clasts consist of dark brown goethite cementing angular pebbles of quartz veins and altered porphyritic rocks. The ferricrete samples yielded anomalous concentrations of copper, molybdenum, and iron. Ferricretes are common products in actively weathering iron-pyrite shells surrounding porphyry copper deposits when oxidation releases the iron into stream channels, only to be redeposited as cement made of the mineral goethite around sand and gravel grains in the channels. Floods commonly tear up these cements and distribute the broken ferricrete clasts downstream. At Big Sandy, this type of flood deposit produced the copper fanglomerate.
Dark brown ferricrete boulder (left) in copper fanglomerate at Big Sandy
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Many varieties of veins and alteration types typical of porphyry copper deposits (e.g. "A-veins" and "D-veins" of Gustafson and Hunt, 1975), have been found in the Big Sandy copper fanglomerate cropping out over an area measuring 1250 meters by 800 meters. The coarse grain size and angularity of clasts in the fanglomerate suggest that the formation was mainly transported to its current location en masse by structural movement (i.e. faulting), rather than by sedimentary transport. This implies that the underlying bedrock target may be grossly intact.
Fanglomerate clasts carrying chrysocolla and chalcocite (supergene copper minerals) are present across a distance of 1250 meters
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*Mineralization shown is from selected material, and not necessarily representative or indicative of the mineralization hosted on the Big Sandy property
Sampling
Samples (approximately one-half to one kilogram) were collected from valley-filling sediments to characterize the metals present in hydrochemical mineral stains, cements, and select clasts. No outcrop of bedrock exists within the sampled area. The samples were transported and delivered in person to Skyline Laboratories (Skyline) in Tucson, Arizona.
Samples were crushed to plus 75% -10 mesh, split and pulverized to plus 95% -150 mesh. Pulps were subjected to a multi-acid digest (HNO3, HF, HClO4) followed by analysis by ICP/OES. Gold was analyzed on a 30-gram charge by fire assay with an atomic absorption finish. Skyline's package code TE-5 was used to analyze the samples for base and other trace elements. Skyline has an ISO/IEC 17025/2005 accreditation.
Quality Control:
The first sample in each of two batches was a field blank. Only internal Skyline laboratory standards were used, i.e. no independently verified standards were inserted into the sample stream and submitted blind to Skyline. All Skyline standards were within +/-5% of accepted values.
About Bell Copper
Bell Copper is a mineral exploration company focused on the identification, exploration and discovery of large copper deposits located in Arizona. Bell Copper is exploring its 100% owned Big Sandy Porphyry Copper Project and the Perseverance Porphyry Copper Project which is under a Joint Venture - Earn In.
Qualified Person
The technical content of this release has been reviewed and approved by Timothy Marsh, PhD, PEng., the Company's CEO and President. No mineral resource has yet been identified on the Big Sandy Project. There is no certainty that the present exploration effort will result in the identification of a mineral resource or that any mineral resource that might be discovered will prove to be economically recoverable.
On behalf of the Board of Directors of
Bell Copper Corporation
"Timothy Marsh"
Timothy Marsh, President, CEO & Director
For further information please contact the Company
Tel: 1 800 418 8250
Email: info@bellcopper.net
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 release.
Forward Looking Statements
This news release includes "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All statements included in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include predictions, projections and forecasts and are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "potential", "target", "budget" and "intend" and statements that an event or result "may", "will", "should", "could" or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions and includes the negatives thereof.
Forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by management based on the business and markets in which Bell Copper operates, are inherently subject to significant operational, economic, and competitive uncertainties, risks and contingencies. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results, and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include actual exploration results, interpretation of metallurgical characteristics of the mineralization, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, future metal prices, availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms, general economic, market or business conditions, uninsured risks, regulatory changes, delays or inability to receive required approvals, and other exploration or other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators, including those described in the Company's most recently filed MD&A. The Company does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statements, except in accordance with applicable law.
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