Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 27, 2021) - ArcWest Exploration Inc. (TSXV: AWX) ("ArcWest") is pleased to provide an update on partner funded exploration activities. Drilling has commenced at its Teeta Creek porphyry copper-molybdenum-gold project, funded by partner Teck Resources Ltd. Exploration commitments for 2021 include partner funded drilling at its Todd Creek, Oxide Peak and Eagle porphyry copper-gold projects, with potential for partner funded drilling at its NVI project.
Tyler Ruks, President and CEO of ArcWest, commented, "ArcWest is pleased to announce that at least four of its British Columbia porphyry copper-gold projects will undergo partner funded drill tests in 2021. This includes a first phase drill test of our Teeta Creek porphyry copper-molybdenum-gold project, funded by partner Teck Resources Ltd., which has now commenced. The company is in advanced stage negotiations for earn-in and joint venture agreements on additional projects. If these transactions proceed to completion, it is anticipated that ArcWest will be announcing additional 2021 partner funded drill programs in the near term. ArcWest thanks its partners for persevering with existing earn-in agreements and is hopeful for a discovery in 2021. The company is actively evaluating base and precious metals exploration opportunities throughout western North America for potential acquisition."
ArcWest's recently updated corporate presentation is available for download here. ArcWest's recently updated technical presentation is available for download here.
Details regarding the Teeta Creek, NVI and Oxide Peak earn-in and joint venture agreements can be found in ArcWest 2019 press releases dated October 15th, December 20th and December 23rd, respectively. Details regarding the Todd Creek and Eagle earn-in and joint venture agreements can be found in ArcWest 2020 press releases dated July 9th, and October 5th, respectively.
Teeta Creek
Drilling has commenced at ArcWest's 100% owned Teeta Creek porphyry Cu-Mo-Au project in northern Vancouver Island, funded and operated by partner Teck Resources Limited ("Teck"). This first phase program will comprise an estimated 1,000 metres of drilling from two platforms in order to satisfy a minimum $500,000 work commitment.
The program is designed to test a previously undrilled portion of the Teeta Creek porphyry copper-molybdenum-gold system. The two drill platforms are separated by 320 m, and are situated 200 m to 350 m above, and 600 m north of historical drill holes located in the valley bottom that intercepted copper mineralization over a broad area.
The Teeta Creek porphyry Cu-Mo-Au and epithermal Au-Ag system has a footprint of approximately 3 by 2 kilometers and is open to the north and south. Vertically, the system extends from strongly Cu-Au mineralized porphyritic intrusions and associated breccias exposed in the valley floor to similarly mineralized but undrilled porphyritic intrusions and breccias exposed alongside logging roads at elevation. Sampling of these higher elevation roadside porphyry copper occurrences by ArcWest returned assays up to 0.47% Cu and 0.031% Mo. A zone of intense clay-pyrite alteration and associated epithermal Au-Ag mineralization overprints the porphyry system at high elevations in the system. Sampling of this area in 2019 returned assays up to up to 21.1 g/t Au. Multiple historical drill holes in the valley floor returned significant copper intercepts, including assays up to 0.35% Cu over 67.1 meters in S75-1.
NVI
The 2021 NVI exploration program, funded by partner Teck, will include additional mapping, sampling and a potential geophysical and drill program to explore this newly discovered porphyry copper system located approximately 16 km northeast of Teeta Creek. The 2020 NVI exploration program included mapping, sampling and geophysical modeling, and a report from Teck summarizing results of the 2020 program is pending.
Todd Creek
The 2021 Todd Creek exploration program, funded and operated by partner P2 Gold Inc., will include drilling, geological mapping and sampling, and additional geophysical surveys in order to satisfy an estimated $2.1 million minimum work commitment. The Todd Creek project contains one of BC's largest underexplored porphyry Cu-Au systems and is located 35 km southeast of Pretium Resources Inc.'s high grade Brucejack gold-silver mine and 45 km southeast of the giant KSM-Iron Cap porphyry copper-gold deposits, owned by Seabridge Gold Inc.
The west side of the Todd Creek valley is underlain by a 12 km N-S highly gossanous corridor comprising strongly altered volcanic rocks, high level variably altered porphyritic intrusive rocks of KSM-Iron Cap age, associated breccias, and widespread, abundant Cu-Au occurrences. This large corridor is prospective for multiple porphyry Cu-Au centres, including preliminary targets in the Yellow Bowl, Ice Creek/Fall Creek and Orange Mountain areas.
The Yellow Bowl porphyry Cu-Au system will form the initial focus of the 2021 program, in addition to the largely untested VMS Zone, which is located 5 km southeast of Yellow Bowl on the east side of the Todd Creek valley.
Three drill holes totaling 1,027 m were drilled at Todd Creek in 2020 by partner P2 Gold, which was also operator for the program. Two of these holes (-45° inclination) were drilled at Yellow Bowl. Hole 2 at Yellow Bowl intercepted multiple quartz-sulfide veins which returned assays up to 3.03% copper, 0.20 g/t gold and 7.15 g/t silver over 3.3 m. Intense, texturally destructive quartz-sericite-pyrite (QSP)/clay-pyrite alteration including local QSP altered porphyritic dikes were intercepted over broad intervals at the bottom of both holes, suggesting increasing proximity to a potential porphyry Cu-Au system. This also suggests that the large conductive body underlying the Yellow Bowl system might represent the QSP halo to a porphyry Cu-Au system, and that steeper drill holes will be required to test beneath the conductor for a potential Cu-Au mineralized potassic core. QSP related resistivity lows overlie some of the world's largest porphyry copper-gold deposits, including the giant Resolution deposit in Arizona (e.g., Witherly, 2016).
A single shallow hole (-45° inclination) was drilled at VMS Zone. The hole intercepted locally barite mineralized variably altered volcanic rocks in addition to local, massive sulfide (chalcopyrite-pyrite) clast bearing tuff breccias. The presence of massive sulfide clasts suggests proximity to a nearby VMS lens. Similar massive sulfide clast bearing tuff breccias and massive sulfide occurrences with significant polymetallic grades are present 500 m to the northeast of the drill hole, demonstrating the presence of a VMS system on the east side of Todd Creek valley of significant size.
Additional porphyry Cu-Au targets for follow up include multiple large areas of coincident colour, geophysical and hyperspectral (sericite) anomalies delineated in the 2020 program (Figures 1 and 2). Many of these prospective zones exceed 500 m by 500 m in area, and have never been traversed or sampled, demonstrating that vast prospective tracts of the Todd Creek property remain completely unexplored. Several zones of interest are proximal to the Orange Mountain gossan, a large area of QSP/clay-pyrite altered volcanic and porphyritic intrusive rocks. Previous explorers completed two shallow inclined drill holes at Orange Mountain which intercepted local quartz-magnetite-chalcopyrite veining hosted in strongly QSP/clay-pyrite altered lithologies, similar to other known porphyry deposits in the Golden Triangle. These veins are interpreted to be "leakage veins" from an underlying porphyry Cu-Au system.
Oxide Peak
The 2021 Oxide peak exploration program (funded by partner TDG Gold Corp.) will include drilling, geological mapping, sampling and potential geophysical surveys. The project is situated 34 km northwest of Centerra Gold Inc.'s advanced stage Kemess porphyry Cu-Au projects, 10 km east of Benchmark Metal's high grade Lawyers Au-Ag project and 5 km north of the former producing Baker mill and mine. Porphyry copper-gold targets in the Oxide Peak/Oxide Creek area will form the initial focus of the program. A report from TDG Gold documenting the results of the 2020 Oxide Peak program is pending.
Eagle
Subject to the receipt of permits, the 2021 Eagle exploration program (funded by partner Wedgemount Resources Corp.) will include drilling, geological mapping, sampling and geophysical surveys. Eagle is located 50 km west of Centerra Gold's Mt. Milligan mine. The Nighthawk Zone will form the initial focus of the program, where the depth potential of strongly Cu-Au mineralized porphyry related breccias will be tested by drilling. The 2020 Eagle VTEM survey demonstrated that strongly Cu-Au mineralized porphyry related breccias at the Nighthawk and Vector zones form readily identifiable conductive bodies. The survey identified an additional conductive body ("SE Zone"), of approximately 200 m by 200 m in dimensions, situated approximately 1.1 km southeast of Nighthawk in an area with little to no historic sample coverage. Sparse, widely spaced historic samples from the periphery of the SE Zone geophysical anomaly returned strongly anomalous Cu-Au, including assays up to 1.23% Cu and 0.4 g/t Au. Additional mapping, sampling, and potential geophysics and drilling is planned for the SE Zone in 2021.
References
Witherly, K.E. 2016. What Lies Beneath? A Reflection on the Porphyry Copper Exploration Model. AEGC2019 Data to Discovery. Australian Exploration Geoscience Conference. 2-5 September, 2019. Perth, Western Australia. https://www.condorconsult.com/downloads/AEGC_2020_lies%20beneath.pdf
About ArcWest Exploration Inc.
ArcWest Exploration is a project generator focused on porphyry copper-gold exploration opportunities throughout western North America. The company is in possession of ten 100% owned projects throughout BC's premier porphyry copper-gold districts. By conducting partner funded exploration on multiple exploration projects simultaneously, ArcWest's chances of discovery are enhanced while exposing shareholders to minimal dilution. The company is managed by an experienced technical team with a track record of discovery and a reputation for attracting well-funded senior partners, including Freeport McMoRan, Robert Friedland group companies, ITOCHU, Antofagasta and Teck.
Qualified Person
ArcWest's disclosure of a technical or scientific nature in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Jeff Kyba, PGeo, VP Exploration, who serves as a Qualified Person under the definition of National Instrument 43-101.
For further information please contact: Tyler Ruks, President and CEO at +1 (604) 638 3695.
Investors are cautioned that ArcWest Exploration Inc. has not verified the data from the Kemess, Lawyers, KSM-Iron Cap, Brucejack, and Mt. Milligan and deposits. Further, the presence and style of mineralization on these properties is not necessarily indicative of similar mineralization on the ArcWest Exploration Inc. property. Historical assays from drill programs on its properties have not been verified by ArcWest but have been cited from sources believed to be reliable.
This news release contains statements about ArcWest's expectations and are forward-looking in nature. As a result, they are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. Although ArcWest believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them as actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof, and ArcWest undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, except as required by law.
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