Mr. Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse reports
TRILOGY METALS REPORTS DRILLING RESULTS FROM THE BORNITE PROJECT
Trilogy Metals Inc. has released the first set of high-grade copper and cobalt assay results from this summer's exploration diamond drilling program at the Bornite project, a part of the company's Upper Kobuk mineral projects (UKMP) located in the Ambler mining district of northwestern Alaska. Sample results from these four holes comprise approximately 3,871 metres from the recently completed 10,123-metre drill campaign. All four drill holes contain copper mineralization and were designed as infill holes to the 300- to 400-metre stepout holes drilled by the company's previous round of drilling completed in 2017.
At a cut-off grade of 0.5 per cent copper the results are as follows:
- RC18-246 intersected three mineralized intervals of:
- 19.6 metres averaging 2.06 per cent copper;
- 6.1 metres averaging 2.36 per cent copper;
- 7.6 metres averaging 1.04 per cent copper.
-
RC18-243 intersected one mineralized interval of:
- 2.0 metres averaging 2.23 per cent copper.
-
RC18-244 intersected one mineralized interval of:
- 20.4 metres averaging 0.83 per cent copper.
-
RC18-247 intersected two mineralized intervals of:
-
20.1 metres averaging 4.55 per cent copper, including 16.4 metres grading 5.34 per cent copper and 0.21 per cent cobalt (the results of this mineralized interval were disclosed in the company's press release dated Aug. 23, 2018);
- 33.4 metres averaging 0.82 per cent copper.
Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse, president and chief executive officer of Trilogy Metals, commented: "We continue to see narrow zones of high-grade copper and cobalt mineralization overlain by broader zones of lower-grade mineralization at Bornite. The continuity of the mineralized envelop continues to impress. With another eight holes of results due to come out over the next several weeks, we will continue to release results as they become available. After all results are in, we expect to complete an updated resource estimate at Bornite in the first half of next year."
The 2018 drilling budget of $10-million for Bornite this year was financed entirely by South32 Ltd. and represents the second $10-million payment under the option agreement with South32 and maintains the option agreement in good standing. In August, 2018, South32 agreed to increase its contribution to this year's Bornite drilling program by financing an additional $800,000 to the company for an increased budget at Bornite totalling $10.8-million, which allowed the company to expand drilling from 8,000 metres to 10,000 metres this summer. The additional financing will reduce South32's 2019 minimum exploration budget commitment of $10-million to $9.2-million. For more information on the option agreement see the company's press release on April 10, 2017.
This year's program comprised 12 drill holes totalling approximately 10,123 metres through a combination of infill and expansion drill holes in and around the known deposit. The original drilling campaign was budgeted to be 8,000 metres but was subsequently expanded to 10,000 metres with the addition of two more drill rigs. The 2018 program followed up on drilling completed during the 2017 exploration program which was one of the larger programs in the history of drilling at the Bornite project. During 2017, the company drilled nine diamond drill holes comprising 8,437 metres to test the extension of the of the currently defined resource.
Trilogy Metals has recently completed its summer exploration drilling program at Bornite and geotechnical activities at its Arctic project. Additional drill results are anticipated to be released regularly over the next couple of months as they become available. The objective of the 2018 drill campaign is to infill and expand the currently defined open-pit and underground mineral resources.
Results are presented in the associated table at a cut-off grade of 0.5 per cent copper to be comparable with previous drill results released by the company. All the intersected widths are normal to stratigraphy and therefore can be considered to be true widths. Results at a more selective higher-grade cut-off of 1.5 per cent copper are also presented in the associated table to show locally higher-grade intervals.
0.5 PER CENT CU CUT-OFF WITH MAXIMUM THREE M INTERNAL WASTE -- MINIMUM 1.5 M INTERVAL
Hole From To Length Cu Co
(m) (m) (m) (%) (%)
RC18-0243 479.56 483.11 3.55 0.65 0.02
548.16 550.18 2.02 2.23 0.01
715.77 717.65 1.88 0.60 0.01
851.63 853.63 2.00 0.53 0.02
RC18-0244 603.92 624.32 20.40 0.83 0.02
713.20 715.80 2.60 0.74 0.01
726.57 735.11 8.54 0.47 0.01
741.11 743.66 2.55 0.93 0.00
782.50 786.06 3.56 0.66 0.01
RC18-0246 664.16 666.23 2.07 0.90 0.02
699.06 718.64 19.58 2.06 0.01
723.80 725.66 1.86 0.52 0.01
731.23 738.49 7.26 0.76 0.00
750.33 756.40 6.07 2.36 0.02
763.50 766.33 2.83 0.88 0.00
776.93 784.56 7.63 1.04 0.02
790.42 792.82 2.40 0.55 0.01
838.75 840.34 1.59 0.62 0.00
RC18-0247 731.27 764.67 33.40 0.82 0.01
789.30* 809.40* 20.10 4.55 0.17
* Results for this interval were previously released on Aug. 23, 2018.
1.5 PER CENT CU CUT-OFF WITH MAXIMUM THREE M INTERNAL WASTE -- MINIMUM 1.5 M INTERVAL
Hole From To Length Cu Co
(m) (m) (m) (%) (%)
RC18-0243 548.16 550.18 2.02 2.23 0.01
RC18-0246 703.70 713.09 9.39 3.45 0.01
751.95 756.40 4.45 2.78 0.02
RC18-0247 791.87* 808.27* 16.40 5.34 0.21
* Results for this interval were previously released on Aug. 23, 2018.
Mineralization within the Bornite deposit occurs as a series of reefs hosted by both the Upper and Lower Bornite carbonate sequences separated by generally unmineralized phyllite units. The Cu-Co mineralization at Bornite occurs in three distinct carbonate zones, the Upper reef, the Lower reef and the South reef. All three zones were drill tested this year.
Mineralization is typically observed as breccia matrix replacement and is generally dominated by chalcopyrite and sometimes by bornite with chalcocite -- particularly in the higher-grade zones. Mineralization can also be observed as vein and replacement zones containing chalcopyrite and calcite/dolomite gangue. These styles of mineralization were observed in all holes mentioned in this press release with bornite, chalcocite mineralization observed in RC18-0247, RC18-0246 and minorly within RC18-0244; and chalcopyrite dominating mineralization observed in RC18-0243.
Bornite resource
The resource estimate utilized assay data from drill holes completed by the company between 2011 and 2013 and resampled historic holes Kennecott drilled in the 1960s and 1970s. On June 5, 2018, the company announced an updated resource estimate for the Bornite project of 5.5 billion pounds of copper inferred resource at a grade of 1.74 per cent Cu and 913 million pounds of copper indicated resource at a grade of 1.02 per cent Cu and total inferred cobalt resources (in pit and below pit) of 182.4 million tonnes grading 0.019 per cent Co for 77 million pounds of contained cobalt. Trilogy Metals filed a National Instrument 43-101 technical report in July, 2018. See the Bornite technical report as well as the company's press releases dated June 5, 2018, and the company's press release on the filing of the updated National Instrument 43-101 technical report for Bornite on July 20, 2018.
QA/QC program
The drill program and sampling protocol are managed by qualified persons employed by the company. Diamond drill holes were typically collared at PQ- or HQ-diameter drill core and reduced to HQ and NQ diameter during the drilling process. Samples were collected using a 0.2-metre minimum length, 2.5-metre maximum length and 1.7-metre average sample length. Drill core recovery averaged 90 per cent over all and 94 per cent within the prospective lithologies. Three quality control samples (one blank, one standard and one duplicate) were inserted into each batch of 20 samples. The drill core was sawn, with half sent to ALS Minerals in Fairbanks for sample preparation and the sample pulps forwarded to ALS's North Vancouver facility for analysis. ALS Minerals in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada, is a facility certified as ISO 9001:2008 and accredited to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 from the Standards Council of Canada. The company will submit 5 per cent of the assay intervals from prospective lithologies to an independent check assay lab.
Qualified person
Andrew W. West, certified professional geologist, exploration manager for Trilogy Metals, is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. West has reviewed the technical information in this news release and approves the disclosure contained herein.
About Trilogy Metals Inc.
Trilogy Metals is a metals exploration company focused on exploring and developing the Ambler mining district located in northwestern Alaska. It is one of the richest and most-prospective known copper-dominant districts located in one of the safest geopolitical jurisdictions in the world. It hosts world-class polymetallic VMS (volcanogenic massive sulphide) deposits that contain copper, zinc, lead, gold and silver, and carbonate replacement deposits which have been found to host high-grade copper mineralization. Exploration efforts have been focused on two deposits in the Ambler mining district -- the Arctic VMS deposit and the Bornite carbonate replacement deposit.
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