02:44:16 EDT Tue 01 Jul 2025
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Amarc Resources Ltd
Symbol AHR
Shares Issued 224,327,364
Close 2025-05-29 C$ 0.60
Market Cap C$ 134,596,418
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Amarc, Freeport-McMoran plan 2025 drilling at Aurora

2025-05-29 17:07 ET - News Release

AMARC AND FREEPORT ARE PLANNING A SIGNIFICANT 2025 DRILL PROGRAM IN THEIR JOY DISTRICT, INCLUDING AT THE HIGH GRADE COPPER-GOLD-SILVER AURORA DISCOVERY

Amarc Resources Ltd.'s planning in collaboration with Freeport-McMoRan Mineral Properties Canada Inc., ahead of a significant 2025 drill program, is well advanced. Drilling is planned to be focused at the company's new, high-grade, gold-rich porphyry copper-gold-silver (Cu-Au-Ag) Aurora deposit, the Pine deposit, and the Twins and Canyon discoveries, as well as several high-potential and drill-ready Cu-Au deposit targets across the Joy district in north-central British Columbia. Comprehensive exploration of the Joy district is indicating high potential for the development of a major Cu-Au district, hosting multiple important scale deposits.

Freeport is fully funding work programs at Joy, and has provided notice under the mineral property earn-in agreement (see Amarc release May 12, 2021) that it has invested $35-million, under an accelerated time frame and earned an initial 60-per-cent interest in the Joy district. The 2025 program of $10-million is subject to Freeport electing to proceed to finance an additional $75-million in exploration and development programs under stage 2 of the agreement, which election is anticipated by Amarc to be made during the third quarter of 2025. At Freeport's request, Amarc has agreed to continue managing all aspects of the exploration work programs.

High-grade Cu-Au-Ag Aurora deposit

The impressive Aurora deposit discovery, announced earlier this year, is located within the expansive approximately four-square-kilometre Northwest Gossan (NWG) target, an area within the 495 square km Joy district that had not previously been drill tested; much of the NWG target remains unexplored. Aurora is characterized by its high grades, near-surface location, and excellent lateral and vertical continuity (see attached table, and Amarc releases Jan. 17, Jan. 20 and Feb. 28, 2025). Importantly, Aurora remains open to further expansion.

Following completion of discovery hole JP24057, Amarc began systematically stepping out, drilling with three core rigs along six 100 m spaced sections to start outlining the exciting Aurora Cu-Au-Ag discovery and confirm its high-grade potential. None of these drill sections were completed as the Amarc team had to demobilize from the Centerra Gold Inc.'s Kemess mine camp by mid-October, 2024, which was scheduled to be winterized at that time. The Aurora deposit currently extends over 600 m by 500 m and remains open to lateral expansion.

The grade range encountered so far in Aurora drill intersections is higher than that mined historically by Northgate Mineral Corp. at the Kemess South deposit (218 million tonnes at 0.63 gram per tonne Au and 0.21 per cent Cu) in the Kemess mining district located immediately to the south of the Joy mineral claims. Centerra Gold, which owns and is currently advancing the Kemess district, has recently reported Au and Cu resources for the Kemess open pit (indicated of 111.7 Mt grading 0.27 g/t Au, 0.14 per cent Cu and 1.19 g/t Ag), Kemess underground (139.9 Mt grading 0.50 g/t Au, 0.25 per cent Cu and 1.90 g/t Ag) and Kemess East deposits (indicated of 93.4 Mt grading 0.39 g/t Au, 0.30 per cent Cu and 1.66 g/t Ag). Members of the Amarc team were the first to recognize the porphyry potential of the Kemess area within the Toodoggone, and discovered and transacted the Kemess South deposit in 1996. Additionally, members of the Amarc team have collectively worked on all nine known porphyry deposits in the Toodoggone-Kemess region, providing a significant local knowledge advantage.

Other Joy district potential -- Twins discovery, Canyon discovery, Pine deposit and a pipeline of high-potential Cu-Au deposit targets

Amarc has also established nine other large (up to seven square km) sulphide systems at Joy, mainly located approximately 15 km to the southeast of the Aurora discovery (see Amarc release Feb. 28, 2025). Drilling to date in three of these sulphide systems -- Twins, Pine and Canyon -- has intersected important porphyry Cu-Au mineralization. The highly prospective Twins discovery, made in 2024, represents Amarc's third new Cu-Au porphyry system discovery in three years of drilling with Freeport in the Joy district.

New scientific information gleaned from the Aurora discovery, the Twins and Canyon discoveries, Pine deposit, and several other large-scale sulphide systems and targets across the Joy district is being further assessed, and these systems along with newly emerging deposit targets will require additional drilling. Deposit targets have been established through systematic exploration including 290 line km of property-wide induced polarization ground geophysics surveying, the collection and analyses of 8,400 soil and 1,540 rock samples, and geological mapping and prospecting.

About Amarc Resources Ltd

Amarc is a mineral exploration and development company with an experienced and successful management team focused on developing a new generation of long-life, high-value porphyry Cu-Au mines in British Columbia. By combining high-demand projects with dynamic management, Amarc has created a solid platform to create value from its exploration and development-stage assets.

Amarc is advancing its 100-per-cent-owned Joy, Duke and Ike porphyry Cu plus or minus Au districts located in different prolific porphyry regions of northern, central and southern British Columbia, respectively. Each district represents significant potential for the development of multiple and important-scale, porphyry Cu plus or minus Au deposits. Importantly, each of the three districts are located in proximity to industrial infrastructure -- including power, highways and rail.

Amarc's exploration is led by an internationally successful team of experienced geologists specializing in porphyry Cu-Au deposits. Members of this team have been involved in and have tracked porphyry Cu-Au exploration advancements in the Toodoggone region since 1990. Their experience and early recognition of the porphyry potential at the NWG target in terms of a shallowly overburden covered and underexplored transitional epithermal-porphyry geological setting, led to the discovery of the Au-rich Aurora porphyry Cu-Au-Ag deposit.

Freeport-McMoRan Mineral Properties Canada, a wholly owned subsidiary of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. at Joy and Boliden Mineral Canada Ltd., an entity within the Boliden Group of Companies at Duke, can earn up to a 70-per-cent interest in each district through staged investments of up to $110-million and $90-million, respectively. Together this provides Amarc with potentially up to $200-million in non-share dilutive staged funding for these districts. Amarc has completed an initial self-funded drilling program at its higher-grade Empress Cu-Au deposit in the Ike district. Amarc is the operator of all programs.

Amarc is associated with HDI, a diversified, global mining company with a 35-year history of porphyry Cu deposit discovery, development and transaction success. Previous and current HDI projects include some of B.C.'s and the world's most important porphyry deposits -- such as Pebble, Mount Milligan, Southern Star, Kemess South, Kemess North, Gibraltar, Prosperity, Xietongmen, Newtongmen, Florence, Casino, Sisson, Maggie, Aurora, Pine, Ike and Duke. From its head office in Vancouver, Canada, HDI applies its unique strengths and capabilities to acquire, develop, operate and monetize mineral projects.

Amarc works closely with local governments, indigenous groups and stakeholders in order to advance its mineral projects responsibly, and in a manner that contributes to sustainable community and economic development. The company pursues early and meaningful engagement to ensure its mineral exploration and development activities are well co-ordinated and broadly supported, address local priorities and concerns, and optimize opportunities for collaboration. In particular, the company seeks to establish mutually beneficial partnerships with indigenous groups within whose traditional territories its projects are located, through the provision of jobs, training programs, contract opportunities, capacity funding agreements and sponsorship of community events. All Amarc work programs are carefully planned to achieve high levels of environmental and social performance.

Qualified person

Mark Rebagliati, PEng, a qualified person (QP) as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved all technical and scientific information related to the Joy project contained in this news release. Mr. Rebagliati is not independent of the company.

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