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Copper Fox Metals Inc
Symbol CUU
Shares Issued 558,692,213
Close 2024-07-10 C$ 0.28
Market Cap C$ 156,433,820
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Copper Fox Metals talks geotechnical work at Van Dyke

2024-07-10 17:20 ET - News Release

Mr. Elmer Stewart reports

COPPER FOX ANNOUNCES RESULTS OF GEOTECHNICAL INVESTIGATION AT VAN DYKE ISCR COPPER PROJECT

Copper Fox Metals Inc. has released the results of the geotechnical investigation of the Gila conglomerate at its 100-per-cent-owned Van Dyke in situ copper recovery (ISCR) project located in the Globe-Miami mining district in Gila county, Arizona.

Call & Nicholas Inc (CNI) was contracted to collect geotechnical data in support of a planned prefeasibility-level design study (PFS) of a decline from which to establish injection and recovery well stations to enable leaching of the oxidized portion of the Van Dyke copper deposit. CNI also completed a gap analysis of the current geotechnical data and recommended additional work would be needed to advance the project to the feasibility study (FS) level.

The current plan is to excavate the spiral decline to approximately 50 metres above the Gila/Pinal schist contact and construct a ramp in the Gila conglomerate above the Van Dyke deposit from which to excavate the injection and recovery well stations. The Van Dyke deposit is hosted in the Pinal schist and is overlain by a leach cap, a clay-rich zone of variable thickness. Highlights of the geotechnical investigation are as follows.

Highlights:

  • The current drill hole data coverage will support a PFS.
  • Geotechnical parameters of the Gila conglomerate are generally consistent and match expected ranges of the Gila conglomerate in other parts of the Globe-Miami mining district.
  • A preliminary assessment of the rock quality of the Gila conglomerate suggests that excavation of the spiral decline utilizing a roadheader is viable.
  • Shotcrete and rock bolting will be required for permanent ground support.
  • When excavating the decline, a two-pass ground support strategy will consist of a first-pass flash coat (two inches) of shotcrete and a second pass consisting of rock bolts and a final coat of shotcrete.

Elmer B. Stewart, president and chief executive officer of Copper Fox, stated: "The geotechnical investigation provides pertinent information on the recommended ground support required to provide a safe working environment and support a PFS design for excavation of the spiral decline and other underground workings. The potential to use a roadheader to advance the decline has several advantages over the more conventional drill-and-blast technique and includes more rapid advance of the decline, preserves the geotechnical strength of the Gila conglomerate, and eliminates various gases associated with traditional drill-and-blast methods."

Geotechnical program

The geotechnical program on drill core from the Gila conglomerate included:

  • Geomechanical logging for rock properties;
  • Geotechnical sampling of the core for laboratory testing;
  • Geotechnical laboratory strength testing of the core samples;
  • A review and additional processing of existing acoustic televiewer (ATV) data from the Gila conglomerate;
  • Refurbishment of existing and installation of additional vibrating wire piezometers.

Laboratory tests

Laboratory testing was completed on 20 core samples of the Gila conglomerate; specific tests performed included uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), triaxial compression (TCS) and Brazilian disc tension to determine intact rock properties. Five of the six drill holes studied occur along the alignment of the planned phase 1 decline.

The results of the laboratory testing of drill core samples of the Gila conglomerate indicate the following geomechanical properties:

  • 70 per cent of RQD (rock quality designation) data collected classifies the rock quality as fair to good;
  • 98.5 per cent of hardness data collected classifies as soft rock;
  • 92 per cent of Q data collected classified the rock quality as poor to fair.

Based on these findings, a two-pass ground support strategy (shotcrete and rock bolts) is required to maintain the ground support while advancing the decline and during leaching operations.

ATV data

ATV geophysical data are used primarily for determining the orientations of structural features and other discontinuities intersected in diamond drill holes. The core photos and ATV data recorded in the Gila conglomerate (2014) were reviewed and additional processing of this data was completed to log discontinuity data to minimize the introduction of unrepresentative data (for example, healed fractures and veins) and to improve the overall accuracy of the data set. Discontinuity data collected included depth, structure type, orientation, filling, aperture, confidence and joint expression.

Vibrating wire piezometers (VWP)

CNI also managed the refurbishment of existing VWPs and the installation of VWPs in one drill hole. The data collected from the VWPs can be used to determine water pressure, groundwater flow direction, approximate phreatic surface elevation and other hydrogeology information, all of which are necessary for various PFS-level analyses.

Gap analysis

The gap analysis recommended the following additional investigations be completed to advance the project to the FS stage:

  • Additional geotechnical engineering studies to provide additional geomechanical data to support the design of the spiral decline and life-of-mine feasibility assessment;
  • Update spiral decline design to accommodate the use of a roadheader for development;
  • Additional drilling to increase data coverage along the updated decline alignment;
  • An updated structural model incorporating large-scale faults, shear zones and other structures to characterize the significance of these structures;
  • Develop ground support guidelines in consideration of major structures;
  • Additional geotechnical laboratory testing of core samples to determine the material characterization and intact and tensile strength of the Gila conglomerate.

Qualified person

Elmer B. Stewart, MSc, PGeol, president and chief executive officer of Copper Fox, is the company's non-independent, nominated qualified person pursuant to National Instrument 43-101, Standards for Disclosure for Mineral Projects, and has reviewed and approves the scientific and technical information disclosed in this news release.

About Copper Fox Metals Inc.

Copper Fox is a Tier 1 Canadian resource company focused on copper exploration and development in Canada and the United States. The principal assets of Copper Fox and its wholly owned subsidiaries, being Northern Fox Copper Inc. and Desert Fox Copper Inc., are the 100-per-cent ownership of the Van Dyke oxide copper project located in Miami, Ariz.; the 100-per-cent interest in the Mineral Mountain and Sombrero Butte porphyry copper exploration projects located in Arizona; and the 25-per-cent interest in the Schaft Creek joint venture with Teck Resources Ltd. on the Schaft Creek copper-gold-molybdenum-silver project and the 100-per-cent-owned Eaglehead polymetallic porphyry copper project, each located in northwestern British Columbia.

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