TSX.V: COCO
VANCOUVER, BC, May 28, 2024
/CNW/ - Coast Copper Corp. ("Coast Copper" or the "Company")
(TSXV: COCO) is pleased to announce that it has earned a
100% interest in certain mineral claims ("Greater Empire
Claims") which form part of the Empire Mine property
("Empire Mine" or the "Property") by making the fifth
and final payment, consisting of a cash payment of $250,000 and the issuance of 1,000,000 common
shares of Coast Copper to Mirva Properties Ltd. ("Mirva")
pursuant to an option agreement that was signed on September 22, 2020 ("Empire Option
Agreement"). Empire Mine also consists of certain crown grants
("Quatsino Crown Grants").
Adam Travis, Coast Copper CEO
comments: "We are very encouraged by the increased attention
that high-grade, critical mineral projects in safe jurisdictions
like British Columbia are starting
to attract. Benson Lake Mine ticks a
number of these boxes having been a high-grade copper producing
project for Cominco until 1972. One historical record indicates
that when Cominco shut the mine down in December 1972, Benson
Lake Mine underground had another 3.154 million tonnes of
remaining reserves¹ ². Our review of the information also
indicates that Cominco believed the copper mineralization remained
open along strike as evidenced by underground development to
facilitate future exploration.
With our new geological model, we believe that the Empire
Mine Property has the potential to become something much bigger and
more important than previously recognized. We have therefore
decided to accelerate our acquisition of the Greater Empire Claims
and we look forward to demonstrating the scale of opportunity in
due course."
The 17,104-hectare Empire Mine Property is located on resource
friendly northern Vancouver Island and has good road access to the
towns of Port Hardy, Port McNeill and Port Alice. Due to its low elevation and mild
coastal climate, it can be worked on all year round. The geology of
the Upper Trend was historically mined for magnetite (Merry Widow
Mine) and the Lower Trend was historically mined for copper
("Cu") (Benson Lake Mine). In
the 2000s, the potential for high-grade, open-pit gold
("Au") deposits was identified within the Upper Trend and
gold showings were identified over multi-kilometer ("km")
strike lengths. These include the Merry Widow ("MW") and
Raven Bluff areas where Coast Copper drilled both high-grade and
broader, medium-grade intercepts in 2022 (news releases
January 25, and February 01, 2022). Highlights of these drill
programs included:
- MW21-007 returned 18.00 grams per tonne ("g/t") Au and 1.55%
Cu over 3.23 meters ("m") from 23 m
depth at MW;
- MW21-015 returned 7.18 g/t Au and 3.17% Cu over 16.3 m from 98 m
depth at Raven Bluff;
- MW21-008 returned 1.63 g/t Au and 0.46% Cu over 42.77 m from 21 m
depth at MW.
Further fieldwork and studies completed in 2022 and 2023
resulted in Coast Copper's publication of the first geological
model for the Empire Mine identifying the Upper and Lower Trends as
stacked, thrust horizons over approximately 5 km of trend that
represent good hosts for Au-Cu-Magnetite mineralization. This new
geological understanding directly contributed to Coast Copper's
"B3" discovery in August 2023 (B3
rock sample results up to 51.60 g/t Au, 30.66 g/t tellurium, 0.25%
cobalt and 50.52 g/t silver). B3 is located between the Upper
and Lower Trends approximately 700 m
from the MW pit.
In May 2023, Coast Copper
published a high-grade, starter mineral resource estimate for MW
which Coast Copper believes can be expanded with further
drilling.
Also in 2023, Coast Copper began recompilation of the historical
archive for the Lower Trend, which includes the former Cominco Ltd.
("Cominco") copper-producing Benson
Lake Mine. Modern geophysical studies were conducted
including Controlled Source Audio-frequency Magnetotellurics
("CSAMT") with the results published on January 23, 2024.
Summary of Empire Option Agreement Terms
To earn its 100% interest in the Greater Empire Claims, Coast
Copper made aggregate cash payments of $1,250,000, issued 3,000,000 common shares of the
Company to Mirva and completed work commitments on the Property
totaling $2,000,000 over a four (4)
year period. Mirva retains a 2% net smelter return ("NSR")
royalty on the Property of which 1% may be purchased for
$1,000,000 at any time up to 120 days
after commencement of commercial production. The Empire Option
Agreement was structured such that this NSR royalty plus all other
NSR royalties which may currently be payable on the Property may
not exceed in aggregate 2.5% before buydowns.
To earn a 100% interest in the Quatsino Crown Grants, Coast
Copper must pay Mirva the equivalent of $500,000 with either a cash payment or equivalent
value in common shares of the Company, at the Company's election,
on or before September 22, 2025. The
Company has the option to extend the Quatsino Crown Grants payment
by one year for a payment of $535,000, two years for a payment of $590,000 and three years for a payment of
$665,000.
Corporate Update
On January 26, 2023, at Coast
Copper's Annual General and Special Meeting of Shareholders, the
Company's shareholders approved the replacement of the Company's
existing 10% rolling long-term incentive plan ("Legacy
Plan") with a new 20% fixed long-term incentive plan
("LTIP") that included the same categories of awards as the
Legacy Plan, being stock options, deferred share units, performance
share units, restricted share units and stock appreciation rights.
Awards under the LTIP are available to directors, key employees and
consultants of Coast Copper, as determined by the Board of
Directors. The aggregate number of listed common shares issuable
increased from 5,529,669 under the Legacy Plan to 12,800,338 under
the LTIP. For more information on the details of the LTIP, please
refer to the Company's Management Information Circular, dated
December 12, 2022 and filed on
SEDAR+.
Qualified Persons
The technical information contained in this news release has
been prepared, reviewed, and approved by Wade Barnes, P.Geo. (BC), Coast Copper's
geological consultant and a Qualified Person ("QP") within
the context of the Canadian Securities Administrators' National
Instrument ("NI") 43-101; Standards of Disclosure for
Mineral Projects.
About Coast Copper Corp.
Coast Copper's exploration focus is the Empire Mine property,
located on northern Vancouver Island, BC, which covers three
historical open pit mines and two past-producing underground mines
that yielded iron, copper, gold, and silver. Coast Copper's other
properties include its 100% owned Sully property located in
southeastern BC, Knob Hill NW property located on northern
Vancouver Island, its Home Brew property in central BC, and its
Scottie West property located in the
"Golden Triangle" of northern BC. Coast Copper's management team
continues to review precious and base metals opportunities in
western North America.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors:
"Adam Travis"
Adam Travis, Chief Executive
Officer and Director
Cautionary Notes
1. Historical information, maps or figures contained in this
release regarding Coast Copper's Empire Mine Property or adjacent
properties cannot be relied upon as the Company's QP, as defined
under NI-43-101 has not prepared nor verified the historical
information.
2. Cominco Resources, Drill Section Maps "Plan of Cominco's
Benson Lake Operations on Empire Claims Showing Ore Reserves &
Proposed Exploration Program", 1970, Private Files. While Coast
Copper notes that Cominco's historical results are not NI 43-101
compliant and have not been verified by the Company's QP, these
combined historical resources total nearly 3.154 million tonnes and
will help guide Coast Copper's exploration programs. Benson Lake Mine historical reserves recorded by
Cominco Resources (1972) report a non NI 43-101 resource of 454,000
tonnes grading 0.59 g/t Au and 1.3% Cu and an Inferred resource of
2.7 million tonnes of 1.7% Cu with no Au grade calculated.
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.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING
INFORMATION
Certain information contained or incorporated by reference in
this press release, including any information regarding the
proposed Transaction, private placement, board and management
changes, as to our strategy, projects, plans or
future financial or operating performance, constitutes
"forward-looking statements." All statements, other than statements
of historical fact, are to be considered forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on a
number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered
reasonable by Coast Copper, are inherently subject to significant
business, economic, geological and competitive uncertainties and
contingencies. Although Coast Copper believes the expectations
expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on
reasonable assumptions, such statements are not a guarantee of
future performance. Known and unknown factors could cause actual
results to differ materially from those projected in the
forward-looking statements. Such factors include but are not
limited to: fluctuations in market prices, exploration and
exploitation successes, continued availability of capital and
financing, changes in national and local government legislation,
taxation, controls, regulations, expropriation or nationalization
of property and general political, economic, market or business
conditions. Many of these uncertainties and contingencies can
affect our actual results and could cause actual results to differ
materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking
statements made by, or on behalf of, us. Readers are cautioned that
forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance
and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation
of such uncertainties. All of the forward-looking statements made
in this press release, or incorporated by reference, are qualified
by these cautionary statements. We do not assume any obligation to
update any forward-looking statements.
SOURCE Coast Copper Corp.