VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 20, 2024 / Europacific Metals Inc. (TSXV:EUP)(OTCQB:AUCCF) (the "Company" or "EuroPacific") announces drill program expansion with an additional hole down to 350 meters targeting the high grade zone below the fourth hole where the Company intersected a mineralized section (results pending) and at approximately 80m to the north where the Company recently announced the results of the first hole comprising 22.8 m grading 2.76% Cu, including 9.0 m grading 7.49%.
Chief Executive Officer, Karim Rayani stated: "We are very excited with the progress made to date. Most of the holes drilled have confirmed the continuity of the deposit which is open in all directions. We are looking forward to receiving the assays pending - confirming the first good impressions from core observations, at the same time gather information from the depth extensions of the mineralized system with the undercut hole targeting 350 meters."
The initial program tested the section on the supergene blanket which is thought to extend down to 80m below surface and represents an immediate target for a shallow open cut operation with a non-expansive hydrometallurgical Copper plant. Miguel Vacas mine area located approximately 180 km east by road from Lisbon and approximately 70 km east from Évora, the Alentejo region capital.
A decision was made to extend the drilling program with an undercut inclined 350m hole to test the "fresh" mineralization below the oxidized rich material in the same section of hole EBMV004 which shows a wide mineralized section (results are pending).
The mineralized system extends at least 2 km along strike and is open at depth. It includes an 80m supergene blanket with a suite of copper carbonates, phosphates and oxides, and changes gradually to a sulphide assemblage including chalcopyrite and pyrite, mainly.
The surficial part of this system includes essentially oxidized ore minerals, including copper carbonates, sulphates and oxides down to 80 meters. Below this depth primary sulphides (chalcopyrite and pyrite) are the main metallic-mineral constituents of the mineralized system. Mineralization is hosted on a polymict breccia with a quartz-carbonate matrix and quartz, grey shales and graphitic phyllite clasts, which extends on at least 2 km along strike on a NNE-SSW direction.
HIGHLIGHTS
The Company has completed 10 holes at the Miguel Vacas copper deposit totaling 1,060 meters. Most of the holes intercepted a wide quartz-breccia zone varying from approximately 5 meters up to more than 25 meters thick. An undercut > 350m hole is in progress in addition to the initial plan.
Results have been received for only two of the ten holes drilled. The first hole (EBMV001), confirmed previous drill core intercepts and returned better than expected results including a continuous intercept of 22.8m grading 2.76 % Cu, including 9.0 meters grading 7.49 % Cu with these high-grade results strongly influenced by a 1-meter section grading 45.6 % Cu and an adjacent 1m interval grading 4.45% Cu.
The second hole (EBMV002) projected to test the northern extensions of the known deposit has been successful in intersecting the mineralized zone which although showing modest assay results, clearly indicates the mineralized system is also open to the north. This encourages further drilling which is planned in the near future. The hole intersected two zones with anomalous copper values, one including 7.3 m grading 0.26% Cu from 121.60 m and another with 8.45m grading 0.18 % Cu from 132.4o m.
Assays from the remaining holes are awaited from ALS Laboratories. However, based on the visual observation of the core it is now confirmed the presence of the mineralized breccia in all holes drilled which shows good indications for further follow-up drilling.
Based on these good results, a decision was made to drill a deeper hole to investigate the primary ore at depth and to compare it with shallow intercepts regarding mineralogy, grades and thickness.
Detailed core sampling is in progress and all samples taken have been sent to ALS Laboratories for assaying. Core samples are cut in half on site and dispatched to ALS Laboratories for analysis (Gold by Fire Assay and multielement ME-MS for 48 elements). Certified blanks/standards (CDN-BL10 and CDN-CM41) are inserted approximately every 20 samples for quality control.
The 2024 drill program is now in the middle of the 1,500 meters campaign with the objective of further defining a shallow open pit resource of oxide Copper mineralization recoverable by hydrometallurgical methods. Step out drilling will be undertaken on a later stage focused on the assessment of the sulphide rich (> 80m) part of the deposit below the oxidized blanket. Below this depth sulphides include mainly chalcopyrite and pyrite as the most abundant ore minerals.
About Europacific Metals Inc
EuroPacific Metals Inc. is a Canadian public company listed on the TSXV and on the US OTCQB. The Company holds brownfield gold, and copper-gold projects located in Portugal. The Company is focused on exploration in highly prospective geological settings in Europe jurisdictions. EuroPacific Metals ("EUP") owns a total of 100% equity interest in EVX Portugal, a private Portugal based company, that holds the legal exploration rights from the Portugal Government on the Borba 2 ("Borba 2") exploration properties, covering approximately 328 square kilometers in the Alentejo region in Southern Portugal. Miguel Vacas is the most advanced prospect within the Borba 2 license.
Qualified Person
Technical information in this press release has been prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 and approved for inclusion by Mr. José Mario Castelo Branco, EuroGeol, who is a "Qualified Person" with over 35 years' experience in the Exploration and Mining Geology industry. Mr. Castelo Branco holds a B.Sc. in Geology from the University of Porto in Portugal. He is also a member of the Portuguese Association of Geologists, the European Federation of Geologists, Member of the Prospectors and Developers of Canada, the Society of Economic Geologists and the Society for Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
Europacific Metals Inc.
Mr. Karim Rayani, Chief Executive Officer
11th Floor - 1111 Melville Street
Vancouver, BC V6E 3V6
E: [email protected]
www.europacific.ca
This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws relating to the exploration potential of the Company's properties. Generally forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as "anticipate", "will", "expect", "may", "continue", "could", "estimate", "forecast", "plan", "potential" and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties relating to, among other things, results of future exploration and development activities, uninsured risks, regulatory changes, defects in title, availability of materials and equipment, timeliness of government approvals, changes in commodity prices and unanticipated environmental impacts on operations. Although the Company believes current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered are appropriate and that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct or enduring. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The statements in this press release are made as of the date of this release. Except as required by law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any forward-looking statements that are contained or incorporated in this press release. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The readers should not rely on any historical estimates. The Company and the QP has not done sufficient work to classify historical estimate as a current resource. Company is not treating the historical estimate as a current resource. Additional work including drilling will be required to verify and upgrade historical estimates.
SOURCE: Europacific Metals Inc.