VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 23, 2024 / Europacific Metals Inc. (TSX-V:EUP)(OTCQB:AUCCF) (the "Company" or "EuroPacific") announces drill program results at Miguel Vacas with an additional 350m hole targeting the high grade zone below the fourth hole where we intersected a mineralized section of 10.5m grading 2.56% Cu, including 5.9m grading 4.52% Cu. This zone lies at approximately 80m to the NNE of the first hole comprising 22.8m grading 2.76% Cu, including 9.0 m grading 7.49% Cu.
The Miguel Vacas mine area is located approximately 180km east by road from Lisbon and approximately 70km east from Évora, the Alentejo region capital.
The mineralized system extends at least 2km along strike and is open at depth. Mineralization is hosted on a polymict breccia with a quartz-carbonate matrix and quartz, grey shales and graphitic phyllite clasts, and it strikes NNE-SSW approximately.
The surficial part of this system includes a supergene blanket consisting of copper carbonates, sulphates and oxides down to 80m. Below this depth primary sulphides (chalcopyrite and pyrite) are the main metallic-mineral constituents of the mineralized system.
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-expensive hydrometallurgical Copper plant.
The plan included a shallow drilling campaign to assess the potential for an open pit heap leaching operation. In addition to this, 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.
HIGHLIGHTS
The Company has completed 11 holes at the Miguel Vacas copper deposit totaling 1,410m. Most of the holes intercepted a wide quartz-breccia zone varying from approximately 5m up to more than 30m thick. An undercut > 350m hole was completed in addition to the initial plan.
Copper mineralization is hosted in a polyphase steeply dipping hydrothermal quartz breccia-oriented NNE-SSW. The shallower part of the breccia zone (<80m) has been mined by open pit methods and minor underground methods on the upper 80m of a supergene blanket and cupper was recovered through a heap leaching operation using sulphuric acid followed copper electrodeposition in pools with iron scrab.
Results have been received for eight of the eleven holes drilled to date. All holes have successfully intersected the breccia zone over a strike length of 1.1km and confirmed it is open along strike both to the north and south.
Significant results include (further details are summarized in the table below):
Hole # 1 - 22.8m grading 2.76 % Cu, from 49.4m with 9.0m grading 7.49% Cu from 57.8m
Hole # 3 - 12.3m grading 1.55% Cu, from 66.6m.
Hole #4 - 10.5m grading 2.56 % Cu, from 62.0m, with 5.0m grading 4.52% Cu, from 62.0m
Hole #8 - 14.1 m grading 1.06% Cu from 47.0m, with 6.9m grading 1.81% Cu, from 52.2m
Based on these good results, a decision was made to drill a deeper hole (Hole #11) to investigate the primary ore at depth and to compare it with shallow intercepts regarding mineralogy, grades and thickness. Assays are pending from 3 holes including the undercut hole #11 which intersected significant sulphide mineralization at depth well below the supergene zone and represents by itself an additional target for follow-up.
Table 1 - Highlights of main drill core assay results
Figure1 - Miguel Vacas. Hole locations
Figure 2 - Interpreted drill hole section including EBMV 04
and EMBV 11 (results pending)
Assays from the remaining holes are currently being analyzed at 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.
Figure 3 - Pictures of main mineralized section of hole EBMV09
Core samples are cut in half on site and dispatched to the 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 totaled 1,410 m in 11 holes and showed very encouraging results. The goal of this ongoing program is to further define a shallow open pit resource of oxide copper mineralization recoverable by hydrometallurgical methods. Further follow-up drilling is planned to extend the strike length of the known deposit to approximately 2km, initially focused on the supergene copper blanket. 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 supergene blanket into the primary sulphide zone bearing chalcopyrite, chalcocite and pyrite.
Figure 4 - NNE-SSW longitudinal section with EUP drilling impacts and planned follow-up
Karim Rayani, Chief Executive Officer commented, "We are very pleased with the results to date, we continue to hit mineralization targeting the High-Grade Zone at Miguel Vacas. Recent drilling below the fourth hole intersected a mineralized section of 10.5m grading 2.56% Cu, including 5.9m grading 4.52% Cu. This zone lies at approximately 80m to the NNE of the first hole comprising 22.8m grading 2.76% Cu, including 9.0 m grading 7.49% Cu." Mr. Rayani further states, "Phase 1 drill results are still pending, which were completed towards the end of the campaign. Once these results are available, we look to move forward to an initial resource estimation of the drilled section of the supergene blanket and expand the campaign to investigate strike and depth extensions to the mineralization."
About Europacific Metals Inc
EuroPacific Metals Inc. is a Canadian public company listed on TSXV and in US on 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 European 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 PR 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.europacificmetals.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.