- 10.34 g/t GOLD AND 0.27% COPPER OVER 4.0 METERS AT WEST ZONE
- 10.00 g/t GOLD OVER 3.0 METERS AT FAR WEST ZONE
TORONTO, Jan. 25, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Doré Copper Mining Corp. (the "Company" or "Doré Copper") (TSXV: DCMC; OTCQB: DRCMF; FRA: DRM) is pleased to announce results from its 2020 drilling program at the Joe Mann property located approximately 60 kilometers south of Chibougamau, Québec.
The Joe Mann property comprises 1,990 hectares and includes the Joe Mann former producing mine, which is under an option agreement announced on January 2, 2020. The Joe Mann mine was one of the highest-grade gold mines in Canada, producing 1.2 million ounces of gold at a grade 8.26 g/t between 1956 and 2007. It is located approximately 60 kilometers south of the Company’s Copper Rand mill (2,700 tpd), where the ore from Joe Mann was processed from 2004 until its closure in 2007.
2020 Drilling Highlights
- West Zone: 4.0 meters of 10.34 g/t Au and 0.27% Cu in hole JM-20-06W3, extending mineralization 100 meters down plunge from historical intercepts of 5.0 meters of 10.3 g/t Au, 3.2 meters of 16.1 g/t Au, and 3.3 meters of 10.4 g/t Au
- Main Zone: 1.3 meters of 6.32 g/t Au and 0.52% Cu, including 0.45 meter of 17.7 g/t Au and 1.23% Cu in hole JM 20-02A, confirming the extension of the Main zone below previously mined levels. This intercept is located 120 meters up-dip from historical intercept of 1.88 meters of 26.66 g/t Au and 110 meters from historical intercept of 3.02 meters of 30.3 g/t Au.
- Far West Zone: 3.0 meters of 10.00 g/t Au in hole JM-20-10, approximately 900 meters along strike from the western extent of the Joe Mann mine
Ernest Mast, President and CEO of Doré Copper stated, “Our first drilling program at Joe Mann was successful in demonstrating the high-grade downdip extension of the West Zone, the continuity of the Main Zone and the high-grade potential of the Far West Zone. These results support additional exploration efforts on the property and provide a high-grade gold project that can be paired with the high-grade copper Corner Bay project for our hub-and-spoke strategy. The Company is planning a follow up drilling program at Joe Mann later in 2021 and has now resumed its drilling activities at Corner Bay with a 6,000 meter program. In 2021, the Company also plans to test other exploration targets in the Lac Doré/Chibougamau mining camp. An update to the current mineral resource estimate is expected in Q2 2021 followed by a Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) in H2 2021 to support a hub-and-spoke operation using our existing 2,700 tpd mill with Corner Bay as the primary feed to the mill.”
2020 Joe Mann Drilling Program
The Company drilled a total of 8,343 meters testing the former producing Joe Mann mine Main Zone and West Zone below the underground workings, the Far West Zone and the South South Zone (Figure 1). The West Zone is 100% owned by the Company starting at 842 meters below surface (dipping into the property boundary) and the other areas are part of the option agreement with Ressources Jessie Inc. The results from the drilling program are summarized below in Table 1.
West Zone (Figure 2)
The West Zone was mined from 2004 to 2007 up to a depth of 890 meters and has approximately 100 historic intercepts drilled from underground.
The Company drilled four (4) holes, one near-vertical hole (JM-20-06) and three wedges from that hole (with two using directional drilling) (JM-20-06W1, JM-20-06W2 and JM-20-06W3) to test the extension of the West Zone at a depth of 270 to 400 meters below the mined area. All four (4) holes intersected mineralized shear zones.
Hole JM-20-06W3 intersected 4.0 meters of 10.34 g/t Au and 0.27% Cu and at a further 11 meters downhole intersected 0.5 meter of 13.70 g/t Au and 0.42% Cu. These two intercepts are located 100 meters down plunge from the historical intercepts of 5.0 meters of 10.3 g/t Au (hole EW78_D), 3.2 meters of 16.1 g/t Au (hole EW79_D), and 3.3 meters of 10.4 g/t Au (hole EW57_D). It is interpreted that both JM-20-06 and JM-20-06W1 intercepted the structure to the west of the ore plunge structure and therefore did not carry high-grade gold mineralization. Hole JM-20-06W2 intersected the well-defined West Zone structure a further 100 meters down dip from hole JM-20-06W3, but with weaker gold mineralization: 1.35 meters of 3.29 g/t Au.
Main Zone (Figures 3 and 4)
The Main Zone was drilled with two (2) holes to test the continuity of the gold mineralization identified with two high-grade historical intercepts that are 150 meters apart and located approximately 170 meters beneath the lowest mining level (1,050 meters) of the Joe Mann mine. These two prior holes were drilled in 2008 after the mine had ceased operations and intersected 3.02 meters of 30.3 g/t Au and 1.30% Cu (hole EE-188) and 1.88 meters of 26.66 g/t Au and 0.40% Cu (hole EE-189B). The Company collared the holes on land part of a JV between Ressources Jessie (65%) and SOQUEM (35%) and drilled south towards the Main Zone. The holes encountered strong deviation and directional drilling was used to guide the holes to the target areas.
Hole JM-20-02A intersected the Main Zone shear zone approximately 120 meters up-dip from these two historical intercepts mentioned above. The shear zone returned two intercepts of 1.3 meters of 6.32 g/t Au and 0.52% Cu, including 0.45 meter of 17.7 g/t Au and 1.23% Cu; and 5.95 meters of 2.29 g/t Au, including 1.7 meters of 5.64 g/t Au. In addition, this same hole intersected 0.4 meter of 33.2 g/t Au in an unidentified zone above the Main Zone. The second hole (JM-20-07) intersected the Main Zone at approximately 100 meters below hole EE-189B with an intercept of 2.5 meters of 1.87 g/t Au within a wider, weakly mineralized shear zone of 20 metres.
Far West Zone (Figure 5)
The Far West Zone is located approximately 900 meters west along strike from the westernmost part of the Main Zone of the Joe Mann mine. Historically, the Far West zone was accessed by the Uddlen ramp to the west and an exploration drift at a depth of 137 meters. The Far West Zone (the horse tailing of the Joe Mann structure at the west end) is characterized by very heterogeneous gold distribution, nuggety in nature, and historically has returned some shallow, very high-grade gold intercepts including: 3.81 meters of 20.8 g/t Au (hole H214), 3.26 meters of 107.0 g/t Au (hole H118), and 3.53 meters of 39.2 g/t Au (hole H258).
The Company completed four (4) holes totaling 1,230 meters with the objective of confirming high-grade mineralized zones. The drilling confirmed the nuggety nature of the Far West Zone with three holes intersecting gold mineralization. The best intercepts returned 8.5 meters of 3.92 g/t Au (including 3.0 meters of 10.0 g/t Au, which included 0.7 meter of 35.2 g/t Au), and 0.5 meter of 9.2 g/t Au in hole JM-20-10. Other highlights included: 0.4 meter of 8.45 g/t Au, 0.6 meter of 5.79 g/t Au, and 0.4 meter of 40.8 g/t Au and 0.60% Cu in hole JM-20-11 and 0.45 meter of 5.97 g/t Au in hole JM-20-09.
The Company is embarking on a more detailed review of the new and historical data of the Far West Zone to better understand the nuggety nature of the mineralization prior to determining the next steps for future exploration plans. The remaining half of the core from these holes will be sent to the laboratory for screen metallics and leachwell analysis to better understand the heterogeneity of the mineralization (nugget effect).
South South Zone
The South South zone is approximately 300 meters south of the Main Zone. The structure is exposed at surface and historically 14 holes were drilled over a strike length of approximately 1 kilometer. The Company completed three (3) holes totaling 402 meters on the west side of Lake Norhart to follow up on an historical intercept of 0.8 meter at 32.0 g/t Au at a downhole depth of 18 meters (hole H349). The results indicated weak gold mineralization near-surface and did not replicate the high-grade gold intercept.
Table 1. Joe Mann Property – Summary of 2020 Drilling Program Results
| Hole # | Zone | From (m) | To (m) | Width (m) | Au (g/t) | Cu (%) |
| JM-20-02A | Main (unidentified) | 1,213.3 | 1,213.7 | 0.40 | 33.2 | 0.03 |
| Main | 1,258.35 | 1,259.65 | 1.3 | 6.32 | 0.52 | |
| including | 1,258.35 | 1,258.8 | 0.45 | 17.7 | 1.23 | |
| Main | 1,276.5 | 1,282.45 | 5.95 | 2.29 | 0.04 | |
| including | 1,276.5 | 1,278.2 | 1.7 | 5.64 | 0.02 | |
| JM-20-03 | South South | 18.0 | 24.0 | 6.0 | 0.62 | 0.01 |
| JM-20-04 | South South | NSI | ||||
| JM-20-05 | South South | 16.6 | 21.0 | 4.4 | 0.80 | 0.02 |
| South South | 129.0 | 130.8 | 1.8 | 1.92 | 0.04 | |
| JM-20-06 | West (unidentified) | 906.0 | 907.0 | 1.0 | 4.63 | 0.03 |
| JM-20-06W1 | West (unidentified) | 940.8 | 941.5 | 0.7 | 4.34 | 0.15 |
| West (unidentified) | 862.7 | 866.7 | 4.0 | 3.60 | 0.01 | |
| JM-20-06W2 | West | 1,241.6 | 1,242.95 | 1.35 | 3.29 | 0.04 |
| JM-20-06W3 | West | 1,174.4 | 1,178.4 | 4.0 | 10.34 | 0.27 |
| West | 1,188.7 | 1,189.2 | 0.5 | 13.70 | 0.42 | |
| JM-20-07 | Main | 1,357.9 | 1,360.4 | 2.5 | 1.87 | 0.02 |
| JM-20-08 | Far West | NSI | ||||
| JM-20-09 | Far West | 171.5 | 179.9 | 1.9 | 0.60 | 0.49 |
| Far West | 188.55 | 189.0 | 0.45 | 5.97 | 0.20 | |
| JM-20-10 | Far West | 204.5 | 213.0 | 8.5 | 3.92 | 0.08 |
| including | 206.5 | 209.5 | 3.0 | 10.0 | 0.08 | |
| incl. | 208.8 | 209.5 | 0.7 | 35.2 | 0.11 | |
| Far West | 235.5 | 236.0 | 0.5 | 9.20 | 0.13 | |
| JM-20-11 | Far West | 120.4 | 120.8 | 0.4 | 8.45 | 0.04 |
| Far West | 263.6 | 264.2 | 0.6 | 5.79 | 0.19 | |
| Far West | 305.5 | 305.9 | 0.4 | 40.8 | 0.60 |
Note: NSI indicate no significant intercepts. True widths are estimated to be 57-68% for West Zone and 75% for Main Zone. No true width could be determined for the Far West Zone or the South South zone.
Figure 1. Joe Mann Property – 2020 Drill Hole Location Map
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/491e7f9f-6152-4b34-8701-a66ca07df73d
Figure 2. Joe Mann West Zone Long Section (starting at 400 meters below surface)
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1f4fc993-4666-428f-a429-5aa680ca916e
Figure 3. Joe Mann Main Zone Long Section
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/989f6d50-e5a5-4b66-b5fb-b59f4dec1088
Figure 4. Joe Mann Main Zone Cross-Section
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/376889ca-79da-4c72-a3e9-c92e85ef5abc
Figure 5. Joe Mann Far West Zone Cross-Section
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e854f2e6-851e-450f-9a24-a942f7e7e7ba
Drilling and Quality Control
The Company is using Miikan Drilling as the drilling contractor. Miikan is a joint venture between Chibougamau Diamond Drilling Ltd., the First Nation community of Ouje-Bougoumou and the First Nation community of Mistissini, both located in the Eeyou Istchee territory.
Sample preparation and assays are done at SGS lab in Val-d’Or, Québec. Samples were weighed, dried, crushed to 75% passing 2 mm, split 250 g, pulverized to 85% passing 75 microns. Samples were then fire assayed for Au (30 g) and sodium peroxide fusion ICP-MS finish for 34 elements.
The Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) is done by Doré Copper geologists with oversight from the Exploration Manager. The check samples (blanks and standards – 4% of total samples with another 2% of core duplicates) that were inserted into the sample batches are verified against their certified values and are deemed a pass if they are within 3 standard deviations of the certified value. The duplicates are evaluated against each other to determine mineralization distribution (nugget effect). If there are large discrepancies in the check samples, then the entire batch is requested to be re-assayed.
Historical drilling results disclosed in this news release on the Joe Mann property are taken from the historical database of the Joe Mann mine based on the original drill logs (UG and surface exploration drilling) and from the NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Joe Mann Property dated January 11, 2016 by Geologica Groupe-Conseil Inc. for Jessie Ressources Inc.
Andrey Rinta, P.Geo., the Exploration Manager of the Company and a "Qualified Person" within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release.
About Doré Copper
Doré Copper Mining Corp. is a copper-gold explorer and developer in the Chibougamau area of Québec, Canada. Doré Copper has consolidated a large land package in the prolific Lac Doré/Chibougamau mining camp that has produced 1.6 B lbs of copper and 3.2 M oz of gold. In addition, the Company has optioned the high-grade Joe Mann gold mine (production 1.17 M oz at 8.26 g/t Au). The land package includes 12 former producing mines, deposits and resource target areas within a 60 kilometer radius of the Company’s 2,700 tpd mill (Copper Rand Mill).
The Company’s current focus is to grow mineral resources and re-develop the high-grade Corner Bay (Cu-Au), Cedar Bay (Au-Cu), and Joe Mann (Au) deposits. The Company has resumed its drilling program starting at Corner Bay with approximately 6,000 meters of drilling, which will lead to an updated mineral resource estimate in Q2 2021 and PEA in H2 2021.
For further information, please visit the Corporation's website at www.dorecopper.com or refer to Doré Copper’s SEDAR filings at www.sedar.com or contact:
| Ernest Mast | Laurie Gaborit |
| President and Chief Executive Officer | Vice President, Investor Relations |
| Phone: (416) 792-2229 | Phone: (416) 219-2049 |
| Email: emast@dorecopper.com | Email: lgaborit@dorecopper.com |
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements include predictions, projections and forecasts and are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "forecast", "expect", "potential", "project", "target", "schedule", "budget" and "intend" and statements that an event or result "may", "will", "should", "could" or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions and includes the negatives thereof. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the timing and ability of the Corporation to receive necessary regulatory approvals, and the plans, operations and prospects of the Corporation and its properties are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, actual exploration results, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, future metal prices, availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms, general economic, market or business conditions, uninsured risks, regulatory changes, delays or inability to receive required regulatory approvals, health emergencies, pandemics and other exploration or other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Corporation with securities regulators. Although the Corporation has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause such actions, events or results to differ materially from those anticipated. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Corporation disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
Neither 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 news release.