Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. (TSXV: BAY) (OTCQB: ATBHF) (“Aston Bay” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce an Initial Mineral Resource Estimate (“MRE”) for the near-surface mineralization (<120 metres (“m”) depth) at the Storm Copper Project (“Storm” or the “Project”) on Somerset Island, Nunavut. The MRE includes six near-surface copper (-silver) deposits within the greater Storm Copper area: Cyclone, Chinook, Corona, Cirrus, Lightning Ridge and Thunder.
The Storm Copper Project is a 20/80 unincorporated joint venture between Aston Bay and American West Metals Limited (“American West”), the Project operator. Aston Bay maintains a free carried interest until a decision to mine is made upon completion of a Feasibility Study. The MRE in this announcement was prepared by P&E Mining Consultants Inc. (“P&E”) at the request of Aston Bay, independently of American West.
Storm Copper Initial Mineral Resource Estimate Key Highlights
- Indicated Mineral Resources: 8.2 million tonnes at an average grade of 1.47% copper (Cu) and 4.5 grams per tonne (g/t) silver (Ag), containing 266.3 million pounds (Mlbs) (121,000 tonnes) of copper and 1.185 million ounces of silver (refer to Table 1 for MRE details).
- Inferred Mineral Resources: 3.3 million tonnes at an average grade of 1.30% Cu and 3.1 g/t Ag, containing 95.4 Mlbs (43,000 tonnes) of copper and 333,600 ounces of silver (refer to Table 1 for MRE details).
- Low-cost development potential:
- Near-surface Mineral Resources accessed primarily with open-pit mining, accounting for over 90% of contained metal in the MRE.
- 100% of MRE consists of fresh, chalcocite-dominant copper sulphide with metallurgical testwork, which confirms excellent beneficiation potential, including sorting (see Aston Bay news releases dated August 13, 2024 and April 11, 2022).
- Significant growth and expansion opportunities:
- MRE deposits remain open – All six deposits remain open, offering strong potential for rapid expansion of the Mineral Resource inventory.
- Cyclone Deeps discovery (2024) – Cyclone-style mineralization located immediately south and faulted down from the existing Cyclone Deposit (1.2% Cu over 10 m from 311 m down hole in drill hole ST24-01; see Aston Bay news release dated September 20, 2024).
- New high-grade copper discoveries (2024) – The Gap (2.3% Cu over 20 m from 38 m down hole, including 5.3% Cu over 8 m in drill hole SR24-003; see Aston Bay news release dated July 2, 2024), Squall and Hailstorm are located near surface and ready for Mineral Resource definition drilling.
- Belt-scale exploration opportunity – <5% of the 110 kilometre (“km”) long copper belt has been adequately explored. Priority targets include the Tempest, Tornado, Blizzard and Seabreeze Prospects, where surface copper-zinc gossans have been identified.
Aston Bay’s Storm MRE was prepared by P&E, with an effective date of February 7, 2025. The full Technical Report will be filed under the Company’s SEDAR+ profile (www.sedarplus.ca) within 45 days of this news release, in accordance with NI 43-101 disclosure and reporting requirements.
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