NorthIsle Copper and Gold drills 1.65 g/t gold over 130 metres at North Island, British Columbia

NorthIsle Copper and Gold Inc. [NCX-TSXV] reported an additional assay result from its 2023 drill program at the Northwest Expo target on the North Island project on northern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. This result represents the highest grade and thickness result ever drilled at Northwest Expo.

Sam Lee, President and CEO, stated, “We once again have drilled one of the best ever holes drilled on the property at NW23-13. The 2023 drill program continues to yield gold grades that are much higher than what is typically found in copper porphyries globally. The potential implications of this program are enormous for our project as we continue to intercept exceptionally high gold grades, near surface, within this extensive porphyry system. Having leverage to both gold and copper sets us apart from our peer group. We continue to drill actively at Northwest Expo and eagerly await additional assays. The area remains open, and we have multiple additional holes to be released from the current drilling programs in the coming weeks.”

Drill hole NW23-13 returned 130.0 metres (true width) of 1.65 g/t gold, 0.33% copper, 0.006 molybdenum and 0.16 g/t rhenium for 2.13 g/t AuEq, including 72.0 metres (TW) of 2.22 g/t gold, 0.41% copper, 0.003 molybdenum and 0.15 g/t rhenium for 2.79 g/t AuEq, including 15.0 metres (TW) of 3.42 g/t gold, 1.15% copper, 0.008% moly and 0.33 g/t rhenium for 5.01 g/t AuEq.

NW23-13 was targeted up-dip on the southern limit of the target area and intersected anomalous values within 208m of the collar. Due to the drilling angle and shape of the topography, this intercept is within 65m of the ground surface.

Assays from three additional holes from Phase 1, as well as two completed holes from Phase 2 at Northwest Expo are pending. A third hole is currently underway as part of Phase 2 and is targeted at a potential down-faulted block of the known mineralization in an area which saw limited historical drilling to shallow depths.

The 2023 drilling has been focused on better defining the mineralized area within Zone 1 with the goal of completing a resource estimate, following relogging of historical drilling, in the context of several drill holes completed by NorthIsle in 2021 showing important geological features not recognized in the historical drill holes, as well as an extensive surface geophysics program completed on the property during 2022.

NW23-13, adjacent to historic hole EC-228, that was stopped in mineralized rock at 235 metres depth, is of particular interest as it includes a 15-metre interval containing much higher grades than found elsewhere on the property, within a silicified hydrothermal breccia with large clasts of quartz stockworked feldspar porphyry with both clasts and dark silica matrix containing disseminated and wispy veinlets of both chalcopyrite and chalcocite.

Phase 2 drilling commenced in early September and holes NW23-17 and NW23-18 have now been completed to test potential extensions along strike of the existing mineralized envelope at Northwest Expo.

NorthIsle has re-logged the core from the previous programs at Northwest Expo. Check assays have not been carried out on this core, however the mineralized lithologies observed and relogged, as well as related assays results, are consistent with adjacent holes drilled, logged and assayed by NorthIsle.

Results in this news release are length weighted averages.

NorthIsle owns the North Island Project, which is one of the most promising copper and gold porphyry deposits in Canada. The North Island Project is located near Port Hardy, British Columbia on a 33,149-hectare block of mineral titles 100%-owned by NorthIsle stretching 50 km northwest from the now closed Island Copper Mine operated by BHP Billiton. NorthIsle recently completed an updated preliminary economic assessment for the North Island Project and is now focused on advancement of the project through a prefeasibility study while continuing exploration within this prospective land package.