Kodiak Copper drills 0.15% CuEq over 706 metres at MPD, British Columbia
Kodiak Copper Corp. [TSXV-KDK; OTCQB-KDKCF; FSE-5DD1] made a new copper porphyry discovery at the 1516 zone located on the southern portion of the 100%-owned MPD copper-gold porphyry project in southern British Columbia. Results from the final 21 holes drilled at MPD in 2023 are presented in this release, which include the first assays from discovery holes at 1516, as well as the last holes reporting from the West, South and Man zones from 2023.
Highlights: The new 1516 zone is the second previously unknown copper porphyry centre discovered by Kodiak on the MPD project, after the Gate zone discovery.
The new 1516 zone is interpreted to be part of a larger, multicentred, 4.5-km2 porphyry system that also hosts the South, Mid and Adit zones, based on drill core chemistry and historic copper in soils.
The 1516 zone was discovered underlying a 2 km-long, zoned polymetallic copper-gold-molybdenum-bismuth-tungsten (Cu-Au-Mo-Bi-W) soil anomaly, having a coincident historic induced polarization (IP) anomaly on the east flank of the larger historic copper anomaly. The target is twice the strike length of Kodiak’s first discovery at the Gate zone.
Drill hole AXE-23-018 at the 1516 zone intersected 0.12% copper equivlanet (CuEq) over 258 metres, within a broader zone of 0.09% CuEq over 525 metres, extending from 368 m to 893 m downhole.
Drill hole AXE-23-15 assayed 0.43% copper and 659 g/t silver near-surface between 36 m and 49 metres depth. Core recovery was poor for this solitary high-grade result, but more follow-up is warranted.
Like the early Gate zone drilling, the first holes into the 1516 discovery are interpreted to be within a lower-grade shell and follow-up drilling is warranted to test for higher-grade zones within this large target. In addition to copper, soil results suggest significant gold and molybdenum potential within this complexly zoned porphyry system.
Final results from holes drilled in 2023 at the West, South and Man zones infill previous work, and show large extents of mineralization from surface and to substantial depths. These areas continue to be priority targets for further drilling.
Claudia Tornquist, president and CEO, said: “Kodiak’s 2023 exploration program was a resounding success. We set out to demonstrate the potential of MPD beyond our initial discovery at the Gate zone, and our drilling has now proven multiple kilometre-scale mineralized porphyry centres across the property. Importantly, 2023 results include high-grade intercepts and mineralization right from surface. The discovery of an entirely new porphyry centre at 1516 is a particularly positive development, which we will certainly follow up on. Preparations for this year’s field program are well under way. We are prioritizing numerous promising drill targets with the help of innovative AI [artificial intelligence] technology from Vrify, and we are looking forward to announcing our 2024 plans soon. Against a backdrop of rallying copper prices and exceptionally strong market fundamentals for the red metal, I am confident that Kodiak’s exploration success will translate into strong opportunities for our shareholders going forward.”
The 2023 drill program at MPD was comprised of 18,562 metres in 33 holes and evaluated five of the now 24 targets currently identified on the project. Final results from 21 holes drilled in 2023 are reported herein, with assays from 10 holes at four zones, (1516, West, South and Man), with the remainder not reaching target depth, had no significant assays, or were not assayed at this time.
Drill hole AXE-23-018 drilled to the northeast intersected 0.10 per cent Cu and 2.14 g/t Ag (0.12 per cent CuEq*) over 258 metres, within a broader zone of 0.08 per cent Cu and 1.71 g/t Ag (0.09 per cent CuEq*) over 525 metres from 368 to 893 metres downhole. Drill hole AXE-23-015 assayed 0.43 per cent Cu and 659 g/t Ag between 36 and 49 metres depth. However, the interval recovered only 25 per cent of the core and this result is assumed to represent a narrow, near-surface high grade vein of unknown width, which will be followed up.
The final three holes reporting from the West Zone were drilled as infill from two pads at the north and south ends. Hole AXE-23-004 drilled from the north pad reported shallow porphyry mineralization, with 0.26% Cu, 0.11 g/t Au and 0.80 g/t Ag (0.29% CuEq) over 117 metres between 146 and 263 metres within a broader 387-metre interval assaying 0.14% Cu, 0.23 g/t Au and 0.52 g/t Ag (0.24% CuEq). New and historic drilling at the West Zone has confirmed significant Cu and/or Au grades over an area of 350 metres by 650 metres, and from surface to depths of 962 metres, which is open to extension.
The last hole reporting from the South Zone was a near vertical hole, infilling between two previously reported holes and confirming significant shallow mineralization extending to depth. Hole AXE-23-013 assayed 0.29% Cu, 0.08 g/t Au and 1.16 g/t Ag (0.30% CuEq) over 72 metres between 413 and 485 metres within a broader 706-metre interval assaying 0.14% Cu, 0.04 g/t Au and 0.78 g/t Ag (0.15% CuEq).
Kodiak’s drilling at the South Zone has confirmed copper mineralization along 900 metres of strike, from surface to over 775 metres depth and when combined with historic soil geochemistry and geophysics, suggests that the South, Mid, Adit and 1516 Zones may all be part of a much larger porphyry system.
Results from four of the five holes drilled at the Man Zone in 2023 are reported herein. Kodiak’s holes at Man were drilled at various azimuths from the same set up to assess the extent of copper-gold mineralization in trenches and historic drilling near surface. Drill hole MPD-23-006 intersected 0.15% Cu, 0.37 g/t Au and 0.76 g/t Ag (0.33% CuEq) over 60 metres between 195 and 255 metres. Drilling at Man continues to extend copper-gold porphyry zones in multiple directions, from surface down to 995 metres depth and along 600 metres of strike. In particular hole MPD-23-007 drilled to the north intersected low-grade copper and gold mineralization within pyrite dominated, porphyry alteration, suggesting mineralization exists toward the Bellcarra target area, a possible link to the Gate Zone which has been drilled to 1 km north of Man.
Five shallow angled holes were drilled from two pads at the Beyer Zone to test below a high-grade gold-silver zone discovered by trench sampling in 2022.
MPD is a large land package (226 km2) located near several operating mines in the southern Quesnel Terrane, British Columbia’s primary copper-gold producing belt. The project is located midway between the towns of Merritt and Princeton, with year-round accessibility and excellent infrastructure nearby.