Amarc Resources drills 0.45% CuEq over 217 metres at Duke, British Columbia
Amarc Resources Ltd. [AHR-TSXV; AXREF-OTCQB] reported all assay results from the phase 1 core drilling program at its 100% owned DUKE porphyry Cu-Au district in central British Columbia. In total, 24 core drill holes (11,086 m) were efficiently completed in 80 drill days between early December 2022 and mid-March 2023. Two drill rigs focused on further delineating the DUKE Cu-Mo-Ag-Au deposit, while a third rig tested the shallow overburden covered and robust 4.7 km2 Induced Polarization anomaly that surrounds the DUKE deposit and is indicative of an expansive mineralized system.
Furthermore, with an early snow melt, crews were back on site in mid-May with a District-wide airborne magnetics survey recently being completed, and ground geological, geophysics, geochemical surveys all underway with over 35 technical and logistics crew members now on-site. These surveys are evaluating 16 prioritized porphyry Cu-Au targets across the DUKE District to define targets for planned winter 2023-2024 drill testing.
Through 2023, $10 million in exploration expenditures at the DUKE District is being fully funded under the Mineral Property Earn-in Agreement with Boliden Mineral Canada Ltd. Amarc is project operator.
Highlights from the Phase 1 2022-2023 drilling at the DUKE Deposit include: 183 metres of 0.43% CuEQ (copper equivalent) (0.31% Cu, 0.019% Mo, 0.07 g/t Au,1.5 g/t Ag) in hole DK22009; 217 m of 0.45 per cent CuEQ (0.33 per cent Cu, 0.018% Mo, 0.08 g/t Au, 1.5 g/t Ag) in hole DK22010; 30 metres of 0.47% CuEQ (0.36% Cu, 0.015% Mo, 0.06 g/t Au, 3.2 g/t Ag) in hole DK23012; 30 metres of 0.43% CuEQ (0.31% Cu, 0.014% Mo, 0.09 g/t Au, 1.6 g/t Ag), and 33 metres of 0.44% CuEQ (0.2% Cu, 0.053% Mo, 0.06 g/t Au, 1.3 g/t Ag) in hole DK23015; 82 metres of 0.41% CuEQ (0.30% Cu, 0.017% Mo, 0.06 g/t Au, 1.1 g/t Ag) in hole DK23022; 36 metres of 0.47% CuEQ (0.34% Cu, 0.024% Mo, 0.06 g/t Au, 1.5 g/t Ag) in hole DK23024; and 33 metres of 0.40 % CuEQ (0.30% Cu, 0.017% Mo, 0.05 g/t Au, 1.5 g/t Ag) in hole DK23026.
Holes DK22009 and DK22010 were previously reported in Amarc releases dated January 26, 2023 and February 15, 2023, respectively.
Of the 24 Phase 1 holes drilled, 16 widely-spaced drill holes (7,552 m) were completed to further delineate the DUKE deposit. These holes have increased the size of the DUKE deposit porphyry Cu-Mo-Ag-Au system, and also Amarc’s understanding of the controls on mineralization in the DUKE District. An exploration template has been developed to effectively screen and advance the additional 16 priority exploration targets within the extensive 678 km2 DUKE District tenure.
Amarc recently completed an extensive 5,759 line-km, helicopter-supported high-resolution aeromagnetic survey covering an area in excess of 500 km2 over the DUKE District, which builds on previous Amarc and historical aeromagnetic coverage.
In addition, an extensive surface exploration program has commenced with a logistics team, and three geological mapping, three geophysical and three geochemical sampling crews now on-site.
Amarc’s DUKE District is located 80 km northeast of Smithers within the Babine Region, one of the most mineralized porphyry belts in BC.
In November 2022, Amarc entered into a Mineral Property Earn-In Agreement with Boliden Mineral Canada Ltd., an entity within the Boliden Group of companies. Under the terms of the agreement, Boliden has a two-staged option to earn up to a 70% interest in the DUKE District by funding $90 million exploration and development expenditures.