American Eagle Gold drills one km of copper-gold mineralization from surface at NAK Project, British Columbia

American Eagle Gold Corp. [TSXV: AE; OTCQB: AMEGF] reported that step-out hole NAK26-87 intersected 1,001 metres of 0.46% CuEq starting at surface, including 218 metres of 1.01% CuEq, a full kilometre of continuous copper-gold mineralization and the longest mineralized intercept ever drilled at the NAK Project, British Columbia. Broad, from-surface intercepts of this scale are rare in copper-gold exploration worldwide, and they are the foundation of large, low-strip open-pit projects.

NAK26-87 delivers exactly that at a road-accessible project near established infrastructure in northern British Columbia’s Babine Porphyry District, while expanding the deeper, copper-rich portion of the high-grade South Zone approximately 150 metres to the northwest.

“A kilometre of continuous copper and gold mineralization in a single drill hole is a rare result anywhere in the world. Starting at surface, it is rarer still, and that is exactly what NAK26-87 delivered,” said Anthony Moreau, CEO of American Eagle Gold. “Holes like this are the building blocks of long-life projects. NAK26-87 extends the high-grade South Zone 150 metres to the northwest, confirms grade continuity, and shows this system is still growing. With the overwhelming majority of this season’s assays still to come, we believe the best is ahead of us.”

NAK26-87 was drilled as a step-out approximately 150 metres northwest of NAK25-78, which returned 802 metres of 0.71% CuEq from surface, including 375 metres of 1.01% CuEq. The new hole demonstrates that the high-grade zone at depth is significantly larger than previously interpreted and remains open along trend to the north-northwest. The South Zone has developed from a small, near-surface gold-rich area of approximately 100 m by 100 metres, to a much larger, broadly continuous zone that extends to significant depth.

The South Zone’s footprint of mineralization delineated by the company now measures over 700 m east to west and 600 metres north to south, with the deep high-grade core extending to over 800 metres depth. American Eagle believes there is room to grow the zone of continuous mineralization, both near surface to the east and at depth to the northwest, with results currently pending from follow-up drill holes.

The company is also reporting three holes drilled westerly across the main zone trend, NAK26-84, -86 and -88, each returning broad intercepts of copper mineralization hosting discrete high-grade sub-zones. These western tests extend the mineralized footprint to the north and west and were designed to reduce the future strip ratio in an open-pit mining scenario.

NAK26-84, NAK26-86 and NAK26-88 were drilled to test the western part of the South Zone, well beyond the main zone drilling. Rather than targeting the near-surface, higher-grade core, these holes were designed to define the western limit of mineralization and gauge the size of the potential open pit. Each returned long, consistent intercepts above cut-off grade, extending the mineralized footprint to the north and west and adding meaningful tonnage. Together, they show the potential open pit has room to grow well beyond the limits defined by current drilling, strengthening both the scale and the western potential of the deposit.

NAK26-87 was drilled approximately 150 metres northwest of NAK25-78 and designed to test the open northwestern extent of the high-grade South Zone’s core. The hole collared into a mixed package of siltstone to sandstone, with subordinate lenses of conglomerate, traversing through the now well-established sedimentary sequence of well-rounded pebble to cobble conglomerate, into the underlying fine- to coarse-grained sandstone package, cut by numerous instances of fine-grained mafic dyking, and finally encountering porphyry dyking of Babine stock composition below 900 metres.

Mineralization transitioned from chalcopyrite-dominant veins and patchy disseminations with local late-stage molybdenite-bearing veining in the upper sedimentary package and conglomerate, to more consistent, bornite-dominant disseminations and veining in the underlying sandstone and mafic dykes. Mineralization within the Babine stock dyking was less continuous but still punctuated by local zones hosting massive bornite veining. As is typical at NAK, the strongest mineralization was associated with dark biotite-magnetite alteration of the groundmass.

The results from NAK26-87 indicate further potential for expansion of the deep South Zone, extending along trend to the north-northwest, where direct testing proximal to the stock contact at depths between 300 metres and 800 metres is sparse.

NAK26-84 and -88 were drilled along a westerly-trending fence, testing across and to the west of the main drilled zone, approximately 150 metres north of the currently delineated high-grade South Zone. NAK26-88 collared within the Babine porphyry stock and continued to a depth of 260 metres before entering the now familiar succession of conglomerate, sandstone, thinly bedded siltstone, and underlying concretion-bearing sandstone. NAK26-84 was collared approximately 400 m to the west, testing well beyond the bounds of current drilling. It collared into a mixed fine- to coarse-grained sedimentary package and traversed a similar sequence of conglomerate, sandstone, thinly bedded siltstone, and underlying concretion-bearing sandstone.

The NAK26-84/-88 fence shows a consistent pattern in overall sulfide speciation, with stock-proximal rocks hosting chalcopyrite-bornite-dominant veining and disseminations, giving way to chalcopyrite-pyrite-dominant assemblages as the holes traverse westward, and pyrite giving way to pyrrhotite as the holes transition deeper. The shift to pyrrhotite is now understood to be driven by reducing conditions associated with carbonate-rich host lithologies. NAK26-84 returned to chalcopyrite-dominant sulfide at depth to the west, within thinly bedded distorted siltstone, proximal to numerous intercepts of fine-grained mafic dyking. This uptick in copper mineralization was also observed proximal to the same dyking in NAK26-88.

Overall, the additional mineralization discovered west of the main zone in NAK26-84 has spurred several follow-up holes with assays pending, and has positive implications for potential pit design, reducing the strip required to access the best parts of the deeper South Zone. The consistent grade in NAK26-88, with local high-grade punctuations, reflects the more favourable drill orientation relative to the steep, easterly-dipping mineralized veins that populate this zone.

Drill hole NAK26-84 returned 109 metres at 0.23% copper, 0.10 g/t gold, 2.6 g/t silver and 31 ppm molybdenum for a 0.40% CuEq within 587 metres at 0.12% copper, 0.05 g/t gold, 1.1 g/t silver and 39 ppm Mo for 0.21% CuEq.

Drill hole NAK26-88 returned 555 metres at 0.16% copper, 0.06 g/t gold, 0.8 g/t silver, and 99 ppm Mo for 0.30% CuEq within 692 metres at 0.15% copper, 0.06 g/t gold, 0.7 g/t silver and 84 ppm Mo for 0.28% CuEq.

NAK26-86 was collared 450 metres to the north of NAK26-84, testing to the west of the North Zone. The hole collared into strongly sericite-clay altered rocks of Babine porphyry stock composition, hosting abundant chalcopyrite veining, to a depth of ~75 metres. The hole then traversed the familiar sequence of mixed fine- to coarse-grained sandstone and conglomerate and bottomed in fine-grained sandstone with lenses of thinly bedded distorted siltstone. Copper mineralization subsided below 195 metres, with the dominant sulfide transitioning to pyrite, and eventually pyrrhotite at depth. Still, local zones of chalcopyrite mineralization are present within the broader sulfide speciation trend.

Drill hole NAK26-86 returned 151 metres at 0.18% copper, 0.04 g/t gold, 0.9 g/t silver and 12 ppm Mo for 0.25% CuEq.

American Eagle is advancing the NAK copper-gold porphyry project in British Columbia’s Babine Porphyry District, located 4.5 km north of the Hearne Hill South Property. The company is backed by approximately $50 million in cash and four cornerstone strategic shareholders.

American Eagle is currently conducting a ~55,000-metre drill program, expected to run through April 2027, with three rigs operating continuously across the seasons. Approximately 80 drill holes are planned, and the goal for the season is to significantly expand tonnage while both extending known high-grade zones and discovering new ones. The company is funded for multiple years from cash on hand, with the current program designed to support future technical studies and demonstrate the viability of NAK as a mine within the current metal cycle.