Arras drills 0.59% CuEq over 1,120.4 metres at Beskauga, Kazakhstan

Arras Minerals Corp. [ARK-TSXV] reported assay results from holes Bg21003 and Bg21004 from the continuing drill program at the Beskauga copper-gold deposit and surrounding area.

Hole Bg21004 returned a significant intersection of 1120.4 metres of mineralization grading 0.59% copper-equivalent (CuEq) or 0.73 g/t gold-equivalent (AuEq) (0.39 g/t gold, 0.25% copper, 1.31 g/t silver and 22.3 ppm molybdenum) starting at 43.9 metres from surface to end of hole, including 465.1 metres grading 0.81% CuEq or 1.00 g/t AuEq (0.52 g/t Au, 0.36% Cu, 1.70 g/t Ag and 25.6 ppm Mo) from 43.9 metres depth down-hole and including 35 metres grading 0.76% CuEq or 0.94 g/t AuEq (0.46 g/t Au, 0.37% Cu, 2.0 g/t Ag and 26.2 ppm Mo) from 741 metres depth down-hole and including 207 metres grading 0.73% CuEq or 0.90 g/t AuEq (0.55 g/t Au, 0.26% Cu, 1.68 g/t Ag and 23.7 ppm Mo) from 863 metres depth down-hole.

The hole demonstrates the continuity of high-grade mineralization to depth, up to 460 metres beneath the base of the block model of Arras’ recently announced Mineral Resource Estimate for Beskauga. The hole was terminated at a depth of 1164.3 metres due to the capacity of the drill rig and ended in porphyry-style mineralization with mineralization remaining open at depth.

The top of Hole Bg21003 returned 83.1 metres of mineralization grading 0.51% CuEq (0.33 g/t Au, 0.23% Cu, 1.19 g/t Ag, and 13 ppm Mo) starting at 49.5 metres from surface before the hole entered an unmineralized post-mineral porphyritic diorite.

Drilling is ongoing at Beskauga with further assay results expected in the coming weeks.

Commenting on the results, Tim Barry, CEO, stated, “When considering the copper-equivalent grade multiplied by the length of the intercept, hole Bg21004 represents one of the best holes ever drilled on the Beskauga property, second only to hole Bg21001 that returned an impressive 973.2 metres of 0.82% CuEq. Perhaps more significantly, hole Bg21004 drilled 460 metres below the base of our current resource block model, substantially expanding the potential volume of high-grade mineralization to depth in the southwest part of the main deposit. Our Beskauga project continues to deliver, demonstrating the large-scale characteristics of the deposit. We expect further drill assays to be finalized over the coming weeks which we will report as they become available.”

In October 2021, Arras announced the start of a planned 30,000-meter diamond drill program targeting the extensions of the Beskauga deposit both laterally and at depth. The drill program is being conducted under the option to purchase agreement executed on January 26, 2021, with Copperbelt AG, a private mineral exploration company registered in Zug, Switzerland.

In addition to testing the extents of the Beskauga deposit, the drilling program is also targeting a series of previously undrilled targets in the wider area. These wider targets are supported by both ground and recently flown airborne geophysics, as well as in-situ geochemistry, derived using KGK drilling (a drilling method akin to ‘wet’ reverse circulation drilling, that recovers a 1-3 m core sample from the top of the underlying bedrock which is used by Arras to efficiently map lithology, alteration, and geochemistry across the property beneath overburden).

The Beskauga deposit is a gold-copper-silver deposit with a NI 43-101 compliant Indicated Mineral Resource of 111.2 million tonnes grading 0.49 g/t gold, 0.30% copper, and 1.34 g/t silver for 1.75 million ounces of contained gold, 333.6 thousand tonnes of contained copper, and 4.79 million ounces of contained silver and an Inferred Resource of 92.6 million tonnes grading 0.50 g/t gold, 0.24% copper and 1.14 g/t silver for 1.49 million ounces of contained gold, 222.2 thousand tonnes of contained copper, and 3.39 million ounces of contained silver. This resource is based on 122 drill holes completed between 2007 and 2021.

The constraining pit was optimized and calculated using an NSR cut-off based on a price of: $1,750/oz for gold, $3.50/lb for copper, $22.00/oz for silver, and with an average recovery

The region is mining-friendly and hosts several large-scale mining operations. Arras’ operations are based out of the nearby mining town of Ekibastuz, which services the largest coal mine in Kazakhstan and provides a highly trained workforce for the company to draw upon. Paved road access, 1100 KVA power lines, heavy rail, and the Irtysh-Karaganda irrigation canal are all within a 25-km radius of the project.