Arras drills 0.61% CuEq over 1,124.1 metres at Beskauga, Kazakhstan

Arras Minerals Corp. [ARK-TSXV] reported assay results from holes Bg21007 and Bg21008 from the continuing exploration drill program at the Beskauga copper-gold deposit and surrounding area, northeastern Kazakhstan.

Highlights include Hole Bg21007 that returned a significant intersection of 1,124.1 metres of mineralization grading 0.61% copper-equivalent (CuEq) or 0.74 g/t gold-equivalent (AuEq) (0.40 g/t gold, 0.25% copper, 1.7 g/t silver and 28.2 ppm molybdenum) starting at 46.0 metres from surface to end of hole, including 136.0 metres grading 1.01% CuEq or 1.22 g/t AuEq (0.59 g/t Au, 0.46% Cu, 3.4 g/t Ag and 47.9 ppm Mo) from 50.0 metres depth down-hole, including 70.0 metres grading 1.40% CuEq or 1.70 g/t AuEq (0.88 g/t Au, 0.61% Cu, 4.6 g/t Ag and 46.9 ppm Mo) from 87.0 metres depth down-hole and including 153.0 metres grading 0.81% CuEq or 0.98 g/t AuEq (0.55 g/t Au, 0.33% Cu, 2.1 g/t Ag and 21.3 ppm Mo) from 457.0 metres depth down-hole and including 159.0 metres grading 0.76% CuEq or 0.92 g/t AuEq (0.56 g/t Au, 0.27 % Cu, 1.7 g/t Ag and 28.1 ppm Mo) from 897.0 metres depth down-hole.

The host diorite is continuously mineralized throughout the entire hole. Mineralization remains open at depth with the hole ending in high grades up to 0.78% CuEq.

Hole Bg21008 returned an intersection of 568.7 metres of mineralization grading 0.39% CuEq or 0.47 g/t AuEq (0.23 g/t gold Au, 0.18% copper Cu, 0.8 g/t Ag and 23.8 ppm Mo) starting at 41.9 metres from surface to end of hole, including 192.7 metres grading 0.59% CuEq or 0.72 g/t AuEq (0.40 g/t Au, 0.24% Cu, 1.0 g/t Ag and 16.7 ppm Mo) from 286.3 metres depth down-hole and including 32 metres grading 0.80% CuEq or 0.97 g/t AuEq (0.31 g/t Au, 0.52% Cu, 0.7 g/t Ag and 1.3 ppm Mo) from 504.0 metres depth down-hole.

Diamond drilling is ongoing at Beskauga and Beskauga South with further assay results expected in the coming months. In addition, a 20,000-metre shallow KGK drilling program was initiated on the company’s Beskauga and Stepnoi projects in September and is expected to be completed by the end of November.

Tim Barry, CEO, commented, “The Beskauga Project continues to produce thick, high grade, near surface intercepts. Bg21007 successfully demonstrated the continuity of the copper-gold mineralization over 1-kilometre vertical depth, with high-grade mineralization dipping to the SSW of the deposit and remaining open at depth. Bg21008 demonstrates the presence of high-tenor quartz-magnetite-bornite-chalcopyrite veins hosted within the potassic altered monzodiorite, suggesting that with continued drilling the margins of this essentially undrilled intrusion could add significant volume to the Beskauga mineral resource estimate which we published in March 2022.

“In addition to Beskauga, we have also recently drill tested targets at ‘Beskauga South” located approximately 3.2 km south of the Beskauga deposit. Visual confirmation of sulphide mineralization in these holes demonstrates the size of the copper-gold mineralizing system in the Beskauga area. This is further supported by the alteration footprint identified through our shallow KGK drilling, which remains open in nearly all directions.”

In October 2021, Arras announced the start of the initial phase of a permitted 30,000-metre 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 drill program is also targeting a series of previously undrilled targets in the wider area.

The Beskauga deposit is a gold-copper-silver deposit with an Indicated Mineral Resource of 111.2 million tonnes grading 0.49 g/t gold, 0.30% copper, and 1.3 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 Mineral Resource of 92.6 million tonnes grading 0.50 g/t gold, 0.24% copper and 1.1 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. The constraining open pit was optimized and calculated using a Gross Metal Value cut-off of $20/tonne based on a price of $1,750/oz for gold, $3.50/lb for copper, $22/oz for silver, and with an average recovery of 85% for copper and 74.5% for gold and 50.0% for silver.