Osisko logs 3.49% copper at Gaspé project in Quebec

Osisko Metals (TSX: OM; US-OTC: OMZNF) kicked off its 2026 drilling campaign at the Gaspé copper project in eastern Quebec with a clutch of high-grade intercepts that could add mineralization within the projected pit shell.

Hole 30-1196 in the Needle Mountain expansion area cut 80 metres grading 1.93% copper, 9.64 grams silver per tonne and 0.013% molybdenum from 196 metres depth, Osisko said Tuesday in a statement. The interval included a 30-metre section averaging 3.49% copper, 18.4 grams silver and 0.018% molybdenum from 224 metres downhole.

“Many of the intercepts sit within modelled waste rock of the 2026 Whittle pit, meaning successful conversion would add tonnage to the resource without expanding the pit footprint,” Scotia Capital mining analyst Eric Winmill wrote in a note.

Osisko is working to expand the Gaspé copper system’s resource with a view to potentially reopening the former Noranda mine in Murdochville, about 825 km northeast of Montreal. It’s targeting permits and construction by the early 2030s, with initial capital spending estimated at about $1.8 billion.

Shares of the company rose 5.8% to $1.64 Tuesday morning in Toronto, valuing the company at about $1.2 billion (US$874 million). The stock has traded between 38¢ and $1.91 in the past year.

Conversion potential

Other results released Tuesday include nearby hole 30-1195, which cut 76.5 metres of 0.35% copper, 2.54 grams silver and 0.020% molybdenum from 281 metres depth. A deeper interval below the pit shell cut 61.5 metres grading 0.27% copper, 1.74 grams silver and 0.008% molybdenum from about 569 metres downhole.

“The 2026 drill program is off to an excellent start with three new significant intersections reported from the Needle Mountain expansion area, all within modelled waste rock of the 2026 mineral resource estimate Whittle pit volume,” CEO Robert Wares said in the release.

“With the launch of the 2026 drill program, we believe that there is excellent potential for conversion of currently categorized in-pit waste rock to new mineralized zones in the direction of Needle Mountain.”

Five drill rigs are now turning at Gaspé, with two more expected to start work later this month. This year’s drill program is designed to both upgrade inferred resources into higher-confidence categories and test areas beyond the existing resource model for additional growth potential.

Twice the metal

Gaspé revolves around the historic Copper Mountain mine, which produced copper from 1955 until 1999 under Noranda ownership. Osisko acquired the property from Glencore (LSE: GLEN) in 2023 and has since undertaken extensive drilling aimed at expanding and upgrading the resource base.

According to the company, Gaspé hosts the largest undeveloped copper resource in eastern North America.

Osisko in April released an updated resource that more than doubled copper metal content. Gaspé is now estimated to hold 1.83 billion measured and indicated tonnes grading 0.27% copper, 0.017% molybdenum and 1.57 grams silver for 10.77 million lb. copper, 673.2 million lb. molybdenum and 92.8 million oz. silver of contained metal.

Inferred resources were pegged at 238.8 million tonnes grading 0.41% copper, 0.016% molybdenum and 1.88 grams silver for contained metal of 2.16 million lb. copper, 82.9 million lb. molybdenum and 14.5 million oz. silver.

Mineralization at Gaspé is classified as a porphyry copper-skarn system. Copper occurs primarily as disseminated and stockwork chalcopyrite accompanied by pyrite or pyrrhotite with minor bornite and molybdenite, Osisko says.