Drill results augur well for DRC at Afton

Vancouver — DRC Resources (DRC-V) has tabled encouraging assay results from its Afton copper project, near Kamloops, B.C.

This season’s drill program is part of a $4.7-million exploration program recommended by the company’s independent engineer. DRC has spent a total of $2.5 million at Afton over the past two years and drilled 49 NQ-size (63.5-mm core diameter) diamond drill holes totalling 23,800 metres.

To date, copper-gold mineralization has been traced over a 1,000-metre strike length, and drilling indicates that the mineralized zone remains open beyond the indicated mineral resource boundaries to the northeast and southwest.

Mineralization is hosted in a steeply plunging body that strikes southwest from the base of the 274-metre-deep open-pit. This structure, known as the Main zone, averages 70 metres wide, 600 metres long and about 775 metres deep. In addition to it, DRC has delineated the Northeast Extension zone, which measures 30 metres wide and is an en echelon continuation of the Main zone.

The Main zone is estimated to have an indicated resource of 34.3 million tonnes grading 1.55% copper, plus 1.14 grams gold, 0.125 gram palladium and 3.42 grams silver per tonne, whereas the Northeast Extension zone has an indicated resource of about 1.1 million tonnes averaging 1.02% copper, 0.86 gram gold, 0.1 gram palladium and 5.49 grams silver. A cutoff grade of 0.5% copper was used for these calculations.

A highlight of recent drilling was hole 69, which was collared 200 metres southwest of previously reported hole 66 (1.2% copper over 200 metres). Hole 69 cut 88 metres averaging 1.2% copper, 1.03 grams gold, 0.15 gram palladium and 2.15 grams silver starting at 408 metres down-hole. Included was a 52-metre section that averaged 1.38% copper, 1.05 grams gold, 0.11 gram palladium and 2.21 grams silver, as well as a 30-metre section of 1.11% copper, 1.17 grams gold, 0.23 gram palladium and 2.36 grams silver.

No less encouraging was hole 71, collared 100 metres southwest of hole 66. It intersected 88 metres averaging 1.03% copper, 0.89 gram gold, 0.11 gram palladium and 2.18 grams silver starting at 270 metres down-hole.

The Afton deposit is in the 35-km-long Iron Mask Batholith at the northwestern end of the Iron Mask pluton. These intrusive rocks consist of Triassic-aged diorites and gabbros hosted in andesitic and basaltic rocks breccias, tuffs, mudstones argillites and limestones of the Nicola Group.