Extensive Drilling Commences At The Joy Copper-Gold District

VANCOUVER - Amarc Resources Ltd. reported that extensive core drilling has commenced at the JOY Copper-Gold District in north-central British Columbia (BC). The program's goal is the discovery of porphyry Cu-Au deposits by wide-spaced drilling over eight large drill-ready sulphide mineralized systems clustered along a number of emerging mineralized trends. These trends resemble the 4 km-long northeast mineralized trend in the Kemess Mining District, located immediately adjacent to the south of the JOY tenure. Owned by Centerra Gold, the Kemess Mining District includes the Kemess North, Kemess Underground and Kemess East porphyry Cu-Au deposits.

The current program is fully funded by Freeport-McMoRan Mineral Properties Canada Inc., which is earning-in to the JOY Project. Amarc continues as operator.

"We are very excited that the 2024 drilling program is fully underway at the JOY Cu-Au District with two drill rigs," said President and CEO Diane Nicolson. "Our drilling and District-wide geological, geophysical and geochemical programs at JOY over the past two years are culminating in this discovery focused drilling program, which was designed in collaboration with the Freeport team.”

The Northwest Gossan (NWG) is a new and exciting porphyry Cu-Au target that has never been drill tested. NWG is located at the northwest extremity of a possible 15 km mineralized trend that extends southeast toward the Gap and SWT Targets. NWG is characterized by several layers of intriguing technical evidence that indicate proximity to a porphyry Cu-Au system. The targeted sulphide system is outlined by a substantial 3.7 km 2 Induced Polarization (IP) anomaly (>14mV/V) with coincident Cu, Au, Mo and Ag anomalies outlined in soils and rocks. Initial drill testing of NWG will focus primarily on a 1,500 m long and 500 m wide internal zone of higher (>20 mV/V) IP chargeability.

PINE Trend drilling is also planned to advance important scale sulphide mineralized targets along this northeast striking 15 km trend, including at the at the PINE Deposit (6 km 2 ), Canyon Discovery (5 km 2 ), Twins Deposit Target (7 km 2 ) and SWT Target (3 km 2 ) as defined by Induced Polarization (IP) chargeability anomalies. The PINE Deposit Target is characterized by a strike extension of Cu-Au mineralization of over 1,700 m, encountered from near surface to depth. This extent will be further tested this season laterally and to depth, following up on drilling intercepts such as 204 m of 0.42% CuEQ* (0.18% Cu, 0.41 g/t Au and 2.3 g/t Ag) and 105 m of 0.40% CuEQ (0.13% Cu, 0.47 g/t Au and 2.3 g/t Ag).

The Canyon Deposit Target is where Amarc's initial drilling discovered significant new porphyry Cu-Au mineralization. Extensions to the mineralization at this largely overburden covered target are currently being drill tested. Discovery drill hole intercepts included, for example, 96 m of 0.51% CuEQ* (0.39% Cu, 0.18 g/t Au and 2.6 g/t Ag), within 296 m of 0.39% CuEQ (0.30% Cu, 0.14 g/t Au and 1.7 g/t Ag).

Twins Deposit Target initial widely-spaced exploration drilling completed by Amarc at this prospective target encountered widespread porphyry Cu-Au mineralization in drill holes, including 27 m of 0.29% CuEQ* (0.12% Cu, 0.30 g/t Au, 1.2 g/t Ag) and 204 m of 0.11% CuEQ (0.04% Cu, 0.14 g/t Au, 0.4 g/t Ag). Further drilling is underway to test the significant exploration potential for another Cu-Au deposit discovery.

At the SWT Target drilling is planned at SWT to investigate the source of porphyry Au-Cu mineralization from six samples of near source float, five of which grade from 1.73 to 14.4 g/t Au with 0.07 to 0.24% Cu and the sixth sample grading 0.28 g/t Au and 0.02% Cu. Also at the MEX Trend drilling is planned at the South MEX and More MEX Targets within the north-northeast trending 6 km MEX Trend. South MEX is a >1.9 km 2 open target. Drilling will follow up on an initial hole that intersected anomalous concentrations of Ag-Au(-Cu) in a geological environment similar to that hosting the Kemess District porphyry Cu-Au deposits.

In addition to the many deposit scale targets noted above, the JOY District also hosts a high-quality pipeline of seven other Cu-Au targets located across the District where additional survey work is required to bring them up to a drill-ready status.