New Assays Confirming Significant High-Grade Copper At The Storm Project

TORONTO - Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. reported on the 2022 drill season, confirming significant near surface high-grade copper at the Storm Copper Project on Somerset Island, Nunavut, Canada. This is the maiden drilling program for American West Metals Limited who is the project operator, since entering an option agreement with Aston Bay in 2021.

"These drill results confirm the near-surface high grade copper mineralization at the 2750N Zone, likely doubling the volume of mineralization, once again demonstrating the enormous potential of the Storm Project," said, Thomas Ullrich, CEO. "We look forward to next season's drill campaign, which aims to define further resources at the 2750N Zone as well at other areas of near-surface high-grade copper mineralization, such as the 2200N and 4100N Zones. Samples are enroute for the next phase of beneficiation test work to be conducted over the winter, with the objective of developing a definitive flowsheet for a potential direct shipping product mining operation. We are excited by the very successful efforts of our partner American West to so rapidly advance the project."

Drill holes ST22-06 and ST22-07 were drilled in the western part the 2750N Zone and successfully encountered thick intervals of copper sulfides. Mineralization encountered in these two drill holes is similar to that observed in other drill holes in this area and, importantly, is dominantly chalcocite. Mineralization at Storm is typically zoned, with a margin of pyrite-chalcopyrite-sphalerite-galena mineralization surrounding a copper-rich chalcocite core (chalcocite contains 79.9% copper). The presence of chalcocite suggests that these two drill holes are in the core of the mineralized system, with additional mineralization potentially located to the west.

Drill holes ST22-03, ST22-04 and ST22-08 are all located in the eastern portion of the 2750N Zone. ST22-04 was drilled within the same section as ST22-05 and encountered strong copper mineralization, including 2m @ 4.04% Cu and 1m @ 8.29% Cu within a broader interval of 10m @ 2.36% Cu from 53m downhole.

The assay results for ST22-03 and ST22-08 shows intervals of lower grade copper, which is a function of the fined grained/veinlet style of the mineralization encountered in these drill holes.

The assays also indicate that some mineralization initially logged within ST22-03 and ST22-08 is sooty pyrite and marcasite, not chalcocite, and this would support the interpretation that this may be a marginal part of the ore system to the east within this zone.

Another interpretation is that the mineralization in the east may be offset by a series of north-south oriented faults. The presence of brecciated rock in drill hole ST22-02 and at the surface, accompanied with very fine-grained (sooty and potentially milled) pyrite and apparent left-lateral offset of the zone may indicate fault offsets of the mineralization.

The drill holes completed this year within the 2750N Zone have confirmed the thicknesses and grade of the historical copper intersections and continuity between drill holes. The mineralized system is interpreted to be open to the west and we expect further discoveries along strike. Early indications suggest that given the high grades, increasing volumes and shallow nature of the copper mineralization, there is high potential that the 2750N Zone could support an initial small footprint DSP type operation.

This drill program has highlighted the continuity of the near surface copper mineralization and the potential for significant tonnages within the 2750N Zone. This zone is one of five major zones of high-grade mineralization that has been identified by historical exploration; four remaining zones await follow-up drilling to confirm potential additional copper mineralization.

The areas of immediate exploration interest are the 2200N and 4100N Zones, where thick intervals of copper mineralization have already been defined by historical drilling. Additional drilling at these zones is expected to significantly increase the scale of the near surface copper mineralization within the Storm Project area.

The 2200N Zone is located approximately 540m to the south of the 2750N Zone and is characterized by extensive outcropping of chalcocite over several hundred meters. The 2200N Zone is also located within an area of faulting related to the main graben structures.

Both the 2750N and 2200N Zones are located above a large, flat lying and deeper 1,800 x 1,000m Fixed Loop Electromagnetic (FLEM) anomaly that was also identified in the 2021 EM program. This feature is coincident with strong gravity anomalism between the major graben faults, which is an ideal location for the accumulation of sedimentary copper mineralization.

The 4100N Zone is a blind zone of mineralization defined by a historical Versatile Time domain Electromagnetics (VTEM) anomaly that is over 1km long, and multiple untested shallow FLEM plates that were defined in the 2021 survey. Given the lack of false-positive anomalies encountered in drilling to date and extensive copper mineralization in historical holes, these EM conductors could represent further occurrences of copper sulfide mineralization.

The 4100N offers considerable room for expansion (Figure 4). The known mineralization in the zone extends over an area of at least 1,000m x 400m and is open to the north, east and west, with potential for deep extensions to the mineralization across a fault on the south side of the Zone. Seventeen holes have been drilled at spacings of 100m to 200m, and all have encountered copper mineralization. The mineralization drilled to date is irregular but extensive and lies at a predictable stratigraphic position.

The 2200N and 4100N zones present as compelling and high priority target areas to add further potential high-grade copper resources at surface, and to significantly increase the scale of the copper endowment within the Storm Project. In addition, there remains considerable discovery potential in exploration of the deeper FLEM conductors that may represent sedimentary copper style mineralization.