QC Copper and Gold on the hunt for the red metal and eyeing consolidation in the famous Chibougamau district of Quebec

• Opemiska in Quebec expected to be a high-grade, open-pit resource at surface
• Drilling program is ongoing
• Copper poised to stand out in a post-pandemic economy

What QC Copper and Gold does:

QC Copper and Gold Inc (CVE:QCCU) (OTCMKTS:QCCUF) is part of the Ore Group of companies, and changed its name from PowerOre Inc in September 2020 to “better reflect” the group’s evolution.

The company’s focus is on Quebec and copper and gold which are the commodities most prevalent within its flagship Opemiska project but also within the Chibougamau district at large.

The Opemiska copper complex spans around 13,000 hectares, boasts significant infrastructure, and hosts four past-producing underground mines called Springer, Perry, Robitaille and Cooke, which were previously operated by Falconbridge, before being bought by Xstrata.

Falconbridge operated the mines from 1953 to 1991 and produced a total of 23.6 million tonnes at 2.14% copper, 0.99 grams per ton (g/t) gold. Historical production from the four mines is pegged at over 1.1 billion pounds of copper and over 750,000 ounces of gold.

QC Copper is reinterpreting this past underground operation as a high-grade open-pit copper project and its drilling in 2019 exceeded expectations with nearly all holes hitting “significant” mineralization over broad intersections at shallow depth, confirming zones of disseminated copper mineralization around high-grade veins.

Results included 58.1 metres (m) at 1.41% copper-equivalent from 49.9m depth including 8.5m at 5.9% copper-equivalent and 133.9m at 0.65% copper-equivalent, from 16m depth.

The company says the next steps for the Springer and Perry mines include the systematic drilling at Springer to expand the open-cut resource, to delineate an open pit and underground resource at Perry, to carry out a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for Springer and Perry, and to evaluate the economics of a centralized mill.

QC Copper and Gold also owns a 36% equity stake in Baselode Energy, which is exploring for uranium in the Athabasca basin of Canada, and which it says is a commodity entering an overdue bull cycle.

How is it doing::

In December 2020, QC Copper and Gold successfully received permits from the government of Quebec for its 20,000 metre (m) drill program at Opemiska, with the rigs then due to start turning on January 25, 2021. The company said that around 75% of the drilling will focus on resource delineation and the rest will go towards brownfield exploration, mainly focused on the Cooke-Robitaille property.

At the start of 2021, the junior miner said 75 holes would be distributed between the Springer and Perry mines to delineate a near-surface, in-pit mineral resource. Weeks later, the group reported rapid progress for the program, saying that as of February 11, nine holes had been completed with 2,196m drilled. The work was progressing on a 24 hour-a-day, seven-days-a-week basis, the firm revealed.

As expected, known veins were appearing where predicted on the firm’s model and surrounded by haloes of lower grade mineralization, it noted. In addition, new and previously unknown and unmined narrower veins were also present, the company added.

First results from the drilling started coming through in April, when the company reported assays from the first three diamond drill holes of the planned 75 hole program.

Highlight drill results included 126m (starting at 51m depth) of 0.44% copper equivalent in one hole. This included an intersection 55.5m of 0.64% copper equivalent, and a separate intersection of 7.5m of 1.28% copper equivalent. Another hole hit 76.5m of 0.54% copper equivalent and a separate intersection of 18m of 0.80% copper equivalent.

QC Copper and Gold’s most recent drill results, issued in May, had highlights of 140m of 0.44% copper-equivalent starting from a depth of 36m in one hole. Another hole showed 53.5m of 0.56% copper-equivalent from a depth of 31.5m. The company said the program was 90% complete and aimed at validating and defining a near-surface bulk tonnage resource.

On May 14, the company also told investors that it was set to amend the terms, which it described as “favourable”, for its previously announced acquisition of a 50% ownership interest in the 987-hectare advanced-stage Roger gold-copper exploration project in the Chibougamau district.

The company is buying the stake from Pasofino Gold Ltd, while the other 50% interest remains with SOQUEM – a subsidiary of Investissement Québec.

An updated 2018 estimate for Roger showed an indicated resource of 10,900,000 metric tonnes at a grade of 0.85 g/t of gold, 0.80 g/t of silver and 0.06% of copper for a total of 333,000 ounces of gold-equivalent, using a cut-off grade of 0.45 g/t gold-equivalent.

Inflection points:

• More Opemiska drilling results
• Copper/ gold price moves
• More consolidation in the Chibougamau district

What the boss says:

In the company’s most recent statement about the Roger gold-copper project acquisition, QC Copper and Gold’s CEO Stephen Stewart said: “These are favourable terms for this strategic asset acquisition that fits into our vision for a consolidated Chibougamau District. The Roger is a sizable NI 43-101 pit constrained gold-copper resource with excellent expansion potential. It is also about 10 km from the property boundary of our flagship Opemiska project.”

“The Opemiska and its ongoing drill program remains our core focus however we felt compelled to act when Roger opportunity presented itself. When shareholders evaluate this pit constrained resource relative to the consideration paid, I believe they will see the value of this accretive acquisition,” he added.

Contact the author at [email protected]

Story by ProactiveInvestors