QC Copper and Gold Inc. (TSX-V: QCCU) is pleased to report additional assay results from its recently completed drill program on its flagship Opemiska Copper-Gold project in the Chibougamau-Chapais mining district.

Highlight intervals including 64.0 metres of 0.54% CuEq¹ (OPM-21-38), 28.5 metres of 0.54% CuEq (OPM-21-81, beginning from 3 metres downhole), and 23 metres of 1.58% CuEq (OPM-21-83) were returned from the Mill Zone, an area underlying the old mill operated by Falconbridge between 1953 and 1991. The Mill Zone contains several high-grade veins extending to surface that were not mined due to the need to maintain thick crown pillars for ground stability. Similar to other mineralized structures on the Opemiska projects, the Mill Zone’s high-grade veins also feature halos of disseminated mineralization.

“Previous 2021 drilling from this zone yielded similarly encouraging near-surface results including 140 metres grading 0.44% CuEQ (OPM-21-26, beginning 36 metres downhole) and 53.5 metres grading 0.56% CuEq (OPM-21-41, beginning 31 metres downhole). The Mill Zone (Table 1) is significant as its near-surface mineralization includes both unmined high-grade veins and disseminated mineralization. Given its near-surface location and robust grade profile, the Mill Zone hosts the potential to be a high-margin starter pit as part of a larger open-pit mining scenario” said Charles Beaudry, VP Exploration of QC Copper. Additional holes have been drilled into the Mill Zone for which assays are pending.

Footwall Mineralization Potential

Most of the 2021 holes were concluded within the hanging wall of mined veins to maintain efficiency in drilling, and drilling was stopped on contact with previously mined stopes. We believe the disseminated mineralization is essentially symmetrical around the veins and there is a high likelihood that a similar length of mineralization exists on the stopes’ footwall side. Our existing data shows a fairly symmetrical and equidistant halo that emanates from the veins. We plan to capture this footwall mineralization in our next drill program to increase our tonnes and reduce the strip ratio.

Click here to View a Presentation of Plans, Sections & Intersections from Table 1.

Table 1: Reported 2021 Mineralized Intersections from the Mill Zone.

The following table summarizes all drill results obtained from Mill Zone as part of the Company’s 2021 drill program.

Orientation of Drilling and True Widths of Mineralization

Field-based and drill hole evidence indicates that several orientations of veins are present on the Opemiska Property. Around the Springer Mine, veining is predominantly EW trending and steeply dipping to the north. South-facing drill holes were conducted in order to better approximate true widths. However, mineralized intervals typically expand well beyond the main veins as part of cross cutting veinlets creating disseminated mineralized halos. In the disseminated mineralization, the true width of intersections is estimated to be the same as the drill core width. However, the mineralization may have an overall envelope that is different.

About the Opemiska Copper Complex

The Opemiska Copper Complex is located adjacent to Chapais, Quebec, within the Chibougamau region. Opemiska is also within the Abitibi Greenstone belt and within the boundaries of the Province of Quebec’s Plan Nord, which promotes and funds infrastructure and development of natural resource projects. The Opemiska property covers 12,782 hectares and covers the past producing Springer, Perry, Robitaille and Cooke mines, owned and operated by Falconbridge. The project hosts excellent on-site infrastructure, including a power station and direct access to Highway 113 and the Canadian National Railway.

QP Statement

The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Charles Beaudry, P.Geo and géo., Director and Vice President Exploration for QC Copper & Gold, a Qualified Person, as defined in “National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.”  For the exploration undertaken by QC Copper & Gold, all assay batches are accompanied by rigorous Quality Assurance procedures that include insertion of standards and blanks and verification assays in a secondary laboratory.  Quality Control results, including the laboratory’s control samples, are evaluated immediately on reception of batch results and corrections implemented immediately if necessary.  All drill collars are surveyed and positioned in UTM coordinates.  Downhole deviations surveys are done with a Reflex instrument at 30m intervals.  A systematic density measurement program using two methods was implemented to measure the density of all rock types.  A specific susceptibility measurement protocol was also implemented to estimate the relative abundance of magnetite in the Ventures Sill’s variably magnetic rocks.  A focused optical and acoustic televiewer surveying program is planned at the end of the program to obtain correctly oriented structural measurement to inform the interpolation algorithms of the block modelling software that will be used to estimate the mineral resources Springer and Perry Mines pit.