QC Copper and Gold Inc. (TSX-V: QCCU) is pleased to announce that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a 50% ownership interest in the Roger Gold-Copper project in the Chibougamau District of Quebec.

“This is a 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 plenty of expansion potential and is proximate to 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,” said Stephen Stewart, QC Copper’s CEO.

Acquisition Terms of Roger

QC Copper acquired its 50% interest in Roger from Pasofino Gold Ltd. (TSX-V:VEIN). The other 50% interest remains with SOQUEM,a subsidiary of Investissement Québec. Upon closing, QC Copper will issue Pasofino $1 million in cash and 5.5 million shares. This represents a total consideration paid to Pasofino, as at QC Copper’s April 2, 2021 closing price, of $2 million. This transaction is subject to TSXV approval and Soquem waiving its right of first refusal. The Roger Gold-Copper project is a royalty free property.

Exploration Potential on Roger Gold-Copper Project

The Roger deposit has been interpreted as a reduced-type intrusion-related porphyry gold-copper deposit that shows both lithological and structural controls.  The principal host is a felsic porphyry intrusion with sericite-chlorite alteration in the core of the deposit and chlorite-carbonate on the periphery. The deposit is bounded to the south by the east-northeast trending McAdam fault that juxtaposes the mineralization against the ultramafic Roberge sill to the south.  Faults parallel to the McAdam are present on the north side of the deposit and are associated with the North gold mineralized zone.  Gold and copper distribution is low grade but forms wide intersections that could be amenable to open pit exploitation.  Moreover the lower cut-off grade used (0.45 gpt gold-equivalent) suggests that a much larger in-pit resource could be present if higher gold and copper metal prices, and hence lower cut-off grades are considered.

At the regional scale the Roger gold-copper deposit is located immediately southeast of the Gwillim fault which we have interpreted as contemporaneous with the copper-gold mineralization on the Company’s Opemiska project at Chapais and possibly the same age as the deposits in the Chibougamau Camp.  Moreover the Gwillim gold mine, located on the northwest side of the Gwillim Fault and on the property immediately adjacent to the west of Roger, suggests that the nearby segment of the Gwillim fault may have been particularly favourable to gold and copper mineralization.  In this model the McAdam Fault and its parallel structures hosting the Roger deposit is a low angle splay off the Gwillim fault and the Gwillim Mine, is a local conjugate fault structure analogous the northeast and northwest trending mineralized shear-vein systems Chibougamau and the east-west to northwest trending shear-vein systems at Chapais.  Given this structural interpretation we believe the Roger Property has considerable exploration potential for discovery between the McAdam and Gwillim Faults.

About Roger Gold-Copper Project

Roger is an advanced-stage exploration project containing the Roger gold-copper deposit. In total, 58.000 m of diamond drilling have been completed on the property.  Underground exploration undertaken in 1988 included 1,177 m of development, 1,433 m of underground drilling and over 1,000 m of chip sampling.

The 987-hectare Roger project is located in the Chibougamau Mining District within the prolific Abitibi greenstone belt. It is situated 5 km from the historic mining center of Chibougamau, Quebec and has all-season road access. A power line that serviced the past-producing Troilus copper-gold mine crosses the property and connects to the Obalski electoral distribution station located 4 km south of Chibougamau.

An updated mineral resource estimate on the Roger gold-copper deposit was completed in August 2018. This resource estimate is constrained in a conceptual open pit shell. The 2018 updated mineral resource estimate was prepared by GéoPointCom of Val-d’Or, Quebec.  At a cut-off grade of 0.45 g/t gold-equivalent, the Indicated Resource is estimated at 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, while the Inferred Resource is estimated at 6,569,000 metric tonnes at a grade of 0.75 g/t of gold, 1.18 g/t of silver and 0.11% of copper for a total of 202,000 ounces of gold equivalent.  The following metal prices were used in the calculation of gold-equivalent: 1,240 US$ for Au (ounce), 16.528 US$ for Ag (ounce) and 6.549 US$ Cu (Kg).  The Technical Report is available on Sedar under the profile of Pasofino Gold Ltd at www.sedar.ca.

About the QC Cooper & Gold 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 has the ideal in-place 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 and Gold Inc., and a Qualified Person as defined in “National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.”