Kodiak Copper (TSXV:KDK) has released results from its drill program at the MPD copper-gold porphyry project, which it owns entirely, in southern British Columbia. The company applied an exploration model similar to Cadia-Ridgeway or Red Chris, leading to the discovery of a larger porphyry system in the project’s West Zone. The model helped identify mineralized zones near high-angle structural controls and changes in geology. This technique has also proven effective in discovering high-grade zones at the nearby Copper Mountain mine earlier this year.

Chris Taylor, Chairman of Kodiak, commented in a press release: “The West Zone is clearly significantly larger than past explorers had appreciated and contains higher grades as well, where copper and gold are concentrated by key geological features. The significant near-surface copper at the West Zone and other porphyry centres at MPD are an attractive complement to the deeper higher-grade mineralization discovered by Kodiak at the Gate Zone.”

Three drill holes, designated as AXE-23-005, 006, and 007, aimed to explore the northern extents of the West Zone but faced difficult drilling conditions and did not reach their target depths. Two additional holes, AXE-23-008 and AXE-23-011, drilled from separate pads in the south-central part of the West Zone, extended the width and strike of mineralization and confirmed a new zone down to a depth of 962 meters.

Recent efforts have led to the deepest copper-gold porphyry intercepts ever reported from the MPD project, highlighting that the mineralization there is more extensive and intricate than previously understood.

The MPD project covers 226 square kilometers and is strategically located near several operating mines in southern Quesnel Terrane, a primary copper-gold production area in British Columbia. The site is easily accessible year-round and is situated between the towns of Merritt and Princeton, benefiting from good infrastructure in the vicinity.

Highlights from the results are as follows:

• Best ever drill holes at the West Zone, following the application of a Cadia-Ridgeway or Red Chris “style” of exploration model that targets higher grades and significant vertical extents within the total mineralized system.
• Shallow high-grade copper assaying 1.17% Cu (1.26% CuEq*) over 39 metres, within 0.33% Cu (0.39% CuEq*) over 198 metres, starting at 33 metres depth in drill hole AXE-23-008.
• Best mineralized interval reported from the West Zone to date; 0.49% Cu (0.58% CuEq*) over 254 metres, within 0.21% Cu (0.27% CuEq*) over 941 metres starting at bedrock surface in drill hole AXE-23-011.
• Holes AXE-23-008 and 011 confirmed the high-energy, mineralized hydrothermal breccia at depth in the West Zone, as first reported in AXE-23-002 (news release July 27, 2023). This new zone has now been extended to 185 metres of strike and remains open in all directions.
• New and historic drilling at the West Zone has confirmed porphyry mineralization over an area of 300 metres by 650 metres, and from surface to depths of 962 metres, which is open to extension.

• Hole AXE-23-011, drilled vertically in the southern portion of the West Zone, intersected mineralization from bedrock surface to 962 metres depth, assaying 0.49% Cu, 0.29 g/t Au and 1.30 g/t Ag (0.58% CuEq*) over 254 metres, within 0.21% Cu, 0.16 g/t Au and 0.64 g/t Ag (0.27% CuEq*) over an impressive intercept of 941 metres.
• Hole AXE-23-011 also added 185 metres of strike to the new mineralized hydrothermal breccia zone, assaying 0.32% Cu, 0.16 g/t Au and 0.95 g/t Ag (0.37% CuEq*) over 89 metres from 873 to 962 metres. Figure 4
• Hole AXE-23-008, drilled north along strike, intersected mineralization from near surface to 540 metres depth, assaying 0.33% Cu, 0.18 g/t Au and 0.88 g/t Ag (0.39% CuEq*) over 198 metres, within a broader zone of 0.18% Cu, 0.16 g/t Au and 0.59 g/t Ag (0.25% CuEq*) over 519 metres.
• Hole AXE-23-008 also encountered the new hydrothermal breccia zone over 153 metres from 735 to 888 metres, assaying 0.11% Cu, 0.17 g/t Au and 0.52 g/t Ag (0.19% CuEq*). Figure 4
• Hole AXE-23-007 extended the northern boundary of the West Zone mineralized envelope with 0.10% Cu, 0.11 g/t Au and 0.36 g/t Ag (0.15% CuEq*) over 182 metres.
• Two additional holes, AXE-23-005 and 006, were abandoned before reaching target depths due to difficult ground conditions. These holes nonetheless intersected moderate to high-grade gold in vein-like structures that enrich the porphyry mineralization, including 0.04% Cu and 4.54 g/t Au over 6 metres from 48 metres depth in drill hole AXE-23-005, and 0.12% Cu and 2.08 g/t Au over 4 metres from 71 metres depth in drill hole AXE-23-006

The above references an opinion and is for information purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Seek a licensed professional for investment advice. The author is not an insider or shareholder of any of the companies mentioned above.