EMX Royalty Corporation has announced 2017 drill results from the Malmyzh copper-gold porphyry project's Freedom Northwest prospect.
These results include an intercept of 417.3 meters (219.4-636.7 m) averaging 0.60% copper equivalent (0.50% copper and 0.21 g/t gold), including a higher grade sub-interval of 142.6 meters (255.4-398.0 m) averaging 0.74% copper equivalent (0.62% copper and 0.26 g/t gold) from hole AMM-216.
The mineralization is principally hosted in magmatic-hydrothermal breccias. The ongoing exploration program at Freedom Northwest represents the first deep drill testing at Malmyzh, as previous drilling has been concentrated on shallow mineralization throughout the district. Freedom Northwest is not included in the current Malmyzh resource estimate, which further emphasizes the project's exploration upside.
The Malmyzh exploration and mining licenses, located in Far East Russia, are held by IG Copper LLC ("IGC") (51%) and Freeport-McMoRan Exploration Corporation (49%), with IGC operating and managing the project. EMX is IGC's largest shareholder with 39% of the issued and outstanding shares.
IGC has also advised of recent board and management appointments that strengthen its team as Malmyzh is advanced towards development. These additions include Terry Rickard as a Director, Paul Korpi as Vice President of Project Development, and Gregory Collins as Chief Geologist.
Exploration Results. IGC's 2017 diamond drill program at Freedom Northwest was designed to further test breccia pipe mineralization initially recognized in late 2016 from hole AMM-213, which intersected 747.4 meters (108.7-856.1 m) averaging 0.49% copper equivalent (0.41% copper and 0.17 g/t gold) (true width). Three subsequent Freedom Northwest holes (AMM-214, -215, and -216) have been drilled so far this year, for a total of 2,437.6 meters.
AMM-214 was angled towards the northwest margin of the pipe and terminated in hydrothermal breccias. AMM-215 was collared ~250 meters east-southeast of AMM-214, and angled towards the center of the breccia pipe, intersecting continuous copper-gold mineralization over 680.6 meters. AMM-216, approximately on the same drill fence as AMM-215 and collared ~170 meters to the northwest, was drilled vertically near the center of the pipe, and intersected robustly mineralized hydrothermal breccias over 417.3 meters.
The 2017 drilling, combined with earlier Freedom Northwest drill results, suggests a broad, inferred outline of a pipe-like breccia body with approximate dimensions of 800 x 800 meters in plan view, and a vertical dimension of ~650 to over 850 meters. The interpreted breccia pipe footprint generally coincides with a circular magnetic anomaly defined from recent high resolution ground magnetic surveys.
Chalcopyrite-rich and chalcopyrite-bornite-magnetite mineralization is principally hosted in polymictic magmatic-hydrothermal breccias, and to a lesser extent in intrusive and phreatomagmatic breccias, diorite porphyries and hornfelsed sandstones. Higher grade intervals appear to coincide with increased percentages of quartz-chalcopyrite-magnetite vein clasts in the breccias. The source of these well mineralized vein clasts has yet to be identified. The Freedom Northwest breccia pipe, as currently understood, is significant for its size, and provides evidence of the well preserved nature of the Malmyzh porphyry district.
IGC is planning further follow-up at Freedom Northwest based upon the encouraging results from this initial round of deep targeted drilling at Malmyzh. This drilling has clearly demonstrated the upside exploration potential within the district. The high resolution magnetics data has been an important exploration tool for delineating drill targets at Freedom Northwest. Consequently, IGC intends to utilize high resolution magnetics to explore for additional and higher grade mineralization at the other porphyry centers in the district.
Project Overview. Malmyzh is located in Far East Russia, approximately 220 kilometers northeast of the city of Khabarovsk and the nearby border with China. The project has excellent physiographic, infrastructure and logistical characteristics, and is situated in the low relief hills of the Amur River valley, which is the major shipping river in the region. There are multiple options for transportation besides the Amur that include an adjacent paved Federal highway and regional rail facilities. As well, Malmyzh has nearby and readily available power and water sources.
The Malmyzh porphyry district occurs within a 16 by 5 kilometer intrusive corridor concealed beneath a thin veneer of in-situ soil and regolith. Copper-gold mineralization extends from shallow subcrop (~1 to 50 meters) to depths of 400 to more than 850 meters. The porphyry centers occur as Cretaceous-age dioritic stocks that intruded and hornfels-altered siltstone and sandstone sedimentary sequences.
Four resource deposits (i.e., Valley, Central, Freedom Southeast, and Flats) have been the focus of previous work. The Malmyzh open pit constrained inferred resources at a 0.30% copper equivalent cut-off are 1,661 million tonnes at average grades of 0.34% copper and 0.17 g/t gold, or 0.42% copper equivalent, containing 5.65 million tonnes (12.45 billion pounds) copper and 9.11 million ounces gold, or 7.06 million tonnes (15.56 billion pounds) copper equivalent. There are at least eleven additional porphyry prospects, including Freedom Northwest, that have undergone various degrees of reconnaissance drilling.
IGC Board and Management Appointments. IGC has recently filled key board and management positions with the appointment of Terry Rickard as a Director, Paul Korpi as Vice President of Project Development, and Gregory Collins as Chief Geologist. Dr. Rickard has 44 years of experience in advanced technology and financial organizations, and is currently the CEO and a Director of Till Capital, Ltd., as well as Silver Predator Corporation, a junior exploration company.
Mr. Korpi has over 40 years of mining industry experience, having worked in a variety of operations and project management positions, including development oversight of the Batu Hijau copper-gold mine for the Newmont-Sumitomo joint venture. Mr. Collins has 25 years of mineral exploration experience, most recently as the Exploration Manager (China and Russia) for Eldorado Gold Corporation.