Gold is on a tear.
Over the past five years, the rare earth mineral is up 44%, hovering near all-time highs, and it makes sense why.
With surging inflation, de-dollarization, and a looming recession, investors are seeking to preserve their wealth during a period of economic instability.
Though it is logical to want to own physical gold since it holds its value so well, there is a more effective way to gain exposure without the hassle of storing and shipping the precious metal.
CopAur Minerals (Canada: CPAU.V) (USA: COPAF) is an exploration and development company whose mineral-rich projects offer investors gold exposure and the potential for stock-based capital appreciation.
The Company has been making important strides with its 2023 drill program at the flagship Kinsley Mountain gold project and is on the verge of demonstrating the property’s full potential.
In this article, we’ll explore all of the recent developments and dive into the Company itself.
If you want to build exposure in this durable market, check out what CopAur has in store.
CopAur Minerals Overview
Before we reveal CopAur’s recent developments, here is a brief introduction to the company.
CopAur Minerals owns four mineral-rich gold projects across Nevada and British Columbia.
The Company’s flagship project is the Kinsley Mountain Gold Project (Nevada), which holds an impressive 418 thousand indicated ounces of gold at a grade of 2.63 grams-per-tonne (g/t) and an additional 117 thousand inferred ounces of gold at 1.51 g/t.
The Kinsley Mountain project has been subject to significant development over the years with $30 million invested by previous operators and more than 138 thousand ounces of gold produced between 1995 and 1999.
Interestingly, roughly 80% of the property is unexplored by drilling meaning that there is significant upside potential for this gold-bearing asset.
In addition to the Kinsley Mountain project, CopAur owns a 50.01% interest in the advanced-stage Bolo Project (Nevada), a 100% interest in the Troy Canyon Project (Nevada), and a 100% interest in the Williams Project (British Columbia).
These secondary assets have produced promising results during past sampling and drilling programs, which will help CopAur create more value for shareholders over the long run.
But CopAur’s projects are only one part of the equation.
Unlike most junior mining companies, CopAur Minerals is a subsidiary of the Metals Group, a mining conglomerate founded and operated by the Company’s CEO & Director Jeremy Yaseniuk, and his business partner John Williamson.
The parent company was founded as a way to share the organization’s highly skilled technical teams and capital markets professionals.
Not only does this structure help mitigate costs by sharing and retaining industry professionals, but it also creates stronger alignment amongst the whole organization since projects receive unbiased feedback that helps companies like CopAur make optimal project decisions.
This creates a unique competitive advantage for CopAur as it is able to advance high-quality projects more rapidly, which is difficult for competitors to replicate.
Overall, the Metals Group’s business model has proven quite successful in the past with companies like Benchmark Metals (BNCH.V) and Thesis Gold (TAU.V) both seeing their market capitalizations grow from $6 million to more than $100 million over several years.
The 2023 Kinsley Mountain Drill Program
The Kinsley Mountain Gold Project is clearly an impressive asset, boasting an abundant and promising gold resource supply.
However, to truly demonstrate its potential, CopAur Minerals is conducting an extensive 3,500-meter 2023 drilling program to expand and delineate the discoveries made during the 2020 drill program.
For context, the 2020 drill program was comprised of 49 holes for a total of 18,000 meters.
It underscored the resource expansion potential of several notable targets including the Western Flank Zone, Main Pit North Oxide, and the Secret Spot.
In all, the 2020 program produced…
Western Flank Zone
- 10.22 g/t gold over 6.1 meters within a broader zone grading 2.63 g/t gold (sulphide) over 38.10 meters in KMR20-017
- 15.1 g/t gold (sulphide) over 7.6 meters, including 24.1 g/t gold (sulphide) over 4.6 meters lower zone, 9.08 g/t gold (sulphide) over 6.1 meters upper zone in KMR20-026
Main Pit North Oxide
- 9.83 g/t gold over 7.6 meters of high-grade shallow oxide
Secret Spot
- 1.77 g/t gold over 25.3 meters in new surface oxide discovery in KMD20-007B
With this foundation, CopAur was in a position to expand on its initial discoveries and further demonstrate the quality of high-grade gold through the 2023 drill program.
To do so, the Company developed a four-step strategy comprised of up to 2,300 meters of RC and 1,200 meters of diamond drilling (3,500 meters in total).
Step 1: Infill Core Drilling at Western Flank Zone
CopAur completed the first two core holes (607 meters) of infill drilling (KMR23-01 and KMR23-02) that targeted the high-grade Western Flank Zone (WFZ).
The WFZ produced historical core drill holes that yielded 3 grams-per-tonne (g/t) gold over 29 meters within hole PK137C2.
The new infill drilling will help demonstrate the quality of the high-grade gold within the target by specifying the deposit’s characteristics, such as its size, shape, grade, and continuity.
Core cutting and sampling from the first WFZ core hole are now complete, and samples are being shipped to ALS Global in North Vancouver, Canada for gold fire assays and multi-element analysis.
Step 2: Test the Kinsley Ridge Induced Polarization (IP) Geophysical Target
CopAur recently commenced its third planned core hole (KMR23-03) at the Kinsley Ridge IP geophysical target discovered in 2021.
The Kinsley Ridge IP target is designed to target an undrilled area, at Secret Canyon Shale depth, between WFZ mineral resources and the past-producing Ridge Pit.
It was based on a 100-kilometer line of IP/resistivity surveys completed by the Company during 2021 and 2022 that generated numerous untested changeability anomalies.
There is potential that this untested zone may be the plumbing system from which the majority of known gold mineralization on the project originated.
Management is currently testing this thesis with a 500-meter hole that is being drilled through the middle of this large geophysical anomaly.
What’s more, there are multiple similar-looking anomalies in that area of interest that could potentially be associated with gold mineralization, however, at this time, the Kinsley Ridge target is the largest and most prospective.
Step 3: Complete RC Drilling at Main Pit North Target
Alongside its drilling at the Kinsley Ridge Target, CopAur began its RC drilling at the Main Pit North target, which is comprised of 8 holes for a total of 1,200 meters.
The drilling is designed to further delineate CopAur’s 2020 shallow oxide gold intercept of 9.83 g/t gold over 7.6 meters in hole KMR20-030.
High-grade gold mineralization exists within a depth of 120 meters from the surface and 75 meters outside the current resource pit shell.
The strong presence of gold represents a unique resource expansion opportunity for the Company given that the mineralization being targeted is of high-grade and shallow depth.
Step 4: Commence RC Drilling at Secret Spot Target
After the RC drilling at Main Pit North is complete, CopAur plans to move the drill to the Secret Spot target.
There, the drilling will help delineate a new 2020 surface oxide gold discovery that yielded 1.77 g/t gold over 25.3 meters in KMD20-007B, at the center of a broader 400 x 300-meter northwest trending gold in soil anomaly.
The anomaly sits within the recently mapped Dunderberg Shale which is a well-demonstrated Kinsley Mountain gold host.
Once explored, this could potentially expand the KMD20-007B surface oxide gold zone at depth.
When summarizing the developments of the entire project, CEO Jeremy Yaseniuk said…
“We are pleased to have added a second drill rig at Kinsley Mountain. With resource infill core drilling at the Western Flank Zone now complete we’re excited to test the under-explored Kinsley Ridge IP target. Main Pit North continues to be a focus of RC resource expansion where high-grade near-surface oxides have the potential to rapidly accrete gold ounces. In addition, the recently completed geological mapping at Secret Spot has significantly reinforced our view of the expansion potential of this already exciting new surface oxide gold discovery.”
Final Thoughts
With the 2023 Kinsley Mountain drill program well underway, CopAur Minerals is in an excellent position to demonstrate the true potential of this high-value project.
Moreover, as the program reaches completion and new discoveries are made, it may unlock new potential for an already impressive asset.
In the coming months, you can expect that CopAur will continue working hard to maximize the value of its gold projects for shareholders.
And with a team of industry experts at the helm, you can have confidence knowing that they are determined to build an enduring business that produces strong results for many years to come.
To learn more about CopAur Minerals (Canada: CPAU.V)(USA: COPAF), check out its investor presentation below.
COPAUR MINERALS (Canada: CPAU.V)(USA: COPAF) |
Disclosure/Disclaimer:
We are not brokers, investment, or financial advisers; you should not rely on the information herein as investment advice. If you are seeking personalized investment advice, please contact a qualified and registered broker, investment adviser, or financial adviser. You should not make any investment decisions based on our communications. Our stock profiles are intended to highlight certain companies for YOUR further investigation; they are NOT recommendations. The securities issued by the companies we profile should be considered high risk and, if you do invest, you may lose your entire investment. Edge Investments and its owners currently hold shares in CopAur Minerals and have been compensated for content creation, amounting to twelve thousand dollars. Edge Investments and its owners reserve the right to buy and sell shares in CopAur without further notice, which may impact the share price. Please do your own research before investing, including reading the companies’ public filings, press releases, and risk disclosures. The company provided information in this profile, extracted from public filings, company websites, and other publicly available sources. We believe the sources and information are accurate and reliable but we cannot guarantee it. The commentary and opinions in this article are our own, so please do your own research.
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