White Cliff Minerals (ASX:WCN) consolidates Nunavut copper ground with Bornite Lake acquisition

White Cliff Minerals has taken another deliberate step in building its province-scale copper position in Nunavut, Canada, securing the Bornite Lake or “Copper Lamb” lease, the final independently held licence within its Rae Copper Project.

The move marks the culmination of an extensive consolidation process along the Herb Dixon Fault, a structure long recognised as a copper-bearing conduit within the Coppermine River region.

Highlights

• Acquisition of the Bornite Lake (“Copper Lamb”) lease at the Rae Copper Project, Nunavut.

• The lease sits along the Herb Dixon Fault, extending WCN’s control over more than 50 km of strike.

• Historic samples show exceptional copper grades exceeding 50% Cu and 1.8 oz/t Ag.

• Consolidation gives White Cliff full control of all key fault intersections at Rae.

• Transaction valued at CAD$450,000, comprising cash and equity consideration.

The Bornite Lake acquisition extends White Cliff’s footprint across a highly prospective structural corridor known for producing some of the highest-grade copper showings in northern Canada.

The Herb Dixon Fault, which runs north–south through the Rae Project area, has been mapped as a major mineralising structure that connects several historical copper occurrences, including Stark and Vision, where surface rock samples have returned assays above 60% copper and 5 ounces of silver.

The newly acquired tenure lies immediately north of the Stark Vein target, where strong conductivity responses over a seven-kilometre strike remain untested by drilling.

Historical work at Bornite Lake, including mapping and trenching reported by the Geological Survey of Canada in 1972, described massive bornite mineralisation with individual three-foot composite samples grading between 44% and 50% copper. Later campaigns in 1997 confirmed further high-grade float samples with assays up to 53% copper and 0.84 ounces per tonne silver.

The area’s geological context adds weight to its exploration potential. Bornite Lake sits on the periphery of the Coppermine River basalts and within reach of the Rae Group sediments, which host sedimentary-style copper mineralisation comparable to deposits in the Central African Copperbelt.

The region’s mineralisation is typically associated with extensional faults and reduced facies sediments that act as conduits for copper-bearing fluids.

Managing Director Troy Whittaker described the transaction as the final stage in consolidating White Cliff’s land position at Rae.

“The acquisition of the Copper Lamb Lease, known locally as Bornite Lake, represents the final piece of the tenure puzzle. This strategic step secures what has long been viewed as a walk-up exploration target, underpinned by compelling historic evidence of high-grade, chalcocite-bornite mineralisation occurring at and below surface.”

Under the binding Heads of Agreement with vendor Glen Allen Hinch, White Cliff Minerals will acquire 100% of exploration licence 3663, covering claims F0040 and 18250, for total consideration of CAD$450,000.

The deal includes a CAD$100,000 cash payment within five business days of execution, followed by CAD$350,000 in shares based on the 15-day VWAP six months after completion.

The acquisition is considered standard in commercial terms and completes the company’s control over all ground along the Herb Dixon structure.

Beyond the transaction’s immediate scale benefits, White Cliff now has the ability to deploy its 2025 geophysical data set across the unified Rae Project area.

The dataset, including airborne magnetics and conductivity surveys, allows the company to refine its targeting of fault intersections where copper-bearing fluids may have pooled.

The newly consolidated ground positions White Cliff to advance integrated exploration programs across multiple prospects within a 50-kilometre mineralised corridor.

The Bornite Lake acquisition follows earlier discoveries at the Rae Project’s Phoenix, Thor and Wanda prospects, where rock chip samples returned copper assays exceeding 40% Cu and silver up to 7.5% Ag. Combined, these datasets establish Rae as one of the more compelling high-grade copper provinces emerging within Canada’s Kitikmeot region.

While the company acknowledges that much of the available data predates the JORC Code, it has confirmed the presence of massive bornite mineralisation at surface, validating the geological potential described in historic records.

The next step for White Cliff involves integrating Bornite Lake into its broader exploration model, using geophysics and geochemistry to delineate drill targets.

With this acquisition, White Cliff Minerals is no longer a tenant among many in the Coppermine belt—it is now the dominant holder of a unified and highly prospective copper system in Nunavut.

The consolidation provides a clear platform for systematic exploration in a region where the combination of structural complexity, historic grades and geophysical anomalies continues to attract investor interest.

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