White Cliff Minerals (ASX:WCN) assays confirm high-grade copper continuity beyond 280m vertical depth

White Cliff Minerals has announced further assay results and observations from drilling at Danvers at the company’s Rae Copper Project, confirming high-grade Cu-Ag mineralisation to >280m vertical depth and new evidence of metal zonation within the Danvers 3 system.

Phase 1 drilling is complete, with 13 holes from the Danvers Phase 1 Program pending assay release.

Highlights

• DAN26030, a scissor hole to DAN26015, extends confirmed copper mineralisation by approximately 240m vertically, with the Danvers 3 system now demonstrated from near surface to >280m vertical depth.

• Assays from DAN26030 returned 13.86m @ 1.98% Cu & 10.41g/t Ag from 226.14m, including 5.45m @ 4.36% Cu & 23.8g/t Ag.

• Assays also returned 17.08m @ 1.89% Cu & 7.51g/t Ag from 166.9m, including 2.39m @ 5.05% Cu & 11.91g/t Ag.

• The final 9.64m of DAN26030 returned 1.08% Cu & 8.62g/t Ag, with mineralisation open downhole and at depth.

• Step-out hole DAN26034, located 449m northeast of DAN26030, confirmed further strike continuity, including 1.42m @ 1.33% Cu from 225.29m and ending in 1.5m @ 3.68% Cu from 256.5m, leaving mineralisation open downhole.

• Phase 1 drilling consisted of 44 drillholes, 24 RC and 20 diamond, for 10,581m across 11.8km of linear strike.

Diamond drilling continues to define expanded areas of copper mineralisation at Danvers 3, with the latest assays extending the mineralised footprint laterally and at depth while providing new information on internal metal zonation.

The mineralised footprint surrounding DAN26012 now extends approximately 866m laterally and to >280m vertical depth, while the wider Danvers 3 mineralised trend now extends approximately 2,252m.

Assays from DAN26030 also returned 46.1m @ 0.67% Cu & 4.09g/t Ag from 334.9m, including 5.79m @ 1.08% Cu & 5.72g/t Ag from 345.98m, 2.67m @ 2.34% Cu & 6.58g/t Ag from 189.93m and 25.95m @ 0.76% Cu & 5.34g/t Ag from 355.05m.

Assays from drilling now confirm copper mineralisation from near surface to over 280m vertical depth below surface.

Assays from DAN26030 identify pronounced downhole metal zonation, with a broad Pb-rich domain developed adjacent to and partially overlapping the deeper Cu-Ag mineralisation.

The strongest Pb values occur near the upper portion of the deeper copper zone before decreasing sharply downhole as copper mineralisation continues, providing a potential geochemical vector toward the higher-grade components of the Danvers 3 system.

This spatial relationship, combined with sulphide assemblages and oriented-core structural data, will be incorporated into follow-up drill targeting.

White Cliff Managing Director Troy Whittaker said,

“We have now transitioned the concentration of our drilling program - focussing on testing the depth continuity and building out the resource volume at the highest-priority mineralised zones.”

At Danvers 3, drilling is targeting extensions from near surface to approximately 300m depth, while ongoing infill work at Danvers 4 will be followed by further drilling to expand the mineralised footprint at Danvers 1 and test the broader mineralised trend.

Assays now confirm copper mineralisation across 4,933m along the Teshierpi Fault Zone and 3,152m at Danvers 1 and its strike extensions.

Including holes pending assay, copper sulphides have now been observed across 6,499m along the Teshierpi Fault Zone and 4,755m at Danvers 1 and its strike extensions.

Recently completed diamond drilling marks completion of Phase 1 in the Danvers 4 area, with visual copper sulphides intersected in multiple holes, including 27.25m in DAN26037, 77.78m in DAN26040, 7.0m in DAN26042, 14.95m in DAN26042A and 30.47m in DAN26043.

DAN26041 returned a combined 43.7m of copper sulphides between DAN26027 and DAN26024, providing further evidence of continuity northeast of Danvers 1.

Diamond drilling is now infilling the regionally spaced Phase 1 regional holes, with individual targets being progressively refined as oriented core improves the company’s understanding of the structural controls on mineralisation.

The next phase of drilling will prioritise stepping out from the high-grade copper zones at Danvers 3, testing strike and depth extensions at Danvers 1 to the NE and SW, and testing extensions to Danvers 2 and Danvers 4, where previous drilling returned high-grade copper.

Pending assays will be progressively incorporated into drill targeting, particularly around Danvers 1 where mineralisation remains open along strike.