TSX Venture Exchange Symbol: NCX
VANCOUVER, BC, Oct. 5, 2020 /CNW/
- Northisle Copper and Gold Inc. (TSXV: NCX) ("Northisle" or the "Company") is
pleased to announce that the Board of Directors has
appointed Sam Lee as President and Chief Executive
Officer of Northisle, effective October 5,
2020. John McClintock
has resigned as President and CEO and will continue with the
Company as Vice President, Exploration.
Over the past 20 years Mr. Lee has advised on some of the most
prominent M&A, equity, and debt transactions in the
international and Canadian global mining industry totalling over
$100 billion in value. During
this period, he has worked in major resource markets including
Toronto, Sydney, and Vancouver where he led various strategic
initiatives for CIBC World Markets. Most recently he was
Managing Director and head of CIBC's Vancouver Mining Group.
Mr. Lee holds a Bachelor of Applied Science, Faculty of
Engineering, from the University of
Toronto, was a graduate of the Lassonde Mineral Engineering
program, and is a CFA charter holder. He also serves on the
board of directors of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the
Vancouver Symphony School of Music.
Dale Corman, Chairman of
Northisle comments: "I am delighted to welcome Sam to Northisle at
this pivotal juncture in the Company's strategic plan. Sam's
proven success and extensive experience in the global resource
industry and capital markets makes him exceptionally qualified to
lead us through the next phase of our growth. He is
recognized as being highly principled, tenacious, and a thought
leader. I look forward to working with Sam in building the leading,
globally sustainable mineral resource company.
I would also like to sincerely thank Jack McClintock for his leadership and
exceptional work on modeling and demonstrating the enormous
exploration potential of the North Island Project over the past
nine years. With a positive preliminary metallurgical test result
on Red Dog released last Friday (see press release dated
October 2, 2020) we have completed
our technical work and are now in a position to update the
Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") to reflect the upside
potential related to the expected higher gold and copper recovery
rates, inclusion of silver and rhenium metal recovery at Red Dog
and Hushamu deposits as well as the higher metal prices."
Sam Lee comments: "I am pleased
to have this opportunity to help grow Northisle into a leading
mineral resource company whose aim is to benefit all stakeholders
and to work closely with its community partners in achieving common
goals. When looking at sustainable development opportunities
globally, one rarely comes across the trifecta of asset
characteristics that are present at Northisle. Specifically,
the project has a large defined resource base, an attractive PEA
with tangible upside potential, and is located near a historical
mining community with exceptional access to clean power, skilled
labour, and existing infrastructure. I feel privileged to be
working with Dale who successfully developed and then sold
Penasquito to Glamis (now Newmont) for $1.2
billion, and Jack who received recognition as PDAC
Prospector of the Year for the discovery of the Spence Deposit now
owned by BHP. I look forward to working with both in realizing our
collective vision."
Jack McClintock comments: "I
welcome Sam to the team and look forward to accelerating our
exploration program on our highly prospective land package. I am
proud of what we have accomplished successfully progressing the
project through to PEA optimization and identifying significant
upside potential. In addition to the two known deposits there are
numerous additional porphyry copper – gold targets on the property
including the North Red Dog Extension, the NW Expo 1.5 km long
induced polarization anomaly and the 3.5km by 1.5km high-level
lithocap currently under option to Freeport – McMoRan."
The Company has approved the granting of stock options to Mr.
Lee for the purchase of 4,000,000 common shares of the Company. The
options will vest immediately. These options have a five-year term
and allow the holder to purchase one common share of the company
for $0.12 a share until October 5, 2025.
ABOUT NORTHISLE COPPER AND GOLD INC.
NorthIsle Copper and Gold Inc. is a Vancouver based junior resource company
committed to the development of the North Island Project on
Northern Vancouver Island. The North Island Project is a 38,000
hectare block of mineral titles 100% owned by NorthIsle stretching
northwest from the now closed Island Copper Mine of BHP Billiton,
which is located 10 km south of Port
Hardy.
The 100%-owned North Island Project consists of the Hushamu and
nearby Red Dog deposits, with Mineral Resources summarized in the
below table.
Table 3:
North Island Project Resources as
at December 31, 2018
|
|
Tonnes,
'000
|
Grade
|
Contained Metal
|
|
Cu, %
|
Au, g/t
|
Mo, %
|
Re, ppm
|
Cu Eq, %
|
Cu, B lb
|
Au, Moz
|
Mo, M lb
|
Re, Kg x
1000
|
Cu eq, B
lb
|
Au eq, Moz
|
|
Red Dog
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Indicated
|
36,568
|
0.27
|
0.38
|
0.005
|
|
0.52
|
0.22
|
0.45
|
4.0
|
|
0.42
|
0.99
|
|
Inferred
|
1,774
|
0.20
|
0.30
|
0.003
|
|
0.39
|
0.01
|
0.02
|
0.1
|
|
0.02
|
0.04
|
|
Hushamu
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Indicated
|
305,180
|
0.24
|
0.28
|
0.008
|
0.54
|
0.43
|
1.62
|
2.75
|
53.8
|
165
|
2.92
|
6.97
|
|
Inferred
|
189,640
|
0.19
|
0.24
|
0.007
|
0.35
|
0.36
|
0.79
|
1.46
|
29.3
|
66
|
1.49
|
3.56
|
|
Total
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Indicated
|
341,743
|
0.24
|
0.29
|
0.008
|
0.48
|
0.44
|
1.83
|
3.2
|
57.8
|
165
|
3.34
|
7.96
|
|
Inferred
|
190,788
|
0.19
|
0.24
|
0.007
|
0.35
|
0.36
|
0.80
|
1.48
|
29.4
|
66
|
1.51
|
3.60
|
|
Mineral Resource
estimates follow the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and
Petroleum ("CIM") definitions standards for Mineral Resources and
Reserves and have been completed in accordance with the Standards
of Disclosure for Mineral Projects as defined by National
Instrument 43-101. The NI 43-101 reports co-authored by P Burt PGeo
and B Game PGeo documenting the resource estimate available on the
company's website and filed on SEDAR. Reported tonnage and grade
figures have been rounded from raw estimates to reflect the
relative accuracy of the estimate. Minor variations may occur
during the addition of rounded numbers. Mineral Resources that are
not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
Copper and gold equivalent calculated using US$3.10/lb Cu,
US$1300/oz Au and US$9.00/lb Mo and is not adjusted for mining and
metallurgical recoveries as these remain uncertain. The formula
used is as follows: CuEQ = (Cu% x 22.0462 x 3.10) + (Au g/t x
1300.00/ 31.1035) + (Mo% x 22.0462 x 9.00)/22.046x3.1. AuEQ =(Cu% x
22.0462 x 3.10) + (Au g/t x 1300.00/ 31.1035) + (Mo% x
22.0462 x 9.00)/(1300/31.1035). Rhenium values have not been used
in the cut-off grade or Cu or gold Equivalent
calculations.
|
|
In September 2017, Northisle
published the results of a PEA which demonstrated the potential
technical and economic viability of the project constructed as an
open-pit mine, with a concentrator processing nominally 75,000
tonnes/day (27Mtpa) with the results summarized in the below table.
This PEA is expected to be updated to reflect the results from the
metallurgical tests described in the sections above.
LIFE OF MINE PHYSICALS
Table 4:
North Island Project PEA Summary
|
|
|
Mine life, years
|
22 years
|
|
Strip ratio, w:o
|
0.72
|
|
Throughput
|
27.4Mtpa
|
|
Mineralization inventory
|
600Mt
|
|
Copper grade
|
0.18%
|
|
|
|
Gold grade
|
0.24g/t
|
|
Molybdenum grade
|
0.01%
|
|
Pyrite grade
|
9%
|
|
LOM production
|
|
|
Copper
|
1.9B lb
|
|
Gold
|
1.8Moz
|
|
Molybdenum
|
55M lb
|
|
Pyrite
|
17B lb
|
|
Copper equivalent, M lb pa
|
3.1B lb
|
|
Gold equivalent, koz
|
7.4Moz
|
|
AVERAGE ANNUAL PRODUCTION
|
|
|
Copper, M lb
|
82M lb
|
|
Gold, koz
|
79koz
|
|
Molybdenum, M lb
|
3M lb
|
|
Pyrite, kt
|
0.64Kt
|
|
Copper equivalent, M lb
|
141M lb
|
|
Gold equivalent, koz
|
|
|
AVERAGE ANNUAL PRODUCTION COSTS
|
335koz
|
|
Copper C1
Cash Costs net of by-products,
US$/lb
|
$0.88/lb
|
|
Copper AISC net of by-products,
US$/lb
|
|
|
Copper equivalent AISC, US$/lb Cu eq
|
$2.00/lb
|
|
Gold equivalent AISC, US$/oz Au eq
|
$840/oz
|
|
ECONOMICS
|
$1.22/lb
|
|
After-tax NPV5%, US$m
|
$757m
|
|
After-tax NPV8%, US$m
|
$413m
|
|
After-tax IRR, %
|
14%
|
|
|
The commodity prices
used are as follows: US$ 3.10/lb Cu, US$ 1,300/oz Au, US$ 9.00/lb
Mo, US$ 9/t Py with a CAD/USD of 0.75. For more information, please
consult the 2017 PEA available on SEDAR under the Company's profile
or on Northisle's website.
|
John McClintock, P. Eng is the
Qualified Person who reviewed and approved the scientific and
technical disclosure in this news release.
On behalf of Northisle Copper and Gold Inc.
Sam Lee
President and CEO
604-638-2515
www.northisle.ca
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this news release.
This news release contains forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements are based upon the reasonable beliefs of
Northisle and its management as of the date of this news release;
however, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties
and are based upon factors that may change and assumptions that may
prove, with the passage of time, to be incorrect as a result of
exploration and other risk factors associated with mineral
exploration and development that are beyond the control of
Northisle. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed upon
such statements. If factors materially change or assumptions are
materially incorrect, the actual results, performance or
achievements of Northisle may be materially different from any
future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied
by such forward-looking statements. Northisle does not undertake
any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements
to reflect new information, future events or otherwise, except as
required by applicable law.
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SOURCE NorthIsle Copper and Gold Inc.