Projects
Cam Copper Mine
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The Historic High-Grade Cam Copper Mine Critical Minerals Exploration Opportunity
On July 5, 2023, Northstar announced the results of a surface sampling program at the historic Cam Copper Mine site on the Company’s 100%-owned, flagship Miller Property, situated 18 km southeast of the town of Kirkland Lake, Ontario. The Cam Copper Mine is a road-accessible satellite high-grade copper system situated 2.4 km southwest of the Allied Gold Zone, the advanced, near-surface bulk-tonnage alkalic gold-telluride exploration target being actively explored by Northstar.
High-grade copper assays ranging between 0.99% and 31.8% copper were returned from 19 select surface grab samples containing massive to semi-massive sulphides (including massive chalcopyrite and bornite) and collectively weighing 43.39 kg, recently collected near the historic Cam Copper Mine site on the Miller Property in Pacaud Township. The weighted average grade of the 19 select samples collected from the historic muck pile and bedrock exposure near the historic shaft was 14.0% copper.
In addition to high-grade copper, one select sample that assayed 31.8% copper also returned 452 g/t silver, suggesting silver can also be a significant mineralization component.
Northstar completed 720 metres of drilling in 4 diamond drill holes (CC01-23 to CC04-23) at Cam Copper Mine between October 20th and October 30th, 2023. The Company reports all 4 drill holes intersected lenses of Cu-rich volcanogenic massive sulphides, including massive and stringer chalcopyrite in drill hole CC03-23 grading 14.8% Cu over 2.45m from 116.55m to 119m in Zone 2 (See Photos Below). This intercept represents a significant Zone 2 thickness increase and is highly suggestive of southeast down-plunge expansion. Zones 1, 3 and 4 also remain open along strike and at depth.
The Company reports the following assay highlights from the Cam Copper Phase I drilling program:
Zone 1
- 3.12% Cu over 3.6m from 25.0m to 28.6m including 19.45% Cu and 14.85 g/t Ag over 0.5m from 28.1m to 28.6m in CC01-23
Zone 2
- 14.78% Cu over 2.45m from 116.55m to 119.0m including 21.7% Cu, 0.27% Pb, 17.68 g/t Ag over 1.35m from 117.65m to 119.0m in CC03-23
- 8.17% Cu over 1.5m from 178.0m to 179.5m including 16.05% Cu over 0.6m from 178.0m to 178.6m in CC02-23
- 12.71% Cu, 0.62% Zn, 0.44% Pb, 16.47 g/t Ag over 0.75m from 107m to 107.75m in CC01-23
- 4.72% Cu over 1.95m from 106.8m to 108.75m including 14.75% Cu over 0.4m from 106.8m to 107.2m in CC04-23
Zone 3
- 5.91% Cu over 1.5m from 135.0m to 136.5m including 9.92% Cu over 0.5m from 135.5m to 136m in CC01-23
- 2.77% Cu over 0.5m from 224.2m to 224.7m in CC02-23
Semi-massive sulphides with milled cherty fragments in Zone 2 (Photo 4), averaging 8.17% Cu over 1.5 metres from 178.0m to 179.5m in drill hole CC02-23, 80 metres below the 200’ level of the historic mine workings, suggests close proximity to a nearby seafloor hydrothermal vent, in an area never before drill tested. Evidence of massive and stringer chalcopyrite over 2.45m in adjacent drill hole CC03-23 strongly implies the possibility of significant Zone 2 vertical and down plunge expansion potential to the southeast.
Cam Copper Mine is centred on a newly recognized high-grade “Besshi-type” volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) copper system situated at the northwest end of a 0.9 km long southeast trending belt of VMS horizons. Besshi-type VMS deposits are an important global source of base metals, simplistically characterized as vented, broad sheet-like layers of magnetite, iron-copper-lead-zinc-arsenic sulphides, cobalt, sulphosalts, silver and possibly gold deposited on an ancient sea floor, hosted in volcano-sedimentary rock packages.
Southeast Extension – Geophysical Targets
Volcanic exhalite mineralization consisting of massive or semi-massive pyrite (+/- chalcopyrite) is known to extend for hundreds of metres along strike southeast of the Cam Copper Mine site, having been previously explored by historic pitting and trenching. The copper trend includes multiple historic ground EM and IP bedrock targets3 along with strong airborne EM and magnetic anomalies which could highlight conductive bedrock targets such as Cu-rich massive sulphides for up to 900 metres along strike to the southeast.
Future Plans
Northstar is positioning to conduct down-hole and surface EM surveys at Cam Copper in early Q1, 2023 to further define copper-rich drill targets. A subsequent Phase 2 Cam Copper drill program will test the down plunge extension of known mineralized horizons, prioritizing expansion of the Zone 2 massive sulphide lens and stockwork intersected in DDH CC03-23.
Additional Details
- The Cam Copper Mine reportedly hosts two separate lenses (Zones 1 and 2) of massive copper sulphides about 40 metres apart striking and plunging southeast along the contact with the Round Lake Granite Batholith. Underground development took place between 1929 and 1953 which includes sinking of a 220’ (66.7m) vertical shaft with 213’ (64.5m) of cross cutting and 267’ (80.9m) of drifting. The recent surface sampling results verify historic reporting of a 1955 shipment of 346 tons of hoisted underground ore which produced 43,411 lbs. of Cu at a Noranda smelter for a recovered grade of 6.3% Cu. The ore was shipped directly from the mine site to the smelter without requiring further concentration in a mill. A previous 1948 shipment of 22 tons of ore to Noranda reportedly graded 12.72% Cu, 0.84 oz/t Ag and 0.03 oz/t Au, presumably from Zone 1.
- Historic surface drilling intercepts include 12.4% Cu over 7.8’ in Zone 1 and 11.8% Cu over 9.2’ including 23.1% Cu over 4.6’ in Zone 2. Underground drilling intercepts include 9.6% Cu over 8.5’ including 16.6% Cu over 3.0’ in Zone 2 along strike to the southeast. Underground sampling over true widths was limited to massive sulphide bands and produced numerous high-grade intervals such as 14.79% Cu across 33” in Zone 1 within the hanging wall of the quartz breccia and 19.95% Cu across 24” in Zone 2 along the footwall breccia contact on the 200’ level. Both zones remain open down plunge below the 200’ level.
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Site Photos
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Maps
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Core
