Universal Copper Ltd. just announced its maiden National Instrument 43-101 (“NI 43-101″) compliant Mineral Resource Estimate (“MRE“) for the Company’s flagship Poplar Copper project (“the Poplar“) located southwest of Houston, B.C.
The MRE incorporates over 38,854 metres of diamond drilling in 133 holes, outlining an indicated resource and an inferred resource at a 0.20% copper cut-off. Highlights include:
- An undiluted indicated mineral resource of 152.3 million tonnes grading 0.32% copper, 0.009 % molybdenum, 0.09 g/t gold and 2.58 g/t silver.
- An undiluted inferred mineral resource of 139.3 million tonnes grading 0.29 % copper, 0.005 % molybdenum, 0.07 g/t gold and 4.95 g/t silver.
“We are very pleased with the mineral resource estimate for Poplar,” commented Universal Copper CEO Clive Massey, “especially given our modest 2018 and 2019 drill programs managed to increase the indicated tonnage from 131 million tonnes at 0.31% copper to 152.3 million tonnes at 0.32% copper.”
“Our fully permitted and funded upcoming drill program will focus on firming up more of the inferred resource to indicated resource and testing strike extensions and depth to further increase the resource, concentrating on the higher grade portions of the deposit,” he concluded.
The resource estimate was completed by independent mining engineer James Ashton of Reno, Nevada with an effective date of July 1, 2021, and complies with National Instrument 43-101 and guidelines developed in 2014 by the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (“CIM”). In accordance with NI 43-101, a Technical Report supporting the MRE has been filed on SEDAR. 
Mineral Resource Estimate Methodology
The estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, sociopolitical, marketing, changes in global gold markets or other relevant issues.
The CIM definitions (2014) were followed for classification of Mineral Resources. The quantity and grade of reported inferred Mineral Resources in this estimation are uncertain in nature ‎and there has been insufficient exploration to define these inferred Mineral Resources as an ‎indicated Mineral Resource. It is probable that further exploration drilling will result in upgrading them to an ‎indicated or measured Mineral Resource category.
To determine the mineral resource present on Poplar a three-dimensional solid was constructed to constrain the interpolation of mineralization, using a 0.1 % Cu grade limit as a guide. Large internal waste zones were modelled, as were some larger post mineral dykes. Of the total database, 133 drill holes totaling 38,854 m were within the modelled area and were used in the MRE. Drill holes were compared to the mineralized solid and assays were tagged if inside. Copper, molybdenum, gold and silver assays within the mineralized solid were capped at 1.8 % Cu, 0.16 % Mo, 0.80 g/t Au and 70 g/t Ag respectively. Five-meter composites were calculated and used for variography. For this estimate and to aid with some preliminary planning, the blocks were 5m x 5m x 10m in dimension and were estimated for Cu, Mo, Au and Ag by ordinary kriging. The resource is classified as Indicated and Inferred based on each block’s proximity to data and the grade continuity within the mineralized solid. A 0.20 % Cu cut-off has been selected as a possible open pit cut-off, since at this time, no economic evaluation has been completed. At a 0.20 % Cu cut-off within the mineralized solid the undiluted Indicated resource is 152.3 million tonnes at 0.32% Cu, 0.009 % Mo, 0.09 g/t Au and 2.58 g/t Ag while the undiluted Inferred resource is an additional 139.3 million tonnes grading 0.29 % Cu, 0.005 % Mo, 0.07 g/t Au and 4.95 g/t Ag.
Universal Copper cautions investors Mineral Resources, which are not Mineral Reserves, do not have demonstrated economic viability.
Qualified Person
The technical content of this New Release has been reviewed and approved by R. Tim Henneberry, P.Geo (BC) a member of the Company’s Advisory Board and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101.
About Universal Copper
Universal Copper Ltd. is a Canadian-based copper exploration company focused on the acquisition and exploration of copper properties. The Company’s management team has many years of experience in exploration, finance, and efficient public company management. Universal’s current focus is on advancing the Poplar Copper Project, one of the most advanced pre-production copper projects in British Columbia with a historic 43-101 resource.
