Moonlight-Superior

Project Highlights

  • NI 43-101 mineral resource of 1.3 billion pounds of copper Indicated & 1 billion pounds of copper Inferred.1
  • Historical resource estimate of 4 billion pounds of copper calculated by prior owner, Placer-Amex.2
  • Located in historic mining district in California with excellent local infrastructure and accessibility.
  • Historically produced 161 million pounds of copper at 2.2% grade from 1915 to 1930.
  • Three advanced stage copper deposits – Moonlight, Superior & Engels – with prior exploration work.
  • PEA on Moonlight deposit indicates an NPV of US$179M after tax at US$3.15/lb copper price.3
  • PEA economics exclude other two deposits which could significantly influence size and value.
  • Gold and silver credits present further upside; represented almost 20% of historic mined value.
  • Drilling programs in 2021 and 2023 are being used to define high-grade starter pits at Engels and Superior to be included in an update of the PEA.
Notes

1. Moonlight Mineral Resource prepared by Cameron Resource Consulting, LLC with an effective date of December 15, 2017.

2. Estimate predates NI-43-101 and sufficient work has not been done to classify the estimate as current mineral resources and so they are considered a historical estimate. The Company is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources.

3. “Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Moonlight Deposit, California, USA” by Tetra Tech dated March 2, 2018 available on SEDAR.

We are focused on bringing this strategically located historic mine back into production.

Overview

US Copper Corp controls approximately 13 square miles of patented and unpatented federal mining claims in the Lights Creek Copper District of Plumas County in northeast California. The Project area is approximately 85 miles northwest of Reno, Nevada. The District contains substantial copper sulfide and copper oxide resources in three deposits – Moonlight, Superior and Engels, as well as several partially tested and untested exploration targets.

The Moonlight deposit hosts a current National Instrument 43-101 (“NI 43-101”) indicated resource of approximately 252 million tons (228 million tonnes) averaging 0.25% copper, and an inferred resource of 109 million tons (98 million tonnes) averaging 0.24% copper.1 The Company had a Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) prepared on the Moonlight deposit in early 2018 that demonstrated positive economics at US$3 copper.

The Company is now working on including starter pits in the initial PEA to improve the economics of the Project. For example, the oxide cap at Moonlight was treated as waste in the PEA and a drill program conducted in 2023 will allow us to delineate the oxide resource for inclusion in the PEA. Placer-Amex calculated the oxide resource at Moonlight to be 12 million tons at 0.54% in 1968.2

The Project also includes the Superior deposit with an NI 43-101 mineral resources of 54 million tonnes at 0.41% copper3 and the Engels deposit, where Placer-Amex identified an historical estimate of 19 million tons at 0.63% copper sulfide in 1967.2 Drill programs were conducted in 2021 and 2023 to provide enough data to includ these deposits in the Moonlight PEA.

1. Moonlight Mineral Resource prepared by Cameron Resource Consulting, LLC with an effective date of December 15, 2017.

2. Estimate predates NI-43-101 and sufficient work has not been done to classify the estimate as current mineral resources and so they are considered a historical estimate. The Company is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources.

3. “Technical Report and Resource Estimate for the Superior Project, Plumas County, California” prepared by William F. Tanaka with an effective date of November 15, 2013.

Exploration History

Resource Estimate

PEA

Technical Reports

Exploration History

Copper was discovered at Lights Creek in 1883, and it was mined on a large scale from 1915 until 1930. Reported production from the Engels and Superior mines was approximately 161 million pounds of copper, 23,000 ounces of gold and 1.9 million ounces of silver recovered from 4.7 million tons of ore containing 2.2% copper. Gold and silver credits represented almost 20% of mined value at current commodity prices.

Placer-Amex owned the property from 1960 to 1994, drilling over 400 holes and estimating a resource (non NI:43-101 compliant) of 4 billion pounds of copper.1 They sold the project to focus on their gold portfolio. The project was then owned by a number of junior mining companies from 1994 to 2011, during which time, 87 holes were drilled totaling 28,884 feet and an initial NI 43-101 resource was defined at the Moonlight deposit of 1.5 billion pounds of copper.

The Company acquired 132 unpatented claims and a lease with an option to purchase 36 patents covering the Superior and Engels mines in June 2013. A NI 43-101 resource of 54 million tonnes at 0.41% copper for 488 million pounds of copper was calculated for the Superior deposit in November 2013. A NI 43-101 resource for the Engels deposit was estimated at 2.5 million tonnes at 1.05% copper oxide for 58 million pounds of copper.

The claims of the Moonlight deposit were initially under a lease agreement and an option agreement. The Company completed the purchase of a 100% undivided title interest in the Moonlight property in March 2018. The updated NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate for the Moonlight deposit and the publication of the PEA also occurred that same year. For further information on the mineral resource and PEA of Moonlight, please see menu on the left.

  1. Estimate predates NI-43-101 and sufficient work has not been done to classify the estimates as current mineral resources and so they are considered historical estimates. For further information, the Company is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources.

Mineral Resource Estimate for Moonlight

The Mineral Resource estimate for Moonlight was prepared by Cameron Resource Consulting, LLC with an effective date of December 15, 2017. The Mineral Resource estimate incorporates geologic interpretations and a database compiled from historic drilling campaigns. The resource database comprises 202 drill holes with 11,005 copper assays, 10,555 gold assays and 10,675 silver assays.

Moonlight Mineral Resources as of December 15, 2017:


Class
Tons
(000's)
Cu
(%)
Au
(opt)
Ag
(opt)
Cu Tons
(000's)
Au Oz
(000's)
Ag Oz
(000's)
Indicated 252,000 0.25 0.0001 0.07 636 18 18,400
Inferred 109,000 0.24 0.0001 0.08 267 9 9,000

Notes to table:
1. Mineral Resources are estimated using CIM Best Practices guidelines and 2014 CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves.
2. The Qualified Person for the Mineral Resources is Donald E. Cameron, Registered Geologist, Society of Mining Engineers (SME).
3. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.
4. Rounding as required by reporting guidelines may result in apparent differences between tons, grade and contained metal content.
5. Mineral Resources are reported above a $6.25 net smelter return (NSR) cut-off (NSR=44.08*Cu+0.348*31.10348*Ag) and within a conceptual pit shell using copper, gold and silver prices of US$3.00/lb, US$1275/oz and US$17.5/oz, respectively, and preliminary operating costs as of the effective date of this Mineral Resource.

Preliminary Economic Assessment on Moonlight

In March 2018, the Company announced the results of the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) completed by Tetra Tech, on the Moonlight Copper Project. The study only focused on the Moonlight deposit and does not factor in the other two deposits (Superior and Engels) or the several untested exploration targets on the Company’s property. The PEA also treated the oxide copper at Moonlight as “waste rock” and Placer-Amex estimated 12 million tons at 0.54% copper (non-compliant, historic estimate1). Gold revenue was also excluded from the economic analysis since assay data density was insufficient. Gold credits could potentially improve project economics.

Moonlight Deposit PEA Summary2 (Dollars in USD):

Est. Average Mill Feed Grade (LOM) 0.25% Cu
LOM 17 years
Production Rate 60,000 st/d
Metallurgical Copper Recovery 86%
Metallurgical Silver Recovery 70%
Initial Capital Costs $513 M
Operating Cost $7.77 /st
Copper Price $3.15 /lb
Silver Price $18.00 /oz
Pre-Tax IRR 16.4%
Pre-tax NPV (8%) $237 M
Post-tax IRR 14.6%
Post-tax NPV (8%) $179 M
  • 1. Estimate predates NI-43-101 and sufficient work has not been done to classify the estimates as current mineral resources and so they are considered historical estimates. The Company is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources.
  • 2. "Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Moonlight Deposit, California, USA” by Tetra Tech dated March 2, 2018 available on SEDAR. The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the preliminary economic assessment will be realized.

Technical Reports

US Copper Corp.

217 Queen Street West, Suite 401
Toronto, ON, Canada, M5V 0R2

416.361.2827
[email protected]