Moonlight-Superior

Project Highlights

  • NI 43-101 indicated mineral resource of 2.5 billion pounds of copper & an inferred mineral resource of 394 million pounds of copper.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.
  • A 2018 PEA on the Moonlight deposit alone indicated an NPV of US$179M after tax at US$3.15/lb copper price.3
  • Drilling programs in 2021 and 2023 were used to define high-grade starter pits at Engels and Superior that were then included in a 2024 PEA.
  • The 2024 PEA demonstrated an NPV of US$ 1.075 billion after tax at $4.15 copper and an Internal Rate of Return of 23%.4
  • Life of Mine copper production would be 1.8 billion pounds with silver production of 12 million ounces.
Notes

1. Project Mineral Resource prepared by Global Resource Engineering Ltd with an effective date of December 16, 2024.

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.

4.“Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Moonlight-Superior Project, California, USA” by Global Resource Engineering Ltd. dated December 16, 2024 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 sulfide resource of approximately 232 million tons averaging 0.30% copper, and an inferred sulfide resource of 30.8 million tons averaging 0.28% 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 Project also includes the Superior deposit with an NI 43-101 indicated sulfide resource of 119 million tons at 0.32% copper3 and the Engels deposit, with an indicated oxide and sulfide resource of 18 million tons at 0.50% copper as well as an inferred oxide and sulfide resource of 8 million tons at 0.41% copper.

The Company had a new PEA prepared in 2024 on all 3 deposits and mine plan scenario returned a Net Present Value (NPV) after tax at US$4.15 copper of US$1.075 billion and an Internal Rate of Return of 23%. 4  

Initial capital requirements were US$956 million and the life of mine production profile was 1.8 billion pounds of copper at an All-in Sustaining Cost of US$2.51 per pound of copper produced. The

1. All Mineral Resource Estimates prepared by Global Resource Engineering Ltd. with an effective date of December 16, 2024.

2.“Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Moonlight Project, Plumas County, California” prepared by Tetra Tech with an effective date of March 15, 2018.

3. “Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Moonlight-Superior Project, Plumas County, California” prepared by Global Resource Engineering Ltd. with an effective date of December 16, 2024.

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-Superior Project

The Mineral Resource estimate for the Moonlight-Superior Project was prepared by Global Resource Engineering Ltd with an effective date of December 16, 2024. The Mineral Resource estimate incorporates geologic interpretations and a database compiled from historic drilling campaignsas well as recent drilling by US Copper. The resource database comprises 566 drill holes spanning 255,000 linear feet.

Moonlight Mineral Resources as of December 16, 2024:


Class
Tons
(000's)
Cu
(%)
Au
(gpt)
Ag
(gpt)
Cu Tons
(000's)
Au Oz
(000's)
Ag Oz
(000's)
Indicated 402,000 0.31 0.012 1.85 636 140 21,700
Inferred   64,000 0.31 0.005 0.77 267     9   1,400

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 Terre Lane, Principal Mining Engineer, Global Resource Engineering Ltd.
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 at a 0.16% Cu cutoff for oxide and transition material, and at a $10.45 net smelter return (NSR) cut-off  for sulfide material. The oxide and transition cutoff is calculated based on a long term copper price of US$4.00/lb, assumed combined operating costs of US$7.50/ton, metallurgical recovery of 75% for copper. The sulfide cutoff is calculated as the breakeven NSR which is equal to the combined process and G&A costs for the sulfide material.

Preliminary Economic Assessment on Moonlight-Superior Project

In January 2025, the Company announced the results of the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) completed by Global Resource Engineering Ltd., on the Moonlight-Superior Copper Project. Highlights were as follows:

Moonlight Deposit PEA Summary2 (Dollars in USD):

Est. Average Mill Feed Grade (LOM) 0.31% Cu
LOM 14 years
Production Rate 60,000 st/d
Metallurgical Copper Recovery 90%
Metallurgical Silver Recovery 80%
Initial Capital Costs $956 M
Operating Cost $7.50 /st
Copper Price $4.15 /lb
Silver Price $27.40 /oz
All-in Sustaining Cost/lb/Cu $2.51/lb
Life of Mine Cu Production 1.8 Bill/lbs
Post-tax IRR 23.0%
Post-tax NPV (8%) $1.075 B
  • 1. "Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment for the MoonlightSuperior Project, California, USA” by Global Resource Engineering Ltd. dated December 16, 2024 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]