Kodiak hits high-grade copper-gold at MPD project in British Columbia

[Ben Graham]

Kodiak Copper’s (TSXV: KDK) first, near-surface drill results of the year from its MPD project confirming near-surface copper-gold across 950 metres in the South zone

A highlight result was 111.3 metres grading 0.39% copper, 0.1 gram gold per tonne and 1.63 grams silver, the company reported on Thursday. That result, from 1.5 metres depth in hole RC-AXE-25-010, included 59.4 metres of 0.51% copper, 0.13 gram gold and 2.24 grams silver from surface. Hole RC-AXE-25-006 cut 147.8 metres grading 0.26% copper, 0.06 gram gold and 0.99 gram silver from 4.6 metres. MPD is located roughly between Merritt and Princeton, about 3.5 hours east of Vancouver.

“We are very encouraged by the consistency of mineralized intercepts over a substantial strike length at the South Zone,” CEO Claudia Tornquist said in a video accompanying the news release.

The highlights came from the 2,746-metre, 22 reverse-circulation-hole program that confirmed near-surface copper-gold across 950 metres in the South zone at MPD. Every hole ended in mineralization. The company expects more results in the third quarter from the West and Adit zones.

Kodiak’s shares listed in Toronto traded flat by midday Thursday at C$0.62 apiece, after rising by two-thirds in the past eight months. It has a market capitalization of C$53.2 million.

Open at depth

The results suggest South’s from-surface intercepts could provide starter-pit optionality when folded into the fourth-quarter resource update, according to Kodiak’s vice-president for exploration Dave Skelton.

“Importantly, the [South] zone is still wide open in multiple directions and to depth – and every hole finished in mineralization,” Skelton said in the video.

Kodiak is steered by founder and chairman Chris Taylor – the geologist behind Great Bear’s discovery in Ontario – who set up the company. Great Bear later sold for about C$1.8 billion ($1.4 billion). Tornquist is a seasoned mining executive who previously served as a general manager at Rio Tinto (ASX, LSE: RIO) before taking the CEO role at Kodiak in April 2020.

Growing system

At Kodiak’s MPD, the South, Adit, and Mid zones form a 2.3-km copper-in-soil anomaly. Kodiak interprets this as one large system. It sets the stage for a complete resource update expected in the fourth quarter. This update will include South, West and Adit zones, expanding on June’s initial estimates for Gate, Ketchan, Man and Dillard.

These deposits underpin 56.4 million tonnes indicated at 0.31% copper, 0.14 gram gold and 1.18 grams silver per tonne. That accounts for 385 million lb. of contained copper, 250,000 oz. gold and 2.14 million oz. silver..

Kodiak estimates MPD’s inferred resources at 240.7 million tonnes grading 0.24% copper, 0.12 gram gold and 0.91 gram silver. This would represent 1.3 million lb. copper, 960,000 oz. gold and 7.05 million oz. silver.

Mining province

The project sits in the southern Quesnel terrane – BC’s workhorse porphyry copper-gold belt – with year-round access and infrastructure between Merritt and Princeton.

Several mid-tier operators are moving significant volumes of copper in southern BC. Teck Resources (TSX: TECK.A, TECK.B; NYSE: TECK) approved a C$2.4 billion ($1.76 billion) project last month. It’s expected to extend the life of Canada’s largest copper mine by two decades. Teck has greenlit the Highland Valley Copper mine’s life extension project. This will keep the mine running until 2046. The target is to produce about 132,000 tonnes of copper each year during this time.

Hudbay Minerals (TSX, NYSE: HBM) expects its Copper Mountain mine near Princeton to produce 28,000 to 41,000 tonnes of copper this year. This effort supports the Copper Mountain/New Ingerbelle plan, aiming to extend the mine’s life into the 2040s. Earlier this month, the company secured a $600 million deal with Mitsubishi. This agreement gives the Japanese conglomerate a 30% stake in the Copper World project in southern Arizona.

Meanwhile, New Gold (TSX, NYSE: NGD) achieved a key milestone in the C-Zone development at its New Afton mine near Kamloops. Developing the zone underpins a longer mine life as production transitions underground.