NorthWest Copper Corp. has released an updated mineral resource estimate for the Kwanika Central deposit, part of its fully owned Kwanika-Stardust Project in Canada. This announcement marks a pivotal step in the company's strategy to prioritize higher-grade copper and gold mineralization, with the aim of enhancing economic viability and supporting future mining operations.
Strategic Focus on Higher-Grade Resources
The updated estimate reflects NorthWest Copper's deliberate shift towards focusing on richer copper and gold deposits. According to Paul Olmsted, CEO of NorthWest, this update is a significant milestone that underscores the company's commitment to developing a more capital-efficient mining approach. He emphasized that the results provide a robust foundation for preliminary open pit and underground mine plans, potentially enabling a long mine life and de-risking early project stages through a higher-grade starter pit.
Key Highlights of the Mineral Resource Estimate
The Kwanika Central deposit now boasts substantial indicated and inferred mineral resources. The indicated mineral resource totals 16.22 million tonnes, with grades of 0.63% copper, 0.74 grams per tonne gold, and 2.0 grams per tonne silver, equivalent to 1.27% copper equivalent. This translates to 226.6 million pounds of copper, 383 thousand ounces of gold, and 1,035 thousand ounces of silver. The inferred mineral resource is even larger, at 28.97 million tonnes, grading 0.48% copper, 0.63 grams per tonne gold, and 1.5 grams per tonne silver, or 1.05% copper equivalent, containing 307.6 million pounds of copper, 589 thousand ounces of gold, and 1,393 thousand ounces of silver.
Breakdown by Mining Method
The resources are categorized into open pit and underground components to support diverse mining strategies. For open pit operations, the indicated resource is 8.99 million tonnes grading 0.55% copper, 0.51 grams per tonne gold, and 1.8 grams per tonne silver, while the inferred resource is 9.18 million tonnes with lower grades. Underground resources, specifically for sub-level cave mining, show higher grades: 7.23 million tonnes indicated grading 0.73% copper and 1.01 grams per tonne gold, and 19.8 million tonnes inferred grading 0.55% copper and 0.76 grams per tonne gold.
Technical Foundations and Future Steps
This mineral resource estimate is based on verified data, robust geological models, and well-defined mineralized zones, constrained by informed open pit shells and underground mining shapes. It is optimized to facilitate mid-size bulk mining studies for both open pit and sub-level cave methods. Currently, technical sub-studies on metallurgical variability testing and power are underway, paving the way for an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment targeted for completion by mid-2026.
NorthWest Copper plans to use this updated resource to advance the Kwanika-Stardust Project, aiming to deliver a more economically compelling outcome compared to previous assessments. The company's immediate focus is on progressing towards the PEA, which will further evaluate the project's potential for development and long-term sustainability in the mining sector.
