Aston Bay Files Technical Report for Storm Copper Project Initial Mineral Resource Estimate

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TORONTO, ON / ACCESS Newswire / April 17, 2025 / Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. (TSXV:BAY)(OTCQB:ATBHF) ("Aston Bay" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that a new National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") Technical Report titled "Initial Mineral Resource Estimate and Technical Report on the Storm Copper Project, Aston Bay Property, Somerset Island, Nunavut, Canada" and dated effective February 7, 2025 (the "Report"), has been filed under the Company's SEDAR+ profile (www.sedarplus.ca).

The Report details an initial Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") for the near-surface mineralization (<120 metres ("m") depth) at the Storm Copper Project ("Storm" or the "Project") on Somerset Island, Nunavut (see Aston Bay news release dated March 3, 2025 - Aston Bay Announces Initial Mineral Resource Estimate for Near-Surface Mineralization at the Storm Copper Project, Nunavut, Canada). The MRE includes six near-surface copper (-silver) deposits within the greater Storm Copper area: Cyclone, Chinook, Corona, Cirrus, Lightning Ridge and Thunder.

Storm Copper Initial Mineral Resource Estimate Key Highlights

  • Indicated Mineral Resources: 8.2 million tonnes at an average grade of 1.47% copper (Cu) and 4.5 grams per tonne (g/t) silver (Ag), containing 266.3 million pounds (Mlbs) (121,000 tonnes) of copper and 1.185 million ounces of silver (refer to Table 1 for MRE details).

  • Inferred Mineral Resources: 3.3 million tonnes at an average grade of 1.30% Cu and 3.1 g/t Ag, containing 95.4 Mlbs (43,000 tonnes) of copper and 333,600 ounces of silver (refer to Table 1 for MRE details).

  • Low-cost development potential:

    • Near-surface Mineral Resources accessed primarily with open-pit mining, accounting for over 90% of contained metal in the MRE.

    • 100% of MRE consists of fresh, chalcocite-dominant copper sulphide with metallurgical testwork, which confirms excellent beneficiation potential, including sorting (see Aston Bay news releases dated August 13, 2024 and April 11, 2022).

  • Significant growth and expansion opportunities:

    • MRE deposits remain open - All six deposits remain open, offering strong potential for rapid expansion of the Mineral Resource inventory.

    • Cyclone Deeps discovery (2024) - Cyclone-style mineralization located immediately south and faulted down from the existing Cyclone Deposit (1.2% Cu over 10 m from 311 m down hole in drill hole ST24-01; see Aston Bay news release dated September 20, 2024).

    • New high-grade copper discoveries (2024) - The Gap (2.3% Cu over 20 m from 38 m down hole, including 5.3% Cu over 8 m in drill hole SR24-003; see Aston Bay news release dated July 2, 2024), Squall and Hailstorm are located near surface and ready for Mineral Resource definition drilling.

  • Belt-scale exploration opportunity - <5% of the 110 kilometre ("km") long copper belt has been adequately explored. Priority targets include the Tempest, Tornado, Blizzard and Seabreeze Prospects, where surface copper-zinc gossans have been identified.