Copper Fox Metals Company (TSXV: CUU; OTCC: CPFXF; FSE: HPU) reported positive results from the ongoing minerals program and a progress report on the Shaft Creek program for 2026. The mineral update discusses the results of mineral characterization, fragmentation, bulk flotation and closed cycle portions of the minerals program and plans for further mineral investigations.
The Shaft Creek Project is managed by the Shaft Creek Joint Venture (SCJV). Teck Resources Limited is the operator of the SCJV project and holds a 75% interest while Copper Fox holds the remaining 25%. The Shaft Creek deposit, located in northwestern British Columbia, is one of the largest undeveloped porphyry copper deposits in North America containing significant gold, molybdenum and silver byproducts.
Elmer P. stated. Stewart, President and CEO of Copper Fox, said, “Positive results from metallurgical testing demonstrate comparable metal recoveries at a coarse grind size. Additional studies are recommended to further improve metallurgical performance related to mill productivity, metal production, and energy consumption and will be evaluated as the project progresses toward the pre-feasibility study phase.”
Open circuit cleaner flotation tests indicate slightly lower copper and silver recovery rates at a coarse initial grind of P80 161-210 µm, compared to a fine grind of P80 140-160 µm. The recovery of molybdenum and gold appears to be unaffected at coarse grinding sizes up to 210 µm.
Copper recovery to the coarser flotation concentrate shows significant variation across feed grades ranging from 0.1 to 0.4% copper.
Chalcopyrite is the dominant copper sulfide mineral, with minor amounts of bornite and chalcosite. Pyrite content ranges from 0 to 7.6%, averaging approximately 0.4%.
The liberation of copper-bearing metals at 80% grinding size through 220 µm is 46%, which is slightly lower than 47% at 152 µm. Mineralization is classified as difficult to very severe based on wear index and bond ball work index (BWi) indices. Higher ore hardness values may require increased mill power.
Based on the test results, the following recommendations are made for future metallurgy programs: further evaluate the coarse initial grinding size (P80 ~ 212 µm) to reduce grinding costs; Updating geological field classification to better understand variation in recovery across sediments, especially at lower recharge grades; Conduct further closed cycle tests on coarse grinding size to improve extraction and concentration models and further investigate the presence and recovery of gold.
The primary focus of the 2026 program is to complete a technical review of key project components to determine the readiness of the project to move to the pre-feasibility study (PFS) phase. Key components of the program include updates to geological and mineralogical models, tailings trade-off studies, mine plan and access roads.
Mineralogical studies planned for 2026 will focus on refining geological fields within the Shaft Creek deposit, performing coarse particle flotation tests, and initiating a gold migration study to better characterize gold distribution, particle size, and mineral associations. In addition, a trade-off study will be conducted to evaluate the potential application of high-pressure grinding roller (HGPR) within the crushing circuit.
The 2026 field program includes collecting environmental data to support future site planning and permitting. Upgrades to the camp are also planned to support future programs.
A trade-off study is currently underway to evaluate several potential access routes to the project, along with a system impact study being conducted by BC Hydro. In addition, the updated lithological model incorporating the 2024 and 2025 structural studies resulted in only minor improvements to the interpreted geology.
The mineralogical testing program includes work performed by SCJV as well as test results completed by Copper Fox in the years 2005 to 2012. The tests completed by SCJV focused on mineralogical testing at P80 with a 210 micron grind size and consisted of fragmentation (grinding), bulk flotation, locked cycle testing and mineralogical characterization on seventy-five variable samples and one composite sample. The flow sheet for metalwork testing programs for 2023-2024 is shown in Figure-1. The flow sheet for test sample 2023-2024 (BL-1286) consists of coarse flotation of bulk sulfide, fine regrinding on bulk concentrate, and three stages of clean flotation.
Mineralogical analysis indicates that chalcopyrite is the dominant copper sulphide mineral with minor amounts of bornite and rare chalcocite. Low concentrations of secondary copper minerals were identified in several samples. Molybdenite is the main mineral that bears molybdenum. Pyrite content ranges from 0 to 7.6%, averaging approximately 0.4%.
Fragmentation (grinding) test results for 111 variable specimens were reviewed in the study, and a variety of test methods were used to determine material hardness and energy requirements to achieve the grind size required for improved metallurgical performance. Testing indicates that volcanic hosted mineralization exhibits greater hardness than breccia and intrusive hosted mineralization indicating higher energy requirements for the mill.
The liberation of copper sulfide metal with a grinding size of 80% passing 220 μm is about 46%, which is only slightly lower than 152 μm, which supports the coarse grinding size for future work. Estimated release levels of copper minerals have ranged from 39 to 51% in historical tests with a P80 grind size of approximately 150 µm. The results indicate that fine grinding improves the release of copper sulfide minerals, but not significantly.
The study included a rougher flotation test on 75 variable samples. Testing was completed using several different flotation complexes to find the perfect combination. Results indicate significant variation in copper recovery to coarser flotation concentration across feed grades ranging from 0.1 to 0.4% copper. Open circuit cleaner flotation tests show slightly lower recovery levels of copper and silver at a coarser initial grind of P80 161-210 µm, compared to a finer grind of P80 140-160 µm.
In 2023-2024, seven locked cycle tests (LCT) were completed on 6 contrast samples, and one composite sample representing the expected life of the mine grades at an initial grinding size of 80% passing at 209 µm. The results show similar mineral recoveries to previous tests from 2008 to 2012 with a finer grind size of 153 µm.
Locked cycle tests are performed to evaluate the effect of initial grinding size on metal recovery. LCT results showed that the copper recovery rate decreased from 89 to 86% and silver recovery from 60 to 55% when the initial grinding size increased from 80% through 109 to 173 μm. However, the molybdenum recovery percentage increased significantly from 71% at the smallest grinding size to 87% at the smallest grinding size. The gold recovery rate increased from 67% to 72% due to the coarsening of the primary grinding size.
In general, metal recoveries increase with higher feed grades. Copper recoveries overlap at two different primary grinding sizes. The recoveries of other metals (molybdenum, gold, silver) at coarse grinding are similar or improved. It is not clear whether this behavior is due to other mineralogical drivers such as mineralogy, petrology, and a different detector system and requires further study. Overall, metallurgical performance from the 2023-2024 variation samples is similar to composite samples tested from 2008 to 2012. The data supports a coarse P80 initial milling size of 212 µm and can be used as a new baseline in this press release.
Copper Fox and its subsidiaries own 100% of the Van Dyke ISCR Project, a development stage and potential near-term medium-sized copper mine in Arizona and a 25% interest in the Schaft Creek joint venture with Teck Resources Limited (75% interest and operator) that hosts the Schaft Creek copper-gold-molybdenum-silver project in British Columbia’s Golden Triangle. In addition, Copper Fox owns 100% of the Eaglehead resource-stage multi-metallic porphyry copper project in northwest British Columbia and the Sombrero Butte and Mineral Mountain exploration-stage advanced porphyry copper projects located in the Laramide Age copper province in Arizona.
