Aston Bay and American West Metals Confirm Discovery of Sediment Hosted Copper System at Depth and 76m of 2% Cu From 32m at Thunder from the Storm Copper Project, Canada

26 September 2023

September 26, 2023

Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. (TSXV: BAY) (OTCQB: ATBHF) ("Aston Bay" or the "Company”) is pleased to report assay results that confirm the discovery of sediment hosted copper system at depth, as well as high-grade results from one of the new near-surface discoveries at the Storm Copper Project (“Storm” or the “Project”) on Somerset Island, Nunavut. The drill holes were part of a program conducted by American West (as defined below) as operator of the Project pursuant to the Option Agreement (as defined below). 

Highlights:

Discovery of large sediment hosted copper system confirmed by diamond drilling:

  • Assay results for diamond drill holes ST23-01, ST23-02 and ST23-03 indicate that all three holes have intersected sediment hosted copper beneath the near-surface copper deposits at Storm
  • ST23-02 has intersected a 24 metre (m) thick interval of copper sulfides at depth with copper values up to 2.7% Cu, indicating the potential of the deeper system to host high-grade mineralization
  • The wide-spaced location of the holes – between 600m to 2 kilometre (km) spacing – highlights the broad lateral scale of the sediment-hosted copper system
  • The results confirm the correlation between the sediment-hosted copper and gravity anomalies, highlighting large-scale exploration potential with more than 14km prospective strike untested by drilling

High-grade new near-surface discovery at Thunder:

  • Diamond drill hole ST23-03 has returned assays of:
    • 76m @ 2% Cu from 32.4m, including
    • 48.6m @ 3% Cu from 32.4m, and including,
    • 20m @ 6.2% Cu from 40.8m
  • The Thunder discovery – located 1km from the known near-surface Storm copper deposits – highlights the resource expansion and exploration potential of the near-surface mineralization

“I am pleased to report the exploration diamond drill holes have confirmed the presence of the sediment hosted copper sulfide mineralization at depth at Storm,” stated Thomas Ullrich, CEO of Aston Bay. “The assays confirm the presence of copper, locally over wide intervals up to 24m thick, in widely spaced drill holes that suggest lateral extent and continuity. With values up to 2.7% copper, these results point to the size and grade potential of this deeper mineralization. Mineralogical zonation at Storm suggests the intercepts are on the periphery of the system and provide a vector toward anticipated higher copper grade within this large copper mineralized system.”

“Every deep exploration drill hole has intersected sulfide mineralization as predicted by both the geological and geophysical models. We clearly have a powerful exploration toolkit for discovery at Storm. Kilometre-scale geophysical anomalies in highly prospective stratigraphy remain untested, and planning has already begun for a major drill program in 2024 to determine the extents of the system and target grade and size.”

“In addition to the deep discovery, the near-surface Thunder Prospect has yielded high grades up to 49.6% copper. Just discovered this season, Thunder highlights the resource potential in the near surface, with grades rarely seen in open pit mining opportunities.”

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