Osisko Metals reports inferred resource for Gaspé Copper in Quebec  

Just one month after announcing a deal to acquire the Gaspé Copper project, near Murdochville, Que., Osisko Metals (TSX-V: OM; US-OTC: OMZNF) has announced an initial inferred resource estimate for the Mount Copper deposit at the project using data from historical drilling completed between the 1960’s and 2019.  

The company has also started a 30,000-metre drill program at the project, located in the Gaspé Peninsula. 

The project includes a past producing mine that ran for about 45 years from 1955 to 1999 and produced a total of 150 million tonnes grading 0.86% copper. Osisko, which signed an option agreement with Glencore Canada to acquire the property in late March, believes there is a strong economic case for re-opening the project.  

The new resource estimate totals 456 million tonnes grading 0.351% copper with a sulphide grade of 0.31% copper for 3.1 billion lb. of contained copper.  

“This is the first step for our comprehensive strategy at Gaspé Copper to fully evaluate all potential for economic copper deposits remaining within this past-producing porphyry copper/skarn complex,” the company’s CEO Robert Wares said in a press release.  

“We strongly believe this large-scale asset could become a core component of Quebec’s critical mineral development strategy,” he added.  

Signed on Mar. 25, Osisko’s agreement with Glencore provides the company an option to acquire a 100% interest in the past-producing mine for an upfront payment of US$25 million, to be paid by way of a convertible note issued to Glencore upon closing of the transaction, and a cash payment of US$20 million when commercial production begins.    

Osisko also needs to spend $5 million on drilling before June 30, to test oxidation levels within the mineralization that surrounds the historical Mount Copper open pit deposit. 

In addition to the 30,000 metre drill program under way, Wares said the company is launching a preliminary economic assessment on the Mount Copper Expansion project and looks “forward to rapidly developing this asset in partnership with Glencore Canada.” 

According to Osisko, the need for copper as a critical mineral for the green energy revolution and advancements in mining technology make the potential of re-opening the mine a “compelling possibility.” The company will initially focus on the remaining mineralization in the existing pit after which it intends to revaluate the remaining resources through drilling.  

It also believes that there is a “strong exploration potential around high-grade underground mineralization” that was never mined by former operators. “This belief is supported by the discovery of a major bulk tonnage historical resource at depth in the late 1990s,” the company said.  

At press time in Toronto, Osisko Metals was trading at 56¢ per share within a 52-week trading range of 35¢ and 69¢. The company has 201.8 million common shares outstanding for a market cap of $113.02 million.