Exploration Zones

Overview

CUPANI Metals’ Blue Lake project hosts Copper, Nickel and PGE mineralization associated with ultramafic intrusions. Our company consolidated all of the La Fosse Platine historical deposit with exploration project formerly referred to as Retty Lake. We refer to the combined project as Blue Lake.

Many metals make better mines. Our project is at surface. It already has more than four million tonnes of historically identified high grade ore (not NI 43-101 compliant). CUPANI Metals now plans to explore in hope of quadrupling or better the historical tonnage. 

Critical metals mineralization of this type is economically important at other locations in Northern Quebec and Labrador: Vale's operating Voisey’s Bay Mine hosts some 140MT of resource grading 1.59% Ni and 0.85% Cu; and Glencore's Raglan Mine where some 44MT at 2.51% Ni, 1.96 % Cu and 0.05% Co are currently being mined.

Highlights about CUPANI Metals’ Blue Lake Copper-Nickel-Platinum-Palladium project:

• Potentially massive strike length: Our claims cover more than 500 km² of the Labrador Trough, a major geologic feature that is some 850 km long, 100 km wide and which has produced more than 2 billion tonnes of iron ore. The Ungava Trough, located more north, is considered to be part of the same geological hosts major Cu-Ni mines, deposits and prospects.

• We are located in mining country: Quebec, Canada, is one of the world's best jurisdictions for both exploration and mining. In fact, the nearest town to Blue Lake was built by an iron mining company in the 1950s. That company also built the hydroelectric dam and the railway which takes ore to port.

• High-grade historical deposit: Copper-Nickel-Platinum-Palladium mineralization has been outlined in the Blue Lake zone through drilling and underground exploration via an adit at Blue Lake. Previous operators reported historical resources of 4.37 million tonnes (metric) at 0.87% Cu, 0.52% Ni and 0.84g/t Pt+Pd for 2.28% copper equivalent (not NI 43-101 compliant). Most of the mineralized zones are still open and several new similar targets have been recently updated by the 2024 ground gravity survey over the Blue Lake zone.

• Money goes into the ground: The Quebec and Canadian governments combined offer great tax credits to explore. The CUPANI Metals team owns circa 50% of all shares, which means the priority is success.

• Infrastructure: Blue Lake is 65 km from the town of Schefferville which has its own airport and rail station. Some of that distance already has a gravel road. The majority of the remaining distance is over lakes which are frozen and fully useable for more than 6 months each year. Heavy surface transport from railhead to exploration site has already been accomplished.

The historical deposits are among exploration priorities. As of May 2023, all the references mapped below are 100% owned by CUPANI Metals.

This image of the Labrador Trough is from a 2015 government report which depicts copper in the lake bottom sediments. Note that Cupani Metals exploration claims are best positioned. This data is why recently we tripled our claims package. This government report is LINKED HERE.

Exploration Update: In late summer 2024, the company conducted a 6-week prospecting and sampling program by 4 field teams assisted by helicopter to cover most of the priority targets, including the middle ultramafic sill that contains the historical deposits and all significant historical showings. At the same time, SJ Geophysics Ltd. was contracted to conduct ground gravity surveying over the Blue Lake zone. Concurrently a LIDAR team mapped the Blue Lake zone topography by drone survey. A LIDAR elevation relief map was built to facilitate data reduction and corrections of the gravity data. A total of 631 grab samples were sent for assay.

The biggest discovery of the 2024 field work was a completely new zone of Copper-Nickel-Platinum-Palladium mineralization in massive sulphides that was traced at surface for over 9 kilometres of strike-length. This new zone, namely the Cancun zone is located near the southern claims boundary which is approximately 20 km to southeast of the historical Blue Lake deposits. Refer to November and December news releases for more information about the 2024 results.

Given the immense size of company claims and the complex nature of regional folding, the company refers to 5 zones of the overall Blue Lake project. These zones are shown in shown as per figure below, each beginning with letters A through E respectively, as follows - Anticline Lake zone, Blue Lake zone, Cancun zone, Doublet zone, and Extensions zone.

Anticline Lake zone

A figure below depicts depicts the Anticline Lake zone (formerly known as the Northern Fold) whose showings are 12 kilometres north of the historical deposits found in Blue Lake zone. Rusty outcrops and mineralization was observed continuously over more than 25 kilometres in Anticline Lake zone. All middle and lower sills were prospected. Several grab samples outside of the historical showings yielded values between 0.1 and 0.5% Cu with strong correlations with Ni and PGEs anomalies, up to 0.3% Ni and 0.5 g/t PGEs. The results in copper equivalencies range up to 1.1% Cu-Equi, which further shows the continuous mineralization and the strong correlation between Cu and Ni-PGEs. Being less explored than the Blue Lake zone, the Anticline Lake zone has good potential of finding enriched massive sulphides lenses in this favorable structural environment. Geophysical surveys would also help generate drilling targets.

The company notes surface grab samples above the Blue Lake zone historical deposits have mineralization and grade equal to what was found on surface at the Anticline Lake zone. The grade differential between surface versus shallow historical deposits possibly is due to preferential weathering of rock types at surface [2.2% copper equivalent historical deposits versus sub 1% copper equivalent grab sample assays]. Therefore, the grades of surface mineralization may not indicate grade for any subsurface mineralization, a situation apparently true throughout the entire claims package. This interpretation also explains the lakebed samples which have exceeded 0.56% copper (nickel in lakebeds was not tested).

Similarities between the Anticline Lake zone and the Cancun zone include the immense fold hinge and many kilometres of surface mineralization. Thus the 2025 work plan for Anticline Lake zone includes geophysics to generate subsurface data in addition to channel sampling for unweathered rock.

Blue Lake zone

High-grade historical deposit of Copper-Nickel-Platinum-Palladium mineralization has been outlined in the Blue Lake zone through drilling and underground exploration via an adit at Blue Lake. Previous operators reported historical resources of 4.37 million tonnes (metric) at 0.87% Cu, 0.52% Ni and 0.84g/t Pt+Pd for 2.28% copper equivalent (not NI 43-101 compliant). Most of the mineralized zones are still open and several new similar targets have been recently updated by the 2024 ground gravity survey over the Blue Lake zone.

Cancun zone

A figure below depicts the Cancun zone 2024 grab samples expressed in copper equivalent whose showings are about 20 kilometres southeast of the historical deposits found at Blue Lake zone. The mineralized units in Cancun zone are mostly hidden under soil and vegetation cover of one foot. BeepMat devices were an important tool. Local small manmade trenches were dug to expose and sample the bedrock mineralization. Rusty bedrock and copper mineralization in massive to semi-massive sulphides units were observed and traced for over more than 9 kilometres following folded electromagnetic anomalies on southern fold hinge. Our team’s interpretation of geological, geochemical and geophysical data has quickly proven successful in finding a new zone of impressive mineralization. Like observed on the other zones, the mineralization is mainly composed of magnetic pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite that are associated with argillaceous sediments and or siltstones at the contact with the mafic/ultramafic intrusion. Additional work is needed to better understand the geology of the area and to delineate the extent of the mineralized units.

Several Cancun zone grab samples yielded values between 0.1 and 0.6% Cu-Equi., with one sample up to 1%. Additionally, a grab sample taken on the eastern limb of the fold returned a gold value of 1.93 g/t Au. Such gold grades have also been observed elsewhere on the property, in particular 18 km NW at the Berry-East showings where a channel sample returned 1.88 g/t Au over 12 m. Further exploration of gold anomalies is planned for 2025.

Prior to late September 2024 the mineralization at Cancun zone was unknown and never reported in the Quebec database. Anglo American conducted airborne electromagnetic surveys more than a decade ago but followed up only those targets associated with the mapped ultramafic intrusions. Our exploration teams in 2024 mapped the mineralization for only one week in late September before the fieldwork season ended. It will be a top priority target in 2025. Location of the Cancun zone matches the highest copper concentrations, namely 558 ppm copper, in lakebed sediment taken by government over the Blue Lake property.

Also at surface, in the middle of the fold hinge at the juncture of the fold axis and a regional NE fault, additional mineralization was identified along a 150 metre length, of which one bedrock sample yielded the highest copper value of the 2024 program, namely 0.9% Cu. That find lays upon one of several electromagnetic signatures of which several more remain uninvestigated, all of which are within this very favorable geophysical and structural environment.

Current data suggests that surface grab samples are underestimating the metal content of bedrock values probably due to weathering of the rock at surface. A metal value comparison was made back in 2001 on the Berry Lake showings between surface chip samples and deeper channel samples. The results demonstrated the higher concentration of metals in fresher rock, particularly for nickel.

A 2025 program to obtain fresh channel and/or shallow drillcore samples of all significant grab samples highlighted in the 2024 program is being planned. 2024 results highlight again the weathering of the bedrock causing leaching of the metals at surface and the high potential of finding new copper bearing massive sulfides lenses in this new zone below surface. Additional work at prospecting, trenching, geological mapping and ground geophysics over this poorly explored area will help geological interpretation of the area and generate drill targets.

Doublet zone and Extensions zone

Both zones were staked in summer 2024 based upon prospective peridotite sills and their high copper concentrations in lakebed samples as demonstrated by government data regarding the regional anomaly. They were not visited by field personnel in 2024 but will be part of the 2025 work plan. Based on water flows, presumably their copper lakebed origin source is additional and distinct from the Cancun zone (which is the brightest hotspot, see above for link to the anomaly data).