Cascadia Catches high copper, gold grades

Cascadia Minerals Ltd. July 19 announced the results from prospecting and various surveys from the first phase of its 2023 Phase 1 exploration program at the Catch property in Yukon, Canada, signaling a promising start for the newly reforged company.

Formerly ATAC Resources, reformed as Cascadia Minerals after selling off its Rackla and Connaught properties to Hecla Mining Company, the previous gold, now multi-metals explorer held onto several of its past properties, which include Catch (copper-gold), Rosy (gold-silver), and Idaho Creek (copper-gold) properties in the Yukon, as well as the PIL (copper-gold-silver-molydenum) project in Northern BC.

"I am very excited to begin a new chapter of discovery with Cascadia," said Cascadia President and CEO Graham Downs. "With backing from Hecla as a strategic investor, and a strong and experienced management team, we are ready to hit the ground running with a robust exploration program for 2023."

Conducting an induced polarization (IP), Z-Axis Tipper Electromagnetic (ZTEM), and aeromagnetic survey in addition to some prospecting, the conclusion of its phase-one exploration was some of the highest copper and gold grades found on the project to date. Highlights from this work include:

• The highest copper and gold grades at Catch to date, including 3.88% copper with 30 grams per metric ton gold in outcrop 180 meters north of the 2022 Diorite zone discovery.

• IP surveys at the Diorite zone outlined a 1,000- by 500- by 300-meter chargeability high immediately below high-grade surface samples.

• Mineralized rock and soil samples in the Main zone were found to be coincident with a well-developed IP chargeability anomaly that extends more than 300 meters in depth.

• Outcrop chip sampling at the Diorite zone returned 12 meters of 0.31% copper with 0.17 g/t gold.

• Chip sampling at a new discovery 500 meters south of the Diorite zone returned six meters of 0.12% copper with 0.48 g/t gold.

• Prospecting between the Main and Diorite zones identified a new hydrothermal breccia with results including 0.21% copper and 4.82 g/t gold.

"We continue to be very impressed with our exploration success at the Catch project," said Downs. "Our team continues to make new prospecting discoveries across the recently expanded property, with much of it still awaiting systematic evaluation."

Cascadia is now preparing for a phase-two maiden diamond drill program at the Catch property, with the company planning up to 2,500 meters to test the drill-ready Main and Diorite zones starting early August.

"With extensive mineralization at surface and co-incident IP response at depth, we've already defined two drill-ready targets and are eager to get the diamond drilling underway," added Downs. "This has all the hallmarks of a significant new district-scale grassroots copper-gold discovery."

In addition to the work at Catch, Cascadia is conducting exploration work at its British Columbia PIL property, and its Yukon Rosy property. Crews have been on-site at Rosy for two weeks, following up on historical high-grade gold and silver epithermal veins.

The planned work program includes prospecting, mapping, and soil sampling in underexplored areas. Crews will mobilize to PIL in two weeks for similar planned work to better refine drill targeting for next year's field season.