Phoenix Copper Ltd announced the drilling results from the 2023 Navarre Creek exploratory drilling programme in Idaho, USA and an update on feasibility engineering activities at the Empire Mine. Highlights: 28 reverse-circulation drill holes into four target areas within 4,000 acre (16.18 sq km) claim block; Two of four target areas identify mineralisation of significance; All seven drill holes into the Lehman Creek target identify a continuous zone of anomalous, low-grade gold mineralisation ranging from 4.5 metres to 22.9 metres thick; Mineralised zone is open along strike and down-dip; 20 unpatented mining claims totaling 400 acres staked on the southwest end of the contiguous Navarre Creek claim block. Background on Navarre Creek: During the 2021 field season, Phoenix contracted Magee Geophysical Services to acquire approximately 169 line-kilometres of total field magnetic measurements at the Company's Navarre Creek project and SpecTIR, LLC of Reno, Nevada to complete an airborne hyperspectral survey of the same Navarre Creek area to identify prospective exploration targets in an area, many of which are largely concealed by glacial till.

The ground magnetics survey looked specifically for magnetite and magnetic-bearing minerals, some of which have been identified in limited outcroppings, while the hyperspectral imaging helps to identify alteration minerals often associated with precious metal deposition. Hyperspectral imaging incorporates a small airplane with mounted infrared lights and sensors to detect a wide range of wavelengths, mineral absorption and reflectance within the target area. The wavelength data collected in this survey are VNIR (Visible and Near-Infrared), SWIR (Short-Wave Infrared), and LWIR (Long-Wave Infrared).

The human eye can detect wavelengths (colours) from 390 nanometers ('nm') to 700nm. The VNIR and SWIR sensors collected wavelength data from 390nm to 2,450nm, while the LWIR sensors ranged from 8,000nm to 12,000nm. The Navarre Creek project is located within an intrusive dome complex, where the magnetic components in overlying volcanic lithologies are destroyed by silicic alteration associated with steam-heated, acidic, and oxidised hydrothermal fluids.

The survey highlighted several such areas including the Lehman Creek fault, one or more porphyry plugs, and several contacts/faults. The survey identified volcanic-associated alteration that is both acidic and of fairly high temperature as evidenced by pyrophyllite and dickite. As would be expected in the Challis Volcanic Field, the white mica is Al-rich (paragenetic) and also shows zoned crystallinity patterns, typical of intermediate-to-high sulfidation systems, and is likely proximal to a magmatic heat source.

The presence of iron oxide associated with some of these zones adds prospectivity. The alteration pattern is useful in developing an exploration model to optimise future drill targets. During the summer of 2020, Konnex Resources' exploration team previously mapped and sampled the Company's Navarre Creek gold property, which was then comprised of 2,420 acres of unpatented mining claims, located approximately 5km north-northwest of the Empire Mine.  90 rock chip and grab samples were collected in the hydrothermally altered volcanic rocks that make up the Navarre Creek claims and sent to ALS Laboratories in Reno, USA for geochemical analysis.

Of the 90 samples, 53 were above the detection limit for gold with a high of 0.569 grammes per tonne ('g/t'), and 25 above the detection limit for silver.  The Navarre Creek claim block now covers 3,977 acres (16.09 km²), representing over 6 km of prospective strike length, including an area of secondary alteration thought to be epithermal in nature, with over 2.5 km of highly brecciated, west trending jasperoid intersecting argillically and silicically altered Eocene Challis volcanics.