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NorthIsle starts drilling in Pemberton Hills area after negotiating deal with Freeport

Mining industry one step closer to a revitalization after farm-out agreement
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NorthIsle Copper and Gold Inc. photo The company announced drilling has commenced on the Pemberton Hills target site.

The North Island may see a revitalized mining industry soon.

NorthIsle Copper and Gold Inc. has begun drilling at the Pemberton Hills target site north of Holberg Inlet after reaching a “farm-out agreement” earlier this year. The company has evidence to suggest that Pemberton Hills, spanning 1,853 acres, has copper deposits after drilling a 200-metre deep hole for a prior geological survey.

The farm-out agreement with Freeport-McMoRan Mineral Properties Canada Inc. (Freeport), which is a negotiated deal to obtain a percentage of ownership of a lease in exchange for providing a service, will allow NorthIsle to conduct further studies in the Pemberton Hills area. A farm-out agreement typically means the “farmor” or leasor receives a royalty payment once the land is developed and producing, in this case, copper and gold.

Freeport may spend nearly $24 million on exploration expenditures with 65 per cent interest in the property. Freeport was originally going to spend $4 million over 3 years to earn up to 49 per cent interest, according to NorthIsle’s April 2018 corporate presentation. The Pemberton Hills property will be divided between NorthIsle and Freeport, as illustrated on the company’s website.

The company recently completed their initial geophysical survey with another follow-up survey planned in the same area. The initial diamond drilling program is also currently underway.

The project has an estimated inferred 1.5 billion pounds of copper, an inferred 3.6 million ounces of gold and a total planned budget of $1 million.

NorthIsle CEO and President John McClintock, who was a former exploration manager with BHP Billiton, said that the company is “excited to launch this first drill program on the Pemberton Hills target with the funding and technical support provided by Freeport.” He also added the drilling at Pemberton Hills will look “very similar to what we see at our Hushamu and Red Dog deposits. We already have evidence of a buried porphyry copper deposit.”

The survey area will extend west-northwest from the Island Copper Mine, which operated for nearly 25 years.

Northisle will also retain a 100 per cent interest in its Hushamu and Red Dog copper-gold deposits.

The North Island Project covers nearly 99,000 acres of highly prospective copper deposits. The Hushamu deposit will have roughly 305 million tonnes of copper, gold and other minerals. The project will use the nearby deep water loadout facility and is considered a brownfield development opportunity, which is the planned use of land that was previously developed by BHP Billiton’s Island Copper Mine.

- With files from NorthIsle Copper and Gold Inc.