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ALX Resources completes sampling programs at Cannon Copper Project

Aug 26, 2024


ALX Resources Corp. (TSXV: AL) (FSE: 6LLN) (OTC: ALXEF) ("ALX" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has completed reconnaissance prospecting and sampling programs (the "Programs") on its 100%-owned Cannon Copper Project ("Cannon Copper" or the "Project") located in Kamichisitit Township approximately 35 kilometres (23 miles) northwest of Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada. The Project hosts the site of the historic Cannon Copper Mine and Mill, which saw limited copper mining and processing in the late 1960s and early 1970s. 

Highlights of the 2024 Prospecting and Sampling Programs

The Programs were completed in two phases in June and August 2024. The objectives and highlights of the field work were as follows:

  • Collect mineralized rock samples in the area of known historical copper showings first discovered and drilled in the 1960s, and to apply modern, multi-element geochemical analysis to the samples. A total of 22 rock samples were collected in the Programs and submitted for analysis, including a June 2024 grab sample from a historical blast pit that returned 1.44% copper. Results from the August 2024 rock samples are pending;
  • Locate historical drill holes because many of the locations of the historical drill holes in the Project area are not accurately located in the Government of Ontario geological database. A total of 9 historical drill holes were located in the field;
  • Follow up on Structural Complexity ("SC") and Acquired Inductively Induced Polarization ("AIIP") studies carried out in July 2024 by Geotech Ltd. of Aurora, Ontario, Canada ("Geotech") using the data collected in ALX's 2021 Versatile Time Domain Electromagnetic ("VTEMTM") airborne survey. The SC and AIIP studies identified a broad exploration target area peripheral to the known mineralized trend at Cannon Copper;
  • Conduct a Soil Gas Hydrocarbon ("SGH") sampling survey over the exploration target area identified by the 2024 Geotech SC/AIIP study. One hundred and seventy-six (176) SGH samples were collected and submitted for analysis.
  • About the 2024 Acquired Inductively Induced Polarization (AIIP) and Structural Complexity (SC) Studies

    In 2021, ALX contracted Geotech to conduct a helicopter borne VTEM™ Max survey over the Project and 203 line kilometres of electromagnetic ("EM") data were collected over a 27 square kilometre area. Geotech's VTEM™ system offers a high degree of depth penetration and represented the first modern airborne survey flown on the Project area. 

    The 2021 helicopter-borne survey did not define linear EM conductor trends in the areas of known historic mineralization, likely because of the disseminated style of the copper sulphide mineralization which can be more readily detected as a conductive zone with a ground-based induced polarization geophysical survey ("IP").

    The application of the AIIP processing algorithm to the 2021 VTEM data provided a relatively inexpensive and efficient method to identify subtle AIIP effects that may be related to disseminated copper sulphides from existing data without the expense and time commitment of an IP ground geophysical survey. The 2024 Geotech study identified AIIP effects that appear to correlate well with low resistivities, mainly in the central region of the Project, west and south of the historical Cannon Copper Mine (Map 1). 

    Image removed.
    Map 1: Cannon Copper AIIP Res-Tau results
    (anomalous conductivity from processed VTEM data)

    To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
    https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/3046/221093_3cc2bc6484dd6a3e_003full.jpg

    The high-resolution VTEMTM magnetic data collected in 2021 formed the basis of ALX's 2024 SC study, which outlined a structurally-complex target area encompassing the historical Cannon Mine area and measuring approximately 2.9 square kilometres, as shown in Map 2 below as target "T01".

    Image removed.

    Map 2: Cannon Copper target area of high structural complexity defined by 2024 SC study

    To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
    https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/3046/221093_3cc2bc6484dd6a3e_004full.jpg

    Structurally complex areas can be an important exploration parameter for structurally-controlled mineral deposits (Groves et al., 2018). Linear structures, such as magnetic ridges from positive magnetic linear anomalies, were mapped and interpreted using the Centre for Exploration Targeting (CET) grid analysis module (University of Western Australia). Inferred faults were interpreted from the aeromagnetic data. The magnetic ridges and inferred fault interpretations were then utilized to identify structurally complex areas. The results from the AIIP and SC studies were then input into a self organizing map ("SOM") data analysis method for classification and targeting purposes, which resulted in the identification of the potential copper exploration target area "T01" that is outlined on Map 2. 

    About the 2024 Prospecting and Sampling Programs

    ALX's geological teams carried out the two Programs at Cannon Copper in June and August 2024 (Map 3). The follow-up site visit was recommended after the receipt of geochemical results from an initial group of 6 outcrop and grab samples collected in June 2024 that returned geochemical values up to 1.44% copper; the second site visit was completed in August 2024. Geological mapping carried out during the August 2024 program located a quartz vein with visible sulphide mineralization (the "QV Zone") that was traced on surface over an approximate 900-metre strike length. Mineralized outcrop samples collected from the QV Zone were visually observed to contain chalcopyrite, a copper sulphide mineral. ALX's prospecting team also located and sampled a historical open pit and mine shaft. 

    A total of 176 SGH soil samples were collected from a virtual grid covering 6.1 square kilometres established by ALX's prospecting team. SGH is an analytical method developed by Actlabs of Ancaster, Ontario that is designed to detect subtle geochemical anomalies emanating from a buried source. The 2024 SGH grid covers certain mineralized showings (Rita and West) at the Project and extends to the north and south to cover the T01 target area identified from the SC study as demonstrating greater structural complexity. Samples are being processed and interpreted by Actlabs to outline any prospective zones located by the SGH survey for subsequent integration with all other available geological and geophysical data.

    Image removed.

    Map 3: Cannon Copper 2024 rock sample sites and SGH survey grid

    To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
    https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/3046/221093_3cc2bc6484dd6a3e_005full.jpg

    ALX's 2024 surface work is the first follow-up program to the 2021 VTEM™ Max airborne survey and it represents the first site visits by the Company to the Cannon Copper area since 2013. ALX believes that the historical mine workings at Cannon Copper may represent a relatively shallow trace of a much larger mineralizing system that has never been fully explored and has not been drilled since the 1960s. The next steps for Cannon Copper are the identification of drill targets and application for an exploration permit. 

    To view a recent video of the Cannon Copper Mine site visit click here.
    To view maps and other Cannon Copper information on ALX's website click here.

    Geochemical results from the 2024 Programs will be released following their receipt, compilation, and interpretation.

    About the Cannon Copper Project

  • Cannon Copper is located approximately 35 kilometres northwest of Elliot Lake in an exploration district known for high-grade copper occurrences both on surface and in drill holes, but remains underexplored for base metals in the modern era.
  • ALX maintained 100% ownership of 13 claim units at Cannon Copper totaling 289 hectares (714 acres) following the amalgamation of Alpha Exploration Inc. and Lakeland Resources Ltd. in 2015. The Company staked additional claims in 2020 and currently maintains 91 cell units totaling approximately 2,022 hectares (4,997 acres).
  • The Project is accessible by way of paved highways connecting to secondary roads and trails, and lies within one kilometre of an active powerline. 
  • The past-producing Cannon Copper Mine and Mill (also known as the Crownbridge Copper Mine; see Kirkham and Sinclair, 19961) operated intermittently as a regional copper mining and processing facility from 1966 until 1972. Production statistics for the Cannon Copper property are unknown. The Ministry of Energy, Mines and Northern Development of Ontario currently lists a historical mineral resource for the Cannon Copper Mine of 415,000 tonnes grading 1.8% copper over a width of 6.5 feet (1.98 metres). (Note: This historical resource is not compliant with the standards of National Instrument 43-101 - see "National Instrument 43-101 Disclosure" later in this news release for additional cautionary language.)2
  • Copper mineralization was traced historically along a strike length of approximately 2.680 kilometres (1.6 miles), within quartz veins and conglomerates, in a series of mineralized zones at depths ranging from near-surface to approximately 300 metres (984 feet).3
  • A single deep hole (hole CR-15), drilled by Crownbridge Copper Mines Limited in 1963, reportedly intersected chalcopyrite mineralization within argillitic rocks beginning at a depth of 580.34 metres (1,904 feet), located well below the quartz vein-hosted copper mineralization forming the previously-identified mineralized zones. Historical operators recommended follow-up to hole CR-15 to test for new sedimentary-hosted copper resources, but no follow-up deep drilling was carried out.4
  • 1  Geology of Canadian Mineral Deposit Types, Geological Survey of Canada, Geology of Canada, No.8, Chapter 17.
    2  Ontario Geological Survey, Open File Report 6366, Report of Activities 2019.
    3  Ontario Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines Assessment File #41J11SE0023.
    4  Ontario Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines Assessment File #41J11SE0031.



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