Pacific Empire Minerals Corp (CVE:PEMC) has revealed it is poised to acquire a large copper project 50 kilometres (km) west of Centerra Gold's (TSE;CG) Mt. Milligan copper-gold mine in central British Columbia.
The prospect generator said it has struck an option agreement to acquire 100% of the 6,300 hectare Jean Marie property, a copper-gold-silver-molybdenum porphyry asset.
READ: Pacific Empire Minerals encouraged by drilling at Elbow target at Pinnacle project
"The Jean Marie is an outstanding exploration opportunity for the company," Brad Peters, Pacific Empire's CEO added in a statement.
"The presence of several mineralized zones and exploration targets along and adjacent to the Jean Marie fault is highly encouraging and suggests there is a mineralized system of significant size on the property," he said.
The property hosts three separate zones (A,B,C), all open for expansion, and each indicating higher grade potential, said the firm, while there is a 9km trend of highly anomalous copper geochemistry.
Each of the three mineralized zones straddle the Jean Marie fault, a significant controlling structure that has been mapped for over 12km at the site. Historical drilling included one hole in the B zone, which hit 184 metres (m) at 0.33% copper, including 27m at 1.2% of copper.
Pacific Empire said it believed there was strong potential for two or more copper ± molybdenum ± gold ± silver deposits to exist at depth along the Jean Marie fault.
To purchase all of the project, the firm must make various cash payments totaling C$675,000 over five years, issue 1.5 million shares and pay C$2.7 million on work commitments.
The vendors will be granted a 2.5% net smelter royalty (NSR) one half (1.25%) of which can be purchased at any time for C$1.5 million. A further 0.25% of the royalty can be purchased at any time for C$1 million, thereby reducing the royalty to 1%.
Shares in Toronto advanced 20% to C$0.060 each.
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Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com