Nevada Copper Provides Update on Project Development Objectives - Seite 3

After completing the planned open pit drilling, the Company intends to update its open pit resource and reserve estimates. If the drilling is successful in converting waste to ore, the Company will aim to increase copper resources, which could further improve project economics.

Property Exploration

Pumpkin Hollow comprises a large property with multiple known copper deposits and underexplored targets (see Figure 4).

During 2020, the Company continued to consolidate high potential targets contiguous to its property boundaries. This follows the recent aero-magnetic survey undertaken by the Company, which is the first to be undertaken since the 1960s (see Figure 5).

The Company has increased the property position by approximately 38%, from approximately 17,600 acres to over 24,300 acres, since 2018 with a successful surface exploration program.

Drill targets have been defined, including:

• Porphyry target: Initial deep holes in the potentially large porphyry target to the east of the Company’s property
• Black Mountain: Detailed mapping, sampling and recon drilling of the skarn target recently added to the southeast of the Company’s property
• Mountain View: Detailed mapping, sampling and recon drilling of the skarn target recently added to the northeast of the Company’s property, which also includes old mine workings
• Tedeboy: Further trenching of the Tedeboy skarn and iron ore copper gold target and outcropping of mineralization as previously reported

Underground Mine

Mine being ramped-up with extension and expansion opportunities.

Resource to reserve conversion:

The underground mine resource includes some 636,000,000 lbs Cu of inferred resources located in close proximity to the underground deposit mining zones. As mining advances and opens up additional underground drill access points, the Company looks to continue to undertake infill drilling with the aim of converting inferred resources into measured and indicated over time (see Figure 6).

Exploration of underground extension targets:

There are multiple identified extension targets located around the underground orebodies which require follow-up drilling to further evaluate extensions to mining areas. In addition, the recently completed geophysical surveys have identified a potentially large new target to the east of the main shaft, in an area previously untested by drilling (see Figure 7).