Huckleberry

Claims Tenures

Huckleberry mine operations ceased in August 2016. The mine remains on care and maintenance status. The focus during the current closure of the Huckleberry mine is to conduct exploration on the property to expand the resource. In 2018, a comprehensive review of exploration was conducted, and a plan for additional exploration consisting of MMI soil sampling, geological mapping and diamond drilling was developed. In 2019, a MMI soil sampling program was conducted at Whiting Creek. MMI soil samples were taken over portions of the Creek Zone, the Rusty Zone, and the Ridge Zone at Whiting Creek.

In 2020, a drill program to test the East zone at depth was designed to evaluate the deposit where the majority of historic drill holes were stopped at a depth of 300 m while still in copper mineralization. Mining at the East zone only went to a depth of about 200 metres. Between 1997 and 2007, the East zone pit provided high grade mill feed of approximately 50 million tonnes ore grading 0.55% copper. Mining to 2016 was from two zones of mineralization, the East and Main zones, with the East zone containing the higher-grade copper mineralization.

Three drill holes totaling 2,491 metres were completed. Drill results confirmed that copper mineralization continues to significant depths below the East zone pit and historical drilling. Additional drilling will be necessary to further define and expand the limits of the East zone copper deposit.

A Volterra 3-Dimensional Induced Polarization survey was conducted over the East zone to produce a geophysical signature over zones of known mineralization and enhance the geological model and ore controls. The data will be interpreted and used to locate new drill targets.

Outlook for 2021 includes development of a mine restart plan which will include current metal prices.

For more detailed information, view our most recent news releases.

The three cross sections below compare the Huckleberry East zone 2020 with the Red Chris East zone 2006; and the Red Chris East zone 2020. The Huckleberry East zone 2020 section looks very similar to the Red Chris East zone 2006 section. In both sections, most of the drill holes were stopped while still in mineralization. Deep drilling beneath the Red Chris East zone after 2006 has and is showing that the best grades were located at depth beneath the previous shallow drilling.

Huckleberry Mines Ltd., a subsidiary of Imperial, is owner/operator of the Huckleberry open pit copper mine. Located 88 kilometres from Houston, British Columbia, the property encompasses 23,241 hectares, consisting of two mining leases covering 2,422 hectares, and 44 mineral claims encompassing approximately 20,819 hectares.

For additional information, refer to the Company’s New Releases, Quarter Reports & Annual Information Form.