NorthIsle Copper & Gold: 10,000m Drilling Program Advancing Major Copper-Gold Porphyry Project in British Columbia

• NorthIsle Copper & Gold has a large copper-gold porphyry project in British Columbia with 4.9M oz gold and 2.5B lbs copper indicated resources
• Focusing on growing the project bigger and better through drilling to increase relevance in rising commodity price environment
• Exploring trade-off studies to create lower capex, higher margin starter operation while still pursuing larger long-term project
• Drilling at Northwest Expo and Red Dog targets higher-grade zones to potentially improve project economics
• Believes the 35km district could be a new major porphyry district in BC with generational potential

NorthIsle Copper and Gold is advancing a significant copper-gold porphyry project on northern Vancouver Island in British Columbia. With substantial resources already defined and copper and gold prices at attractive levels, the company is taking steps to grow the project further and optimize the potential development scenario. A current 10,000 meter drill program is targeting high-grade zones that could enhance the economics.

Large Existing Resource Base

The project boasts an impressive resource, with over 4.9 million ounces of indicated gold resources and approximately 2.5 billion pounds of indicated copper resources. This forms a strong foundation to build upon.

CEO Sam Lee highlighted the scale in an interview, stating:

"Obviously, you start with a very large project, right, which is what we have. As I mentioned, we've got an existing PEA on two projects called Hushamu and Red Dog, which boasts about $1.1 billion NPV, 19% after tax IRR, a 22-year project."

Interview with President & CEO, Sam Lee and VP Exploration, Robin Tolbert

Seizing the Opportunity in Rising Markets

With copper and gold prices at high levels, NorthIsle is looking to capitalize on the favorable market conditions. The key is to make the project as big and attractive as possible.

"How to become relevant in an upward trending pricing environment - we obviously saw recent highs on not only copper and gold - it's to grow the project, it's to make it bigger, it's to make it obviously better, and that's what we are doing through the drill right now," said Lee.

This year's drilling is following up on successful programs in 2022 and 2023.

Infrastructure Advantage

One major benefit of the project is the existing infrastructure in the area, thanks to the historical BHP Island Copper mine that operated in the 1970s. Power, roads, and port facilities are all within a 20-kilometer radius.

This is a key differentiator, as Lee explained:

"We are blessed to have infrastructure that was already built in the region. This area was built for a project that is of the size that we're contemplating right now."

Being able to leverage legacy mining infrastructure is a huge advantage to advance the project efficiently.

andEvaluating Development Options

NorthIsle is currently undertaking trade-off studies to determine the optimal path forward. The focus is on a potential starter pit operation on the higher-grade Red Dog and Northwest Expo zones. This could allow for a lower capex, higher margin operation in the early years before expanding to the larger long-term project.

VP Exploration Robin Tolbert sees big potential in these areas:

"At Northwest Expo, we have, of course, the resource in there, which is where those red drill holes are, and then we show the next one, this is showing what the pit would look like. What we find is the mineralization to the south, which is to the left, is very high grade but that currently is in the inferred category. We are planning to drill seven holes through this red area which is the high grade, and that will increase the grade and tonnage of high grade."

Proving up more higher-grade, near-surface mineralization could be a game changer for the project.

Exciting Exploration Upside

While a lot of work is going into expanding and upgrading resources at known zones, NorthIsle also sees tremendous blue sky potential in the wider property package. The Pemberton Hills target is an exciting area that has seen limited drilling so far.

Initial results indicate a very large porphyry system could be present. Tolbert noted,

"The potential here is huge. If you got a 6.5 by 1.5 kilometer lithocap, the porphyry system that created that is quite huge and we are hoping the porphyry that we intersect will be quite huge in there too."

Pemberton Hills will see more drilling this year to follow up on the discovery and vector in on the source porphyry zone.

Major Porphyry District Potential

Ultimately, NorthIsle believes it could be defining a world-class porphyry district on northern Vancouver Island, with the project having a 35 kilometer strike extent.

Lee summed it up, saying:

"Our objective here is to identify this as the next porphyry district in BC. Everyone knows that Canada can be one of, and was one of, the leading copper producers in the world and everyone knows that British Columbia is the only place you find material porphyries in Canada. We believe this is something that can become that district."

Conclusion

NorthIsle is in an enviable position with a large copper-gold resource already defined in a Tier 1 jurisdiction. By growing the higher-grade components and evaluating starter pit scenarios, it could greatly enhance the economics ahead of a larger, longer-term operation. Ongoing exploration also points to district-scale potential that could elevate this into world-class status. For investors bullish on copper and gold, NorthIsle presents a compelling opportunity.

The Investment Thesis for NorthIsle Copper and Gold

• 4.9M oz gold + 2.5B lbs copper indicated resources in a stable jurisdiction provide a large resource to build upon
• Trade-off studies evaluating lower capex starter pit to boost economics and fundability
• 10,000m drill program targeting high-grade zones to expand and upgrade resources
• Major infrastructure in place including power, roads and port is a big development advantage
• District-scale land package with multiple large porphyry targets indicates long-term upside
• Exposure to rising copper and gold prices as markets move into deficit
• Proven management team with track record of advancing projects and creating shareholder value

Macro Thematic Analysis

Copper stands out as one of the most compelling macro stories in the mining space. A combination of growing demand, declining grades and a lack of new discoveries is forecast to send the market into significant deficit in the coming years. Demand is being driven by global mega-trends of electrification, renewable energy and electric vehicles. Each of these is incredibly copper intensive.

On the supply side, grades have been falling for decades and the low-hanging fruit in terms of deposits has already been picked. There is a lack of advanced-stage projects waiting in the wings to fill the supply gap. This is setting the stage for a structural deficit in the copper market and much higher prices will be needed to incentivize new production.

This backdrop bodes very well for companies like NorthIsle that have large, scalable copper resources in good jurisdictions. CEO Sam Lee encapsulated the opportunity:

"Copper prices are at all-time highs and we're we believe we're approaching the second half of the cycle that we want to make the project as robust and big as possible."

NorthIsle has already outlined an impressive copper-gold resource and is now working to optimize the project for the rising commodity price environment. A focus on delineating high-grade starter pit resources could greatly enhance the economics, while ongoing exploration points to considerable district-scale upside. With the global copper market forecast to move into significant deficit, NorthIsle is well positioned to create value for shareholders.