Announcement • Mar 15
Northstar Gold Corp Reports High-Grade Vms Depth Extension and Surgical Mining Results At Cam Copper
Northstar Gold Corp. reported results from a recently completed 7-hole, 1,204-metre Zone 2 definition drill program at the Company’s 100%-owned Cam Copper Mine, located approximately 18 kilometres southeast of Kirkland Lake, Ontario. The drill program was completed in December 2025 to support preparation of a NI 43-101 Technical Report and Mineral Resource Estimate, including an evaluation of Reasonable Prospects for Eventual Economic Extraction for the Cam Copper Surgical Mining Project by consortium partner Micon International Limited. Zone 2 definition drilling has confirmed the presence of a high-grade polymetallic volcanogenic massive sulphide (“VMS”) system displaying pronounced down-plunge continuity and metal zonation characteristic of a robust Besshi-type VMS deposit. 3.05% Cu, 5.9 g/t Au, 22.9 g/t Ag and 0.45% Mo over 3.07 metres core length, from 163.05 metres to 166.12 metres in drill hole CC-25-14, approximately 50 metres down plunge of the previously reported intercept of 14.8% Cu over 2.45 m in hole CC-23-03. Discovery of a new polymetallic Cu-Au-Ag-Mo domain associated with vent-proximal feeder-controlled VMS mineralization. High-grade bornite mineralization intersected in hole CC-25-16, grading 13.95% Cu, 0.62 g/t Au and 32 g/t Ag over 0.56 metres core length from 202.72 metres to 203.28 metres, indicating a transition to higher-temperature vent-proximal mineralization at depth. Zone 1 discovery: hole CC-25-17A returned 4.38% Cu over 0.6 metres core length from 97.7 metres to 98.3 metres, southeast of historic mine workings in an area previously untested by drilling. The results confirm the presence of a polymetallic copper-gold-silver-molybdenum VMS system with increasing grade and thickness at depth, highlighting strong potential to expand the Zone 2 mineralized corridor. Zone 2 infill drilling indicates a steeply plunging VMS feeder system that increases in size and gold grade with depth, characterized by stacked sulphide lenses and preserved polymetallic metal zonation. Mineralization appears spatially associated with gabbro sill horizons, interpreted to act as thermal and permeability traps controlling sulphide deposition. The presence of expanding gabbro bodies and increasing metal endowment at depth supports the potential for additional high-grade Cu-Au-Ag-Mo mineralization along the down-plunge extension of Zone 2. Northstar will update the Zone 2 three-dimensional geological model of the Cam Copper system to refine exploration targets along the feeder corridor and conduct step-out drilling along the down-plunge extension of Zone 2. The forthcoming Micon NI 43-101 Technical Report will further evaluate the potential for the Cam Copper Surgical Mining Project, under which consortium partner Novamera Inc. may deploy its proprietary turnkey Surgical Mining solution to potentially extract up to 116,000 tonnes of high-grade Zone 2 conceptual copper material using 93 extraction holes over an estimated 31-month period. The Cam Copper Zone 2 Surgical Mining pilot program is advancing under a definitive Turnkey Surgical Mining Services Agreement with Novamera Inc. executed on October 9, 2025 and a collaborative consortium with Novamera, Micon International Limited and DIGITAL – Canada’s Global Innovation Cluster for digital technologies, under a Master Project Agreement announced November 24, 2025. On January 28, 2026, the Company reported that DIGITAL approved access for up to $4.0 million in total co-investment funding to partially support the consortium’s two-year, approximately $11 million Cam Copper Surgical Mining initiative aimed at accelerating the sustainable production of critical minerals. Northstar is advancing toward issuance of a Notice-to-Proceed under the Agreement by obtaining the necessary permits and project financing. The Company also intends to commission a NI 43-101-compliant Technical Report and Mineral Resource Estimate by Micon on the Cam Copper Project to formally evaluate Zone 2 Reasonable Prospects for Eventual Economic Extraction before making any production or development decision. Northstar is positioning to employ Novamera Inc.’s turnkey precision-mining solution to extract up to 120,000 tonnes of copper-rich material from Zone 2 at Cam Copper Project over a 31-month pilot window, using proprietary real-time downhole imaging, robotic drilling, and immediate backfilling to minimize surface disturbance and water discharge. The previously signed Surgical Mining Services Agreement and Master Project Agreement with Novamera, DIGITAL and Micon International Limited are predicated on Novamera’s positive “Zone 2 Proposed Development and Surgical Mining Evaluation Study” of Northstar’s near surface Zone 2 Exploration Target with tonnages ranging between 75,000 to 140,000 tonnes with grades ranging between 9% and 18% copper, with a conceptual average grade of 12% copper. The Cam Copper Mine Zone 2 is interpreted to contain copper-rich, Besshi-style volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) mineralization—primarily chalcopyrite and bornite—extending from surface to a depth of approximately 200 metres, over a strike length of approximately 125 metres and an average width of 1 metre. The high-grade mineralization remains open at depth, plunging southeast at -71 degrees along a well-defined VMS feeder structure. Zone 2 is the largest of 3 narrow, steeply dipping tabular copper horizons with an historic estimate by a previous operator averaging 10% copper over a 0.85 metre true width, 42-metre strike length and a minimum 140 metre depth extent from surface. Northstar’s 2023 and 2024 Zone 2 drilling (7 holes), including an intercept of 14.8% copper over 2.45 metres, core length, in drill hole CC-03-23, and Zone 2 Exploration Target results corroborate these historic estimates. Novamera’s Surgical Mining is well-suited to exploit Zone 2 copper mineralization with minimum mining dilution and environmental impact. Novamera’s innovative and proven concept Surgical Mining approach—featuring real-time reclamation and minimal water discharge can potentially streamline the regulatory pathway and accelerate project timelines. This is facilitated by rotary drilling large-diameter holes from the surface, targeting Zone 2 copper mineralization. The resulting broken rock is recovered and shipped directly to a nearby mill for processing.
