White Cliff Minerals Danvers Diamond Drill Returns 50.9m at 2.81% Copper

White Cliff Minerals Reports 50.9m at 2.81% Copper from First Diamond Hole at Danvers

White Cliff Minerals (ASX: WCN; OTCQB: WCMLF) has reported its first diamond drill result from the Danvers 1 prospect, part of the company's Rae Copper Project in Nunavut, Canada. The White Cliff Minerals Danvers diamond drill result of 50.9 metres at 2.81% copper and 7.66g/t silver from just 39.7 metres depth confirms the geological model underpinning the Danvers system and marks a shift in the project's evolution from discovery towards systematic delineation.

The Headline Number: What DAN26026 Returned

Diamond drill hole DAN26026 was collared more than 50 metres southwest of the previous hole DAN25001, positioned deliberately to infill a gap within the core of Danvers 1. According to the announcement, the result exceeded the company's expectations on several fronts.

Mineralisation begins at only 39.7 metres downhole, a near-surface position that the company notes carries implications for future project economics. Copper grades within the principal breccia zone are dominated by bornite and chalcocite, the same high-grade copper sulphide minerals identified during the 2025 reverse circulation (RC) drilling programme, indicating that the mineralogical character of the system remains consistent.

Managing Director Troy Whittaker commented: "Our first diamond hole at Danvers has delivered an exceptionally broad, near-surface, high-grade copper result, returning more than 50m at 2.81% Cu, including an exceptional 4.3m at 10.93% Cu, the latest intercept at Danvers to again exceed 10% copper, further demonstrating the exceptional tenor and scale potential of the mineralised system."

Why the First Diamond Hole Matters Beyond Grade

The assay results are notable in their own right, but according to the company, the significance of DAN26026 extends further. As the company's first diamond drill hole at Danvers 1, its primary purpose was to deliver geological and structural information that RC drilling cannot provide.

Diamond drilling recovers a continuous cylinder of intact rock, known as core. When this core is oriented — meaning its rotational position relative to the ground is recorded during drilling — geologists can measure the exact angle and direction of fractures, veins, faults and mineralised zones preserved within it. With oriented core now in hand for the first time, the technical team reports it can:

1. Establish the structural controls governing where high-grade copper concentrates within the breccia system
2. Measure internal core angles to refine the three-dimensional model of Danvers 1
3. Target future drill holes more precisely toward thicker and higher-grade zones
4. Build confidence in mineralisation continuity between drill holes, a step the company describes as important for any future resource work

Executive Director (Technical) Eric Sondergaard outlined the significance of this shift.

Executive Director (Technical) Eric Sondergaard commented: "The result confirms that the high-grade copper mineralisation identified in the RC programme is not an isolated series of intersections, but forms part of a continuous mineralised system that can now be interpreted with considerably greater confidence. The oriented diamond core has also provided the first detailed structural information from Danvers, allowing us to move beyond simply identifying additional mineralisation towards understanding the controls that govern its distribution."

Understanding Diamond Drilling Versus RC Drilling

For investors less familiar with exploration methods, a brief explanation may be useful.

Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling produces small rock chips, useful for rapid and cost-effective grade sampling across large areas. However, RC drilling does not recover intact core and cannot produce oriented samples.

Diamond drilling, furthermore, produces a continuous cylinder of rock. When oriented, this core allows geologists to measure the true angle and direction of geological features within it — information that RC methods simply cannot capture.

Why Does This Matter at Danvers?

The copper mineralisation is hosted within a fault breccia system, a zone of broken and fragmented rock created by ancient faulting and subsequently infilled with copper-bearing fluids. Understanding the three-dimensional orientation of this breccia zone is considered important before drilling can be reliably targeted toward the thickest, highest-grade sections. DAN26026 is reported to have provided this structural framework for the first time at Danvers.

Key Terms Explained

• Bornite is a copper iron sulphide mineral containing approximately 63% copper, one of the higher-grade primary copper minerals.
• Chalcocite is a copper sulphide mineral containing approximately 80% copper by weight, among the richest primary copper minerals.
• Oriented core refers to diamond drill core marked with a reference line during drilling, allowing geologists to measure the true orientation of internal geological features.

Danvers 1 in Context: Prior Drilling Results

DAN26026 sits within a broader set of results generated by the 2025 RC drilling programme at Danvers 1, which first established the high-grade character of the system.

The 2025 programme also indicated the Danvers system extends beyond Danvers 1. Regional step-out drilling at Danvers 2, more than 5km along strike, returned 15m at 4.8% copper, while Danvers 3 delivered 20m at 6.64% copper and 79.24m at 1.59% copper.

The Phase 1 drilling programme was designed to test more than 10km of prospective strike along the Teshierpi Fault Zone. DAN26026 adds structural evidence to this picture, supporting the interpretation that the broad, high-grade mineralisation intersected by RC drilling forms part of a coherent, continuous geological system rather than isolated intercepts.

A Second Copper Target: The Hulk Sediment-Hosted System

Alongside Danvers, White Cliff is advancing a separate copper target at the Hulk prospect, located within the same project tenure. Hulk is described as a sediment-hosted copper system — a different deposit style to the fault breccia mineralisation at Danvers — with the company drawing comparisons to deposit styles seen in the Central African Copperbelt.

Reported developments at Hulk include:

• 2025 drilling returned 3.5m at 7.2% copper and 25m at 0.6% copper
• 2026 diamond drilling has intersected visible chalcopyrite at the target horizon in all three completed holes
• Mineralisation has been extended 3.7km east of the 2025 discovery hole
• The interpreted mineralised footprint now covers approximately 6.3km²
• Drilling is being guided toward higher-grade, bornite-rich zones informed by electromagnetic (EM) geophysical anomalies

What Comes Next

According to the announcement, 21 further diamond assay results remain pending, including from step-out holes targeting the high-grade zones previously intersected in holes DAN26012 and DAN26015. Additional core is being submitted to the laboratory on an ongoing basis.

The Phase 1 regional programme, designed to test more than 10km of strike, is described by the company as nearing completion, with focus shifting towards systematic step-out drilling.

Assessing the Project's Exploration Profile

Several elements combine to characterise Danvers as a notable copper exploration story at this stage of development.

The combination of near-surface mineralisation starting at under 40 metres depth, multiple intercepts exceeding 10% copper, and broad intervals of up to 175 metres in RC drilling across more than 10km of prospective strike represents a scale of results the company considers uncommon at this stage of exploration.

How Does the Metallurgy Stack Up?

Mineralogy has also proven favourable. The dominance of bornite and chalcocite has supported metallurgical testwork, with conventional flotation on RC drilling material producing up to 95.4% copper recovery and 93.3% silver recovery. This generated concentrates of approximately 40% copper and 150g/t silver with no deleterious elements identified.

With the first oriented diamond core in hand, the company reports it has moved from identifying broad zones of mineralisation to developing a structural understanding of why the mineralisation occurs where it does — a step considered relevant to the future evaluation of the project's scale.

The Rae Copper Project covers 1,228 km² across 93 mineral claims and one mineral lease in Nunavut, a jurisdiction with established mining regulatory frameworks. A historic, non-JORC compliant estimate at Danvers of 4.16 million tonnes at 2.96% copper, derived from 1960s drilling, provides geological context for the scale of the system, though the company has clarified this is not being treated as a current resource estimate.

Key Takeaway

The White Cliff Minerals Danvers diamond drill result of 50.9 metres at 2.81% copper validates the company's geological model and confirms a continuous mineralised system. With 21 diamond assay results pending, step-out drilling continuing across more than 10km of strike, and a second sediment-hosted copper target at Hulk expanding in parallel, the company anticipates a period of ongoing news flow as it works to define the scale of the Danvers system.

Summary points for investors to consider:

• Multiple RC and diamond drill intercepts have returned grades above 2.5% copper across broad widths, with repeated intercepts above 10% copper in high-grade zones
• Mineralisation commencing from under 40 metres depth may have implications for future capital intensity, according to the company
• Metallurgical testwork has reported over 95% copper and 93% silver recovery through conventional processing methods
• Two distinct copper deposit styles — fault breccia at Danvers and sediment-hosted at Hulk — are being advanced within the same project area
• Oriented diamond core has provided a structural framework the company says will support future drill targeting
• 21 diamond assay results remain pending, with laboratory submissions continuing on an ongoing basis

Ready to Dig Deeper Into White Cliff Minerals' Rae Copper Project?

With 21 diamond assay results still pending, step-out drilling continuing across more than 10km of strike, and a second copper target at Hulk expanding in parallel, White Cliff Minerals (ASX: WCN) is entering what could be a defining period for the Rae Copper Project. Investors looking to learn more about the company, its projects, and the potential scale of the Danvers system can visit the White Cliff Minerals website at wcminerals.com.au.