White Cliff Minerals has unveiled a significant new high-grade copper zone at its Rae Copper Project in Nunavut, expanding the mineralised footprint beyond the main Teshierpi Fault Zone with drillhole DAN26015 delivering 79.24m at 1.59% Cu including 24.38m at 3.05% Cu.
- New copper zone confirmed adjacent to Teshierpi Fault
- Drillhole DAN26015 returns 79.24m at 1.59% Cu
- Copper mineralisation footprint extends over 3.1km strike
- Second diamond rig deployed targeting ultra-high-grade zones
- Historic Danvers resource remains non-JORC compliant
Breakthrough Discovery Beyond Main Fault Zone
White Cliff Minerals Limited (ASX:WCN) has announced a major new high-grade copper discovery at its Rae Copper Project in Nunavut, Canada, with drillhole DAN26015 intercepting 79.24 metres at 1.59% copper, including a standout 24.38 metres at 3.05% copper. Crucially, this mineralisation lies outside the primary Teshierpi Fault Zone, confirming a parallel copper system that broadens the project's geological scope.
Expanding the Danvers Copper System
The 2026 drilling campaign has rapidly expanded the known copper mineralised footprint to over 3.1 kilometres of strike length, with visual copper sulphides observed over more than 6 kilometres along the Teshierpi Fault Zone. This marks a substantial increase from earlier campaigns, where the footprint was less defined. Step-out drillholes northeast and southwest of the Danvers 1 deposit, including DAN26024 and DAN26020, have returned significant intervals of copper sulphides, suggesting material expansion potential for this high-grade system.
Notably, DAN26024 intercepted over 67 metres of combined copper sulphides 686 metres northeast of a previous high-grade hole, while DAN26020 extended mineralisation 215 metres southwest. A new parallel mineralised zone was also identified 606 metres northwest of Danvers 1 in DAN26022, returning 47.55 metres of copper sulphides with visible bornite up to 5%.
Diamond Drilling Targets Ultra-High-Grade Zones
To build on these promising results, White Cliff has deployed a second diamond drill rig at Rae, focusing on follow-up of the ultra-high-grade discovery in drillhole DAN26012, which returned an extraordinary 19.81 metres at 6.64% copper. This diamond drilling aims to provide critical structural data, refine true widths of mineralisation, and guide future step-out and infill drilling programs.
Managing Director Troy Whittaker emphasised that the new discovery outside the main fault zone underscores the complexity and scale of the Rae copper system. "We are now seeing copper zones expanding materially around Danvers 1, with new drilling extending the system in multiple directions," he said. "These wide-spaced drill results from largely untested ground speak to both the strength of the Teshierpi copper system and the effectiveness of our targeting."
Historic Resource and Metallurgical Insights
The Rae Project hosts multiple copper mineralisation styles, including sediment-hosted copper and breccia/vein systems within the Copper Creek Basalts and Rae Group sediments. A historic resource estimate at Danvers, dating back to 1967-68, cites 4.16 million tons at 2.96% copper, although this is not compliant with modern JORC standards and requires verification through ongoing drilling and evaluation.
Metallurgical test work has demonstrated excellent recoveries, with conventional flotation producing up to 95.4% copper and 93.3% silver recoveries, and concentrates grading approximately 40% copper and 150 g/t silver. These results support the project's potential for economic extraction, pending further resource definition.
Next Steps in Rae Exploration
White Cliff plans to continue its aggressive exploration campaign with diamond drilling designed to clarify structural controls and mineralisation orientation, including the use of oriented core to better understand vein systems. Scissor drilling across key 2026 reverse circulation holes will help determine true thicknesses and guide future drilling angles. The company also intends to pursue further exploration along the Teshierpi Fault Zone and infill and step-out drilling around recent discoveries.
With the Rae Copper Project situated in a Tier-1 mining jurisdiction and supported by strong geophysical data, White Cliff is positioning itself to unlock a district-scale copper system. The current results add to a growing body of evidence that Danvers is evolving into a significant copper deposit, with multiple high-grade zones and extensive strike potential.
Bottom Line?
White Cliff Minerals’ latest drilling confirms a growing, multi-kilometre copper system at Rae, but the true scale and economic potential hinge on upcoming diamond drilling and resource validation.
Questions in the middle?
- Will upcoming diamond drilling confirm true widths and continuity of the newly discovered copper zones?
- How will White Cliff integrate structural data from oriented core to optimise future drilling and resource modelling?
- What timeline and criteria will the company set for upgrading the historic Danvers resource to JORC compliance?