Aston Bay and American West Metals Announce Assays Confirm Additional Near-Surface, High-Grade Copper at the Storm Project, Canada

HIGHLIGHTS

Resource delineation program on track with multiple high-grade copper intervals confirmed by assays at the Cyclone and Chinook Deposits

Drilling continues around the clock with 100 Reverse Circulation ("RC") drill holes and 13 diamond drill holes totaling over 15,500 metres ("m") now completed at Storm

RC drilling has commenced at the under-explored Tempest Prospect, where high-grade copper and zinc have been mapped on surface over 4 kilometres ("km") of strike

Cyclone Deposit:

• Drill hole SR24-11 has intersected:

  • 19.8m* @ 1.2% copper ("Cu"), 3.0g/t silver ("Ag") from 12.2m downhole, including,

    • 4.6m @ 3.0% Cu, 7.0 g/t Ag from 21.3m downhole

  • 3m @ 3.2% Cu, 8.5g/t Ag from 59.4m downhole

• Drill hole SR24-21 has intersected:

  • 13.7m @ 2.1% Cu, 7.9g/t Ag from 67.1m downhole, including,

    • 7.6m @ 3.2% Cu, 12.2g/t Ag from 70.1m downhole

• Drill hole SR24-09 is located outside of the boundary of known copper mineralization and has intersected:

  • 15.2m @ 1.4% Cu, 2.4g/t Ag from 103.6m downhole, including,

    • 6.1m @ 2.7% Cu, 2.7g/t Ag from 108.2m downhole

Chinook Deposit:

• Drill hole SR24-10 has intersected:

  • 3.1m @ 1.3% Cu, 6.0g/t Ag from 38.1m downhole, including,

    • 1.5m @ 2.3% Cu, 10.0g/t Ag from 38.1m downhole

  • 1.5m @ 2.4% Cu, 3.0g/t Ag from 89.9m downhole

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / August 15, 2024 / Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. (TSXV:BAY)(OTCQB:ATBHF) ("Aston Bay" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on drilling activities at the Storm Copper Project ("Storm" or the "Project") on Somerset Island, Nunavut. The studies and exploration program is being conducted by American West Metals Limited ("American West"), who is the operator of the Project. Aston Bay and American West have formed a 20/80 unincorporated joint venture in respect of the Storm Project property, with Aston Bay maintaining a free carried interest until a decision to mine upon completion of a bankable feasibility study.

Thomas Ullrich, Chief Executive Officer of Aston Bay, commented:

"It is encouraging once again to report excellent results from the ongoing drilling at Storm. The assays match the visual estimates previously reported by the on-site geologists, confirming excellent continuity of mineralization within the known zones as well as expanding those zones with step-out intercepts.

"The very large but little explored Central Graben holds considerable upside for potential new discoveries. The stratigraphic layer that hosts the copper mineralization outcropping at Storm is hidden beneath barren cover rock in the graben, and the faults that define the graben are the same plumbing system for the copper-bearing fluids that we believe cause the mineralization we see at the surface elsewhere. All the pieces are in place for potential additional mineralization, and it is all within reach of geophysics and the drill."

Figure 1: Diamond drill crew at the Chinook Deposit, Storm Project, Canada.

DRILL PROGRAM CONTINUES TO ACHIEVE MILESTONES

A total of 100 RC drill holes and 12 diamond drill holes have now been completed at Storm for over 15,500 total metres drilled during 2024, rapidly advancing the program toward the planned 20,000m.

The first assays for the summer phase of the program have now been received from drill holes completed at the Cyclone and Chinook Deposits. The remaining assays are pending and are expected to be received in batches over the coming weeks.

The 2024 drill program is ongoing with continuous operation of two RC rigs and one diamond drill rig. The RC drill rigs are continuing the resource delineation and exploration activities at Storm and will expand into the regional targets with RC drilling now underway at the Tempest Prospect.

The diamond drill rig has commenced deep exploration drilling targeting the potentially extensive copper horizon at depth, where previous drilling has intersected copper grades up to 2.7% Cu below the known near-surface copper deposits (see Aston Bay September 26, 2023, news release).

The discovery of the copper mineralization at depth has significant implications for the potential copper endowment of the project by both potentially discovering new prospective horizons and increasing the potential for significant lateral extension of the horizons already intersected.

Figure 2: Recent and existing drill hole locations and zones of copper mineralization overlying aerial photography.

CYCLONE DEPOSIT - DELINEATION DRILLING AND EXPANSION POTENTIAL

Assay results from drill holes SR24-007, -009, -011, -013, -015, -017, -019, -021, -023, -024 and -025 (Figure 3) have been received and continue to confirm thick, near-surface bodies of copper sulfide mineralization.

Drilling at the Cyclone Deposit is designed to expand and infill an upcoming maiden mineral resource estimate for the Storm Project that is currently being constructed to CIM standards and to explore the margins of the deposit for additional resources.

The drilling results received to date demonstrate consistent copper grades that highlight the excellent lateral continuity of the high-grade mineralization.

Additionally, significant thicknesses of coherent copper mineralization (>1% Cu) were intersected outside of the previously known zone of copper mineralization, highlighting the resource expansion potential to the southwest of the deposit.

The assayed intervals closely match and locally exceed the previously announced visual estimates, validating the initial visual estimation of copper sulfide abundances made during logging.

Figure 3: Plan view of the Cyclone Deposit showing copper mineralized zone and historical and recent drilling overlying regional geology.

DRILL HOLE SR24-011 and SR24-021 DETAILS

SR24-011 and SR24-021 both intersected very strong zones of copper sulfides within and on the margin of interpreted zones of copper mineralization at Cyclone (Figures 4 & 5).

Figure 4: Geological section view at 464,850E showing the mineralized intervals (>0.2% Cu) for drill holes SR24-011, SR24-15 and SR24-023 and interpreted zones of copper mineralization.

Figure 5: Geological section view at 464,760E showing the mineralized intervals (>0.2% Cu) for drill holes SR24-017 and SR24-021 and interpreted zones of copper mineralization.

The mineralization in both drill holes consists of zones of intense vein- and fracture-style copper sulfide mineralization hosted within fractured dolomite of the Allen Bay Formation. The dominant copper sulfide mineral observed within the drill holes is chalcocite, with minor bornite and chalcopyrite on the margins of the mineralized intervals and within veins.

This intensity and character of copper mineralization, as encountered within drill holes SR24-011 and SR24-021, is typically characterized by excellent lateral continuity within Cyclone. This is a strong indicator for potential resource growth and upgrade in these areas of the deposit.

DRILL HOLE SR24-009 DETAILS

SR24-009 was drilled approximately 80m south-west of the Cyclone Deposit and to a downhole depth of 120.4m (Figure 6).

SR24-009 has intersected a total of 39.7m of chalcopyrite dominant mineralization, with an intensely mineralized zone between 109.7m and 111.3m downhole averaging 6.4% Cu.

Both the Allen Bay host rock and copper mineralization in SR24-009 are displaced downward relative to the Cyclone Deposit, south of the large fault that forms the northern boundary of the Central Graben. The faults that define this large block of down-dropped prospective rock within the Central Graben either host or are spatially associated with the majority of the copper mineralization at Storm. The graben block itself, with the prospective Allen Bay stratigraphic horizon covered by the barren overlying Douro formation at surface, is scarcely explored. This highlights the potential for the Central Graben to host significant copper mineralization concealed at depth.

The large step-out from the current known zone of mineralization and thickness of the strong copper mineralization are important positive factors for additional potential copper mineralization to the south-west of the Cyclone Deposit and elsewhere in the very large but underexplored Central Graben.

Figure 6: Geological section view at 464,660E showing the mineralized intervals (>0.2% Cu) for drill holes SR24-009 and SR24-019, and interpreted zones of copper mineralization.