A drill rig on a snowy ridge in northern British Columbia hit copper-gold mineralization just 59 feet below surface. Hole JP24057 at Amarc Resources’ JOY project cut 131 feet averaging 1.24 grams per tonne gold and 0.38 percent copper.
“This is a pivotal moment for Amarc and its shareholders,” said Dr. Diane Nicolson, the company’s president and CEO. The shallow intercept, which also includes 1.97 grams gold and 0.49 percent copper from 190 feet, more than doubled Amarc’s share price in two trading sessions.
Why the triangle still surprises
The new zone sits on the northern flank of the Toodoggone volcanic arc, a belt that merges into the famous Golden Triangle yet remains lightly drilled because glaciers, muskeg, and long winters shorten field seasons.
Warmer springs have trimmed snowpack and opened seasonal windows, letting helicopter-portable rigs replace costlier winter roads.
Power and logistics have improved as well. The Northwest Transmission Line now threads within 50 miles of camp, and a paved highway reaches the staging area in a day.
Past programs chased flashy epithermal veins exposed at surface, so deeper bulk-tonnage targets slipped through the cracks.
New geologic mapping hints at four separate intrusive centers lurking under thin volcanic cover along the JOY trend.
What makes the AuRORA zone special
JOY’s crew outlined AuRORA with high-resolution induced polarization readings that peaked above 20 millivolts per volt, a signature often tied to disseminated sulfide halos.
The chargeability ridge runs 0.9 mile long and 0.3 mile wide, yet no one had sunk a drill there before 2024.
Seven holes, each 330 feet apart, now trace a 600-yard-wide corridor where grades remain within 15 percent of the discovery values.
Mineralization starts in volcanic tuff, dives into quartz-monzonite, and persists to at least 800 feet.
Step-outs another 110 yards north returned similar assays. Geologists think the ore shell may stretch far beyond current fences.
Copper, gold, and the world’s wiring
The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects copper demand could double by 2040 as electric vehicles, renewable grids, and data centers multiply. Each electric car uses roughly three times the copper of a gasoline model.
Simultaneously, head grades at many giant porphyries have fallen by a quarter in the past decade. Shallow, scalable deposits in low-risk regions are scarce, so majors now court juniors like Amarc early.
Gold sweetens the mix. Every AuRORA tonne carries more than one gram of gold, enough to slash net copper costs once both metals are processed together.
Copper and gold in the rocks
Core photos show quartz-magnetite veinlets stuffed with chalcopyrite, the planet’s most common copper sulfide. Scattered bornite and silver flecks add payable credits.
Textures reveal at least two mineralizing pulses, one magnetite-rich and a later pyrite-dominated wave. Such overprints often mark a robust hydrothermal engine able to sustain ore over broad volumes.
Handheld analyzer scans pick up molybdenum halos beside the copper core. That pathfinder pattern mirrors Kemess South and other mines along strike and helps steer new holes toward hotter zones.
What comes next
Freeport-McMoRan can earn 70 percent of JOY by spending 110 million dollars in four stages, leaving Amarc carried through the heavy funding years. Three core rigs will turn until October, aiming to double drilled strike length before winter.
Engineers are sketching a starter pit of about 50 million tonnes grading 0.6 percent copper equivalent. At regional milling costs, that tonnage could generate positive cash flow within three years.
A thin leachable cap is also under study. If confirmed, a small heap-leach circuit could harvest oxide copper and some gold ahead of a full flotation plant.
Local voices and land matters
JOY covers parts of the Takla, Kwadacha, and Tsay Keh Dene territories. Amarc has early agreements for environmental monitors and heavy-equipment training, while formal benefit talks await a defined resource.
Runoff drains into tributaries of the Finlay River, home to salmon and bull trout. Drill water intakes are being moved above known spawning reaches, and waste-rock tests for acid generation will continue through 2025.
British Columbia now requires climate-resilience planning for new mines. Designers must prove tailings dams can survive probable-maximum storms and that haul roads stay open during wildfire season.
A regional play, not a one-off
Seven more chargeability highs dot the JOY claim block. One, the Pine deposit two miles southeast, already stretches 2.5 miles along strike and may share AuRORA’s magma source.
Soil sampling lights up copper and gold anomalies over a nine-mile corridor blanketed by glacial till. Every anomaly lies within helicopter sling range of the proposed AuRORA plant site, a logistics edge that could spawn a hub-and-spoke complex.
Regional magnetics show the system trending south toward roads that feed the Golden Triangle’s deep-water port at Stewart. Shared infrastructure could cut transport costs for any future satellite pits.
The bottom line
Porphyry discoveries that are this close to the surface are rare in mature belts, and yet, JOY’s first hole found one.
Whether AuRORA grows into a multi-pit district hinges on 2025 drilling, but shallow depths, strong grades, and big-company backing have already moved the project onto watchlists.
Early geology places AuRORA among the most promising new copper-gold finds in western Canada, but only seasonal meters will decide the ultimate scale.
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