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US Copper's (TSXV: USCU) Moonlight-Superior Project , based in northeastern California in the mining district of Lights Creek, fits the bill. A low-visibility copper project with the potential makings to soar to major heights, the project is:

Moonlight

The Moonlight deposit, located in the northwestern area of the land claim, has a NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate of:

• Indicated: 252 million tonnes of ore at 0.25% Cu for 1.3 billion pounds of copper
• Inferred: 109 million tonnes of ore at 0.24% Cu for 0.5 billion pounds of copper

The deposit is open in multiple directions and at depth. Plus, there are 52 holes that were left in mineralization!

This means there's a significant chance the resource estimate at Moonlight could increase. Drill hole DDH 06MN-09 highlights Moonlight's high-grade potential:

• 124 ft @ 1.51% Cu (from surface)
• 39.4 ft @ 2.56% Cu (from 170.6 ft)
  

The deposit is also on ideal terrain for further infrastructure development with excellent access to goods, services and supplies.

Moonlight's Oxide Cap Potential

Placer-Amex, the company that held the claim from the 1960s until 1994, estimated 12 million tonnes at 0.54% copper in oxide (non-compliant; historic estimate¹).

This was treated as "waste rock" in the 2022 PEA. As such, this potential resource is not factored into the NPV figures mentioned above.

This oxide zone is a key target for US Copper. It is drill-ready with 25 shallow drill holes required in order to define this resource.

President Biden's recently announced infrastructure plan calls for a 10-year extension of tax credits for clean energy generation and storage and a US$174 billion investment in the EV market, including building a national network of 500,000 EV charging stations by 2030.

In the last few years, the U.S. Department of Defense has been one of the most vocal supporters in bolstering U.S. supply chains.  Proactive steps were made to strengthen domestic production including establishing emergency stockpiles of over three dozen commodities seen as critical minerals.

Copper will be a critical metal in order for the United States to achieve policy goals focused on sustainability.  Supply chain concerns will direct the focus to domestic supply.  This presents an opportunity for US Copper to be a key supplier of copper in the U.S.

Copper Demand in the U.S.

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The Moonlight-Superior Project is an undervalued asset with THREE advanced-stage copper deposits.

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THREE Advanced-Stage Copper Deposits .

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"While we factor in production growing 4% y/y in 2021, without a replenishment of the project pipeline, the copper market may run on empty beyond 2024E."

- Bank of America Global Research , March 2021

America's Next Major Copper Find

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An updated PEA with Superior and Engels starter pits included, along with gold and silver credits and Moonlight's oxide copper resource, is the near term objective.

The Moonlight-Superior Project checks all the right early-stage boxes. It has the makings of a standout copper project of the highest quality, as this project is:

Superior

The Superior deposit, which is not included in the 2022 PEA, has a NI 43-101 compliant inferred resource estimate of 54 million tonnes @ 0.41% Cu for 488 million pounds of copper.

The deposit is located 2 miles (3.2 km) SE of Moonlight. It was one of two initial focuses of the California-Engels Mining Company when it was drilling in the 1920s.

Veins mined in the past held exceptionally high grades, some as high as 5% Cu. US Copper plans to test some high grade zones during its 2022 drill program.

There has been 7 relatively vertical holes drilled, some of which terminated in moderate to high-grade copper mineralization. In addition, the depth of drilling was no more than 150 metres.

We know broad zones of high-grade copper mineralization exist based on past drill-results, which include:

•  S1L-10: 180 ft @ 0.93% Cu, including 60 ft @ 1.31% Cu

• S1L-13: 114 ft @ 1.46% Cu, including 36 ft @ 2.27% Cu

•  S1L-16: 109 ft @ 1.31% Cu, including 51 ft @ 2.04% Cu

US Copper will initially drill 4 holes near historic drill holes to identify a high grade starter pit at Superior. This is low risk drilling in an existing deposit. This will be followed by an additional 14 holes to upgrade the current resource and add gold and silver credits to the resource estimate.

Engels

The potential opportunity at Engels is huge. The deposit is located just 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Moonlight and 2 miles (3.2 km) northeast of Superior.

The Engels deposit is also not included in the 2022 PEA.

It has a NI 43-101 compliant inferred resource estimate of 2.5 million tonnes @ 1.05% Cu oxide for 58 million pounds of copper.

Past drilling also confirmed high-grade potential at surface and at depth (see results charted below). Prior to the Engels mine closure, high-grade copper mineralization intersected at 2,300 ft. and was left untouched.

The strategy at Engels is to initially drill a few holes to confirm the mineralization from Placer's drill program in the 1960s. Assuming they are in line with Placer's historical results, a further 7 to 10 additional holes will be drilled to help define a high-grade starter pit here.

Copper. Copper. Copper.

Limited supply and increasing demand for copper (Cu) has already led to a deficit in the copper market, which is expected to continue to deepen.

Copper ranks third, behind iron and aluminum, amongst the world's most used industrial metals. Copper is used in pipes, wiring, batteries, transportation, and more. The red metal is without question a critical need for the global push for a more sustainable, greener future.

The growing clean power and electric transportation sectors are expected to significantly increase copper demand.  There is a 10M ton shortfall projected in the market by the end of the decade if no new copper mines are built.

Funding this gap is equivalent to building EIGHT projects the size of the Escondida Mine in Chile, the world's largest copper mine.

We need new copper mines and they need to be huge.  Bloomberg commodities analysts have been warning of a possible dearth of copper mining projects post-2024. The current copper pipeline is the lowest it's been in a century.  Copper prices will need to increase to encourage funding of new supply.

While there are copper projects in the pipeline, the process from discovery to metal is rife with pitfalls and obstacles. From environmental legislation and community backlash to approval delays, funding concerns and more.  Examples include:

The Tampakan Gold-Copper Project  in the Philippines, a project deeply embattled by indigenous opposition. So while the permit for the project remains valid until 2032, it's been consistently delayed by legal and armed disputes that have reached violent, bloody endings. In 2013, two armed tribal members, one of which was an elder member, were reportedly killed in a deadly encounter with government forces.

Anglo American plc's Quellaveco Project in Peru where local opposition to mining is a current concern. Political instability ensues as elections loom around the corner.

The Reko Diq Mine  in Pakistan, a project and region fraught with so much political and legal uncertainties that it's been stalled for nearly a decade. The local Balochi community and the federal government battle against conflicting agendas, reviving old tensions between nationalism and Pakistan federalism.

In a time when copper is a critical metal for the transition to a greener, more sustainable future, this Moonlight-Superior project has the potential to explode with three copper deposits earmarked for drilling.

The Moonlight-Superior Project contains THREE advanced-stage copper deposits .

All sites have had prior exploration work and are located within 13 square miles (or approx. 34 square kilometres (kms)) of each other.

The three deposits are called:

Moonlight , Superior , and Engels .

After a 2022 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), the project was assessed a NPV(8%) of US$179M at a $3.15 per pound Cu price.

This is an understated NPV for two reasons.

First, current copper prices are around 25% higher than the price used to calculate those economics.  And the way demand is projected to outstrip supply, the copper price may continue to rise.

Second, and this is pivotal, the NPV from the 2022 PEA considers the Moonlight deposit:

• It excludes potential high-grade starter pits at the nearby Superior and Engels deposits.
• It does not account for potential gold credits that could be established following US Copper's upcoming drill program.
• It does not include copper oxide mineralization present at Moonlight, historically tabbed at 12.2M tonnes at 0.54% Cu. (historic estimate; non-compliant).¹

At US$3.50 per pound Cu, the post-tax NPV(8%) increases to US$376 million with a 21.1% IRR and at US$4 per pound Cu, the post-tax NPV(8%) is US$653 million with a 29.4% IRR.

They Left Tonnes of Copper Behind Because It Was Uneconomic at the Time.

Tampakan Gold-Copper Project

Reko Diq Mine

Quellaveco Project

In an advanced stage relative to other early-stage copper projects

Fully-funded drilling program to start in Q2 2021

Located in an historic mining district in a pro-mining rural county

Easily accessible with local infrastructure that can support a mine

A copper play with gold and silver credits

Today, This Could Be America's Next Major Copper Producer

So, in 2021, when you find an advanced-stage copper project in a friendly mining jurisdiction, with community and financial support behind it, you should take a closer look.

Broad zones of high-grade copper mineralization were identified at Superior. Several holes were terminated  in moderate to high-grade copper mineralization. This shows signs that the deposit is open in multiple directions and at depth.

Photo above shows drilling at Engels in 2010, which was one of two sites mined back in the 1920s. Engels holds a historical resource estimate of 19 million tonnes at 0.63% copper sulfide at surface.

The Moonlight-Superior Project is an undervalued asset with THREE advanced-stage copper deposits with the infrastructure to support drilling and development.

In a time when copper is a critical metal for the transition to a greener, more sustainable future for the world, including the United States, this project has the potential to explode quickly. Don't miss out on Moonlight-Superior.

An advanced stage asset with THREE deposits

Starting a drilling program in 2Q 2021

Located in an historic mining district in a pro-mining, rural county

Easily accessible with local infrastructure that can support a mine

A copper project with gold and silver credits

We Are Drilling Q2 2021. Don't Miss The Results.

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Oxide copper was treated as "waste rock" in the 2022 PEA; Placer estimated 12 million tons at 0.54% Cu. This is a non-compliant, historic estimate that predates NI 43-101. The upcoming drill program will help answer away a lot of these questions.

Historic Drilling Results Confirming High-Grade Potential at Surface and Depth

Superior Mine Headframe

Engels Floatation Mill, 1915

¹Estimate predates NI-43-101 and sufficient work has not been done to classify the estimates as current mineral resources and so they are considered historical estimates. The Company is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources. This mineral claim is home to a 100-year-old mine that formerly produced 161 million pounds of copper. The mines at Superior and Engels ceased production in 1930 when the Great Depression hit.

^{Remaining Superior Mill Foundation}

And again, these figures only account for one of the three prospective deposits on the Moonlight-Superior land claim.

In totality, the Moonlight-Superior Project currently holds a NI 43-101 compliant copper resource of 1.3 billion pounds of copper indicated and 1 billion pounds of copper inferred:

• Moonlight:  1.3 billion pounds of copper indicated; 0.5 billion pounds of copper inferred
• Superior:  488 million pounds of copper inferred
• Engels:  58 million pounds of copper inferred

US Copper CEO Steve Dunn has high confidence, however, that the historic resource of 4 billion pounds of copper , calculated by Placer-Amex, is what lies beneath the ground. The 2022 drill program will give us the answer.

In the 1960s, Placer-Amex undertook exploration work, included drilling 409 holes, discovering and defining the Moonlight deposit. Placer-Amex eventually sold the property in 1994 to focus on gold.

There is key infrastructure already in place at Moonlight-Superior to bring the project along and to support the development of a mine. This will help reduce initial capital costs.

The strategy is to commence a drill program in Q2 2022 that is fully-funded and ready to go.

US Copper's objective with this program is to:

1.  Identify and define two high grade starter pits by drilling at Superior and Engels and;
2.  Incorporate silver and gold credits.

While Superior and Engels are not included in the 2022 PEA the geological data does suggest mineralization is present at both sites.

With copper in high demand and a deficit in the market expected again this year and to continue, this hidden-away advanced-stage asset holds immense value.

With the application of modern exploration and drilling techniques, a potential increase in the current resource is a high probability. Here's why.

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Source: https://investors.uscoppercorp.com/americas-next-major-copper-producer/

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