AQM Drills 312 Metres of 0.60% Cu and 0.14 g/t Au in the First Deep Hole Completed on the Zafranal Main Zone During the 2011 Drill Program and Announces the Appointment of a New VP of Exploration
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 07/12/11 -- AQM Copper Inc. (TSX VENTURE: AQM)(BVLAC: AQM) ('AQM Copper' or the 'Company') is pleased to provide results for an additional 4 diamond drill holes completed on the Zafranal Main Zone deposit and 10 diamond holes completed on the Sicera Norte discovery, located approximately 10 km northwest of the Zafranal deposit.
Main Zone
The 2011 drilling program on the Main Zone includes deep drilling where hypogene copper mineralization remains open at depth, drill holes along the northern and southern extensions of sections that remained open from the 2010 resource definition program and drilling on the eastern and western extension of the Main Zone. Significant results are detailed in the following table:
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Drill Hole From (m.) To (m.) Interval (m.) Cu%T Au g/t
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ZFDDH11-157(2) 58 370 312 0.60% 0.14
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Incl. 86 144 58 1.79% 0.26
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And 376 382 6 0.28% 0.24
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And 526 617.80(2) 91.80 0.28% 0.23
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Overall
Interval(3) 58 617.80 559.80 0.43% 0.15
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ZFDDH11-160(1) 24 158 134 0.47% 0.04
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And 165 192 27 0.51% 0.09
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ZFDDH11-165(2) 82 150 68 0.51% 0.06
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Incl. 92 104 12 1.07% 0.09
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And 162 178 16 0.23% 0.06
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And 212 224 12 0.33% 0.05
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And 246 252 6 0.23% 0.04
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ZFDDH11-167 71.35 88 16.65 0.38% 0.01
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Table 1: Significant Results from the Zafranal Main Zone
0.2% Cu cut-off and 6m. maximum internal dilution
(1)Interval down to 123.40 metres reported on news release dated June 22nd
2011. Hole was re-entered to test the bottom of the mineralization.
(2) Hole ended in mineralization
(3) No internal dilution nor cut-off constraints
Drill hole ZFDDH11-157 was the first deep hole completed during the 2011 drilling program on the Main Zone. The results show that copper mineralization, with a significant gold credit, continues at depth along certain foci for the emplacement of mineralized porphyry bodies. These cylindrical bodies are typical of porphyry environments, and can continue to significant depths. This drill hole was lost at 617.80 metres due to drilling difficulties. Most interestingly of all, the gold grades throughout this hole were much higher than the average observed on most of the Main Zone.
Drill hole ZFDDH11-160, located 400 metres east of the eastern limit of the 2010 resource model, was partially reported - to a depth of 123.4 metres - on the June 22nd news release. The original hole was lost due to drilling problems, but was subsequently re-entered as it had ended in mineralization. These complete results show that mineralization extends further at depth than anticipated for the eastern extension of the Main Zone.
Drill holes ZFDDH11-165 and ZFDDH11-167 were drilled on the northern extension of two north-south sections on the western side of the Main Zone resource. Hole ZFDDH11-165 is of particular interest as it intersected high grade secondary mineralization in an area where the enrichment blanket was thought to decrease in thickness and grade. This hole was drilled 90 metres north of previously reported drill hole ZFDDH10-053 (33.25 metres @ 0.78% Cu) and leaves the zone open to the north.
Sicera Norte
Drilling on the Sicera Norte discovery continues to encounter copper mineralization associated to mineralized felsic intrusive bodies as it tests the known mineralized area further to the north and east. The following table summarizes the latest drill results:
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Hole No. From (m) To (m) Interval (m) Cu%
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SNDDH11-025 172 214 42 0.29%
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SNDDH11-026 94 128 34 0.23%
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SNDDH11-027 No Significant Results
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SNDDH11-028 No Significant Results
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SNDDH11-029 38 76 36 0.36%
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SNDDH11-030 464 490.30 26.30 0.22%
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SNDDH11-031 No Significant Results
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SNDDH11-032 270 314.90 44.90 0.31%
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SNDDH11-034 No Significant Results
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SNDDH11-035 No Significant Results
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These drill holes were designed to test the limits of hypogene and supergene copper mineralization in Sicera Norte, both along strike and at depth, as well as to test possible extensions of the mineralization to the far north and the west.
Drill holes SNDDH11-026, SNDDH11-027, SNDDH11-028, SNDDH11-029, SNDDH11-030 and SNDDH11-034 were collared on the northern side of a NE-SW trending structure which appears to truncate hypogene copper mineralization to the north. Most of these holes did not intersect significant copper mineralization and show that the zone does not continue to the north.
Drill holes SNDDH11-025 and SNDDH11-032 were drilled along the same section and represent the northernmost extension of Sicera Norte's hypogene copper mineralization, which remains open to the northeast.
Drill holes SNDDH11-031 and SNDDH11-035 were collared on two distinct phyllic alteration zones located 800 metres northwest and 1,400 metres north-northwest of the main mineralized zone, respectively. Neither of these holes encountered significant copper mineralization.
On behalf of the joint venture, AQM has now completed 11,908 metres of drilling on the Sicera Norte target. One diamond rig and one Reverse Circulation rig continue to test the northeastern extension of the mineralized body. Four diamond rigs are currently drilling on the Zafranal Main Zone, where 6,211 metres of drilling have been completed so far during 2011 and where a Measured and Indicated Resource of 301Mt of 0.47% Cu and 0.08 g/t Au remains open to the east and at depth.
The Company also wishes to announce the appointment of Alvaro Fernandez-Baca, P.Geo., as Vice-President of Exploration. Mr. Fernandez-Baca holds a B.Sc in Geology from the University of Edinburgh and has 15 years' experience in mineral exploration in South America and elsewhere. Before joining AQM in 2009, Mr. Fernandez-Baca was senior geologist for Entree Gold at its Shivee Tolgoi Project in Mongolia and General Manager for Gitennes Exploration Inc. in Peru. Since 2009, Mr. Fernandez-Baca has acted as General Manager for Minera AQM Copper Peru S.A.C., and has led the technical team which has successfully advanced the Zafranal Project over the past year and a half.
Updated drill plans for Sicera Norte and the Main Zone are available from www.aqmcopper.com.
The Company has established a rigorous QA/QC program at Zafranal, which includes the insertion of blanks, duplicates and certified standards into the sample stream. Core is photographed on site and subsequently sawed in half, with one half sent for analysis and the other half stored for future reference and assay verification. RC chips are split twice on site using a riffle splitter, with 25% of the sample being sent to the laboratory for assay and the rest stored for future verification purposes. All Zafranal samples are shipped to ALS Chemex's sample preparation facility in the city of Arequipa, where they are crushed and pulverized. Prepared samples are shipped to ALS Chemex's certified laboratory in Lima where they are analyzed for gold, copper and multi-element ICP.
Alvaro Fernandez-Baca, P.Geo, Vice President Exploration for AQM Copper Inc. and the Company's Qualified Person for the purposes of NI 43-101, has approved the information contained in this news release.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Bruce Turner, President and CEO
ABOUT AQM Copper: AQM Copper Inc. (formerly Apoquindo Minerals) is a Canadian based mineral exploration company developing copper deposits in South America. Through its wholly owned Peruvian subsidiary, Minera AQM Peru SAC, the Company is developing the Zafranal Copper-Gold Porphyry Project located in Southern Peru. Minera AQM Peru SAC is the operator of a 50/50 JV with Teck Resources Limited through a sole purpose Peruvian company being formed for Zafranal as announced in its press release on July 8, 2010. Management and directors have extensive experience working for the world's largest mining Copper producers. Please refer to the Company's website for further information regarding the Company and its projects.
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