White Cliff Minerals (ASX: WCN) Confirms High-Grade Copper System as First Diamond Hole Validates Rae Discovery

Exploration success is one thing. Proving that a discovery is real, predictable and capable of growing into a significant deposit is another.

That is the milestone White Cliff Minerals (ASX: WCN) believes it has reached at its Rae Copper Project in Canada’s Nunavut region after the company’s first diamond drill hole confirmed a broad, shallow and high-grade copper system at the Danvers prospect.

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The standout result returned 50.9 metres grading 2.81% copper and 7.66 grams per tonne silver from just 39.7 metres below surface. Within that intercept were several exceptionally rich zones, including 4.3 metres at 10.93% copper, 6.8 metres at 3.93% copper, and 4.75 metres at 7.12% copper, alongside elevated silver values.

While the headline grades are impressive, the broader significance lies in what diamond drilling adds to the geological picture.

Unlike reverse circulation drilling, which primarily confirms mineralisation, diamond drilling retrieves intact rock core, allowing geologists to study the orientation, structure and controls of the orebody. That information is critical when designing future drilling programs and assessing whether high-grade zones continue at depth or along strike.

To put it simply, White Cliff is moving from asking “Is there copper?” to “How big is the system and where does it continue?”

The latest hole also confirmed mineralisation begins at just 39.7 metres downhole, highlighting the shallow nature of the deposit. Near-surface mineralisation can improve future development economics by reducing the amount of waste rock that may need to be removed before mining begins, although the project remains at an early exploration stage.

The company said the mineralisation is dominated by bornite and chalcocite, two high-value copper sulphide minerals hosted within chlorite-altered breccia. The oriented core has also delivered the first detailed structural framework for Danvers, providing a roadmap for follow-up drilling targeting extensions of the high-grade zones.

Managing Director Troy Whittaker said the first diamond hole had exceeded expectations.

“Our first diamond hole at Danvers has delivered an exceptionally broad, near-surface, high-grade copper result, returning more than 50m at 2.81% Cu, including an exceptional 4.3m at 10.93% Cu, the latest intercept at Danvers to again exceed 10% copper, further demonstrating the exceptional tenor and scale potential of the mineralised system.

“The Phase 1 drilling program, designed to assess more than 10km of prospective strike, is nearing completion. With the geological controls becoming increasingly clear, and further diamond assays pending, our focus is shifting to systematic step-out drilling to follow the high-grade zones, expand the mineralised footprint and establish the ultimate scale of Danvers.”

Executive Director Technical Eric Sondergaard said the company’s focus had evolved from making discoveries to understanding the geology well enough to predict where additional mineralisation may occur.

“Our 2025 RC programme demonstrated that Danvers hosts exceptionally broad, high-grade copper mineralisation from surface. The key objective of this first diamond hole was to obtain the geological and structural information needed to refine the model and systematically target extensions to the mineralised system. DAN26026 has achieved exactly that.

“The result confirms that the high-grade copper mineralisation identified in the RC programme is not an isolated series of intersections, but forms part of a continuous mineralised system that can now be interpreted with considerably greater confidence. Every diamond hole is adding another piece to that picture, and our confidence in the geological model continues to grow.”

The result builds on an already encouraging exploration campaign. Previous drilling at Danvers returned notable intercepts including 175 metres at 2.5% copper and 90 metres at 4% copper, while White Cliff is also advancing the nearby Hulk copper project, highlighting the district-scale potential of the Rae Project.

Copper remains one of the world’s most sought-after metals as electrification, renewable energy infrastructure and grid expansion drive long-term demand. The International Energy Agency has forecast that meeting global clean energy targets will require significantly higher supplies of copper over coming decades, increasing interest in new discoveries within stable mining jurisdictions such as Canada.

Despite the strong drilling results, White Cliff shares were down 5.56% to $0.017 in early trade, giving the company a market capitalisation of approximately $56.2 million. Short-term share price movements in junior explorers often reflect broader market sentiment and profit-taking rather than the underlying quality of a single drilling result.

With 21 additional diamond drill assays still pending, investors are likely to focus less on whether copper is present and more on whether the growing geological model can demonstrate a large, continuous mineralised system across the broader Danvers trend.

Sources: White Cliff Minerals ASX announcement (28 July 2026); International Energy Agency (IEA) Critical Minerals reports.