VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 29, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NorthWest Copper (“NorthWest” or “the Company”) (TSX-V: NWST) (OTCQX: NWCCF) is pleased to announce the eighth and final set of results from the 2022 Kwanika drilling program. These results are from the Kwanika South Zone, which is located one kilometre south of the Central Zone and makes up part of the Company’s flagship Kwanika-Stardust project. The six holes encountered several long intervals of copper and gold mineralization that have higher grades than the average of the current South Zone mineral resource estimate ¹ . Drilling also intersected mineralization outside of the pits proposed in the recently released Kwanika-Stardust PEA ² , and the showed that the system remains open at depth and to the south. These results demonstrate potential to both upgrade and expand the South Zone resource. Highlights from assays include:

• K-22-251: 316.90 metres ³ of 0.30% CuEq ⁴ from 307.10 metres
• Including 20.10 metres at 0.68% CuEq from 486.30 metres
• Also including 45.75 metres at 0.53% CuEq from 530.40 metres
• K-22-252: 249.95 metres at 0.36% CuEq from 162.00 metres
• Including 29.50 metres at 0.69% CuEq from 277.50 metres

“Kwanika South Zone remains a compelling target for NorthWest”, said President and CEO Peter Bell. “It is close to Kwanika Central Zone but has seen much less drilling. We believe there are opportunities not just to expand it but also to improve the grade. Its proximity to the proposed infrastructure at Kwanika-Stardust makes any mineralization found at South Zone beneficial to the project.”

We have now released all results from the 11,876 metres of drilling in 30 drill holes that were completed at Kwanika in 2022.

Drill Results Discussion

The six drill holes in this release were drilled in Kwanika South Zone, which is a discrete deposit located less than one kilometre south of the Kwanika Central Zone (Figure 1). The South and Central Zones are separated by a fault and mineralization in the South Zone is further distinguished from the Central Zone by the presence of significant molybdenum mineralization that accompanies copper, gold and silver.

Mineralization in the South Zone is hosted by equigranular quartz monzonite and is associated with both an older, pervasive potassium feldspar alteration and a younger alteration that includes actinolite, epidote, chlorite, sericite and carbonate. Highest grade mineralization typically occurs in zones of brecciation and strong fracturing and is dominated by hypogene chalcopyrite that occurs as disseminations and in quartz-sulfide veins.

The South Zone locally crops out at surface below glacial overburden and is approximately 2,200 metres long, 450 metres wide, and is currently defined up to 630 metres depth. It is bounded to the west by the West Fault and to the east by the East Fault. It remains open at depth and to the south.

Drillholes K-22-250, 251, 252, 253, and 254 all hit significant mineralization.   The drillholes targeted high grade corridors recognized by geological modelling of the South Zone during the most recent Mineral Resource Estimate ⁵ . The results from these holes demonstrate continuity of grade and, very importantly, potential for more high-grade zones within and outside the current Mineral Resource Estimate. This new information further constrains our structural and geology model for the South Zone and will help guide future exploration drilling.

The drillholes in this release were drilled over a 950 metre long north to south trend (Figure 1). All holes were drilled from west to east at angles of -65, -55, or -50 degrees. The drill holes encountered overburden from 21.70 to 42.00 metres down hole.   Individual holes are described below.

K-22-250 was drilled on section 6155150mN (A-A’) within the conceptual PEA pit boundaries and returned an intersection of 95.30 metres at 0.24% CuEq from 49.00 metres. The intersection ends at a fault at 142.70 metres (Figure 1 &Figure 2 Figure 2).

Drill hole K-22-252 was drilled approximately 150 metres south of K-22-250 (B-B’). It is south of and below the current conceptual PEA pit (Figure 1 &Figure 3Figure 3). It intersected 249.95 metres grading 0.36% CuEq from 162.00 metres. It also includes a high-grade interval of 29.50 metres at 0.69% CuEq from 277.50 metres, which indicates potential for a high-grade corridor to extend to depth to the west outside of the current mineral resource estimate (Figure 3).

K-22-251 was drilled approximately 150 metres to the south of K-22-252 (C-C’) and intersected a long, mineralized interval of 316.90 metres at 0.30% CuEq from 307.10 metres. The long intersection includes higher-grade intervals of 20.10 metres of 0.68% CuEq from 486.30 metres and 45.75 metres of 0.53% CuEq from 530.40 metres. These results demonstrate the presence of higher-grade domains in an area of low drilling density (Figure 1 & Figure 4).

K-22-254 was drilled approximately another 120 metres to the south on section (D-D’) and returned two discrete intersections. The first returned 83.00 metres of 0.44% CuEq from 58.00 metres, just below the base of overburden within the conceptual PEA pit. This was followed by another 51.00 metres of 0.38% CuEq from 275.00 metres (Figure 1 & Figure 5).

K-22-253 was drilled furthest to the south on section 6154580mN (E-E’) and intersected two zones of mineralization. The first intersection returned 109.75 metres at 0.23% CuEq from 74.15 metres, within the conceptual PEA pit. The second intersection returned 173.50 metres of 0.35% CuEq from 275.50 metres and includes the highest-grade intersection in this release which returned 12.00 meters of 1.39% CuEq from 437.00 metres (Figure 6). This intersection again proves the presence of high-grade mineralized corridors within the broader mineralized resource in the South Zone.

Drill hole K-22-249 was drilled north of the current Mineral Resource Estimate and did not yield any significant result (Figure 1). Importantly, however, this hole does provide important structural constraints to our interpretation of the South Zone, which will be useful to future drill targeting.

Quality Assurance / Quality Control
Drilling completed at Kwanika in 2022 was supervised by on-site NorthWest personnel who collected and tracked samples and implemented a full QA/QC program using blanks, standards and duplicates to monitor analytical accuracy and precision. The samples were sealed on site and shipped to Bureau Veritas (BV) in Vancouver BC and to AGAT Laboratories (AGAT) in Calgary AB. BV’s quality control system complies with global certifications for Quality ISO9001:2008. Core samples were analyzed using a combination of BV’s MA200 process for low level concentrations (ICP-MS/4 Acid digestion) and the MA370 process for higher level concentrations (ICP-ES/4 acid digestion). Gold assaying was completed with FA430, a 30-gram fire assay with AAS finish. Base metal overlimits were finalized with titration where required, with gold overlimits completed with a gravimetric finish. AGAT’s quality control system complies with global certifications for Quality ISO 9001:2015. Core samples were analyzed using a combination of AGAT’s 201-071 process for low level concentrations (ICP-MS/4 Acid digestion) and the 201-079 process for higher level concentrations (Sodium Peroxide Fusion/ICP-OES). Gold assaying was completed with 202-055, a 30-gram fire assay with ICP finish. Base metal overlimits were finalized with Fusion/ICP-OES method.

Technical aspects of this news release have been reviewed, verified, and approved by Tyler Caswell, P.Geo., Vice President Exploration of NorthWest, who is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Minerals Projects .

Figure 1. Plan view showing South Zone drilling relative to Mineral Resource Estimates at Kwanika Central Zone, Kwanika South Zone and Stardust.
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Figure 2: A-A’ Cross Section K-22-250
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Figure 3: B-B’ Cross Section K-22-252
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Figure 4: C-C’ Cross Section K-22-251
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Figure 5: D-D’ Cross Section K-22-254
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Figure 6: E-E’ Cross Section K-22-253
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About NorthWest Copper:NorthWest Copper is a new copper-gold explorer and developer with an exciting pipeline of projects in British Columbia. With a robust portfolio in a tier one jurisdiction, NorthWest Copper is well positioned to participate fully in a strengthening global copper market. We are committed to responsible mineral exploration which involves working collaboratively with First Nations to ensure future development incorporates stewardship best practices and respects traditional land use. Additional information can be found on the Company’s website at www.northwestcopper.ca .

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*DISCLAIMER: NorthWest Copper is a paid marketing client

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