VANCOUVER, BC, May 19, 2026 /CNW/ - Vizsla Copper Corp. (TSXV: VCU) (OTCQB: VCUFF) (FRANKFURT: 97E0) ("Vizsla Copper" or the "Company") is pleased to report that drilling is now underway at the Woodjam Project (the "Woodjam Project" or "Woodjam") in central British Columbia. The program is expected to consist of up to 8,000 meters of drilling, with two rigs focused on three highly prospective target areas: Three Firs, Great Plains and Deerhorn.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Woodjam Project - Drilling Ongoing: Up to 8,000 meters are being drilled across three target areas with a focus on new discovery, building on significant past results and resource expansion:
- Three Firs: Drilling at the Three Firs target will focus on identifying the source of the strongly mineralized clasts in the recently discovered breccia system.
- Great Plains: Drilling at the Great Plains target will investigate the porphyry-related copper-gold mineralization potential of an untested geophysical anomaly located approximately four kilometers south of the project's existing Southeast deposit.
- Deerhorn Deposit: Drilling at the Deerhorn deposit will focus on expanding the southern extent of strong copper-gold mineralization on the western limb of the deposit.
- Poplar Project - Phase 1 Drilling Completed: Over 11,200 meters were drilled across 21 holes at the Thira, Camp Lake and Copper Pond targets. All core samples have been submitted for geochemical analysis. Phase 2 drilling at the Poplar Project will commence after all results from Phase 1 have been received and interpreted, and drilling at the Woodjam Project has been completed.
"With copper recently reaching an all-time high of US$6.60/lb., we believe the market is continuing to recognize the growing importance of new copper discoveries and development projects," commented Craig Parry, Chair and CEO. "Against this backdrop, the Company is well-positioned with assays pending from our Thira copper discovery at the Poplar project, as well as a fully funded 8,000 m drill program underway at the Woodjam project. We believe the next few months will be a highly active and catalyst-rich period with a steady stream of meaningful news flow expected across our portfolio. As we advance these programs, we are also pleased to welcome Susy Horna to the team as Corporate Secretary and would like to sincerely thank Jen Hanson for her dedication, professionalism, and valuable contributions to the Company over the years. We wish her all the best in her future endeavours."
"Commencement of drilling at Woodjam kicks off the next leg of a very busy year for the Company, which will also include a major drill program at Palmer, a second phase of drilling at Poplar, and the first ever drill program at Copperview." commented Steve Blower, SVP, Exploration. "At Woodjam, we'll focus on new discoveries at the Three Firs Breccia and Great Plains targets, and also evaluate the potential to expand the higher gold portion of the Deerhorn deposit, which remains open along strike to the southwest."
Woodjam Drill Plan
The 2026 summer drill program at the Woodjam Project will consist of up to 8,000 meters of core drilling across ~16 drill holes focused on the highly prospective Three Firs, Great Plains and Deerhorn target areas (Figure 1). The focus of drilling at each target include:
- Three Firs: The Three Firs target area consists of a zone of near-surface, porphyry-related copper-gold mineralization that spans at least 400 meters by 200 meters. Step-out drilling in 2024 investigated the extent of mineralization 500 meters to the northwest with two drill holes (see November 27, 2024 news release). Both drill holes intersected a new occurrence of polymictic breccia containing intrusive clasts with porphyry-related quartz-chalcopyrite±bornite stockwork. The frequency of mineralized clasts within the breccias increases with depth from hole TF24-123 to TF24-126, corresponding to an increase in copper and gold grades. The breccia in TF24-126 returned 27.6 meters of 0.18% copper and 0.13 g/t gold (see November 27, 2024 news release). Mineralization in the breccia intervals is hosted primarily in the clasts.
Recent modelling shows a general plunge of the breccia system to the southeast toward a broad and untested high-chargeability anomaly below the Three Firs porphyry center. Drilling will evaluate the anomaly for a potential center of intrusion-hosted, porphyry-related mineralization and the source of the mineralized clasts within the breccias.
- Great Plains: The Great Plains target represents an open and untested two km by two km chargeability-high anomaly approximately 4 km south of the Southeast deposit (see October 30, 2024 news release). Southeast has a historical inferred mineral resource estimate of 221.7 million tonnes of 0.31% copper and 0.05 g/t gold1,2,4. The Great Plains target area is interpreted to be underlain by similar geology as the Southeast deposit, where porphyry-related copper-gold mineralization is hosted near the western margin of the prospective Takomkane batholith. Based on existing geophysical data, this prospective contact is interpreted to continue to the south for at least nine km, crossing the Great Plains target. The target is historically unexplored due to a ubiquitous thin veneer of glacial till that conceals the bedrock.
Drilling at Great Plains will investigate the porphyry-related copper-gold mineralization potential of the Great Plains geophysical target. A series of drill holes are planned to test a footprint of ~750 meters by 1,000 meters.
- Deerhorn: The Deerhorn extension target represents the southern extension of strong porphyry-related, high-grade copper-gold mineralization of the Deerhorn deposit, which has a historical inferred mineral resource of 32.8 million tonnes of 0.22% copper and 0.49 g/t gold1,3,4. Drilling in 2024 intersected 86.0 meters of 0.91 g/t gold and 0.18% copper associated with intense quartz-chalcopyrite-magnetite stockwork and sheeted veins (see September 3, 2024 news release). This drill hole, together with updated 3D modelling, demonstrated the expansion potential of Deerhorn to the south.
Drilling at Deerhorn will follow-up the 2024 program and evaluate the southern extension of mineralization on the western limb of the deposit with a series of angled drill holes. Additional drill holes to the northeast designed to test the extents of the eastern limb may also be completed.
Two diamond drill rigs have now mobilized to site and are advancing the first two drill holes of the program.
Figure 1. Map showing the location of Vizsla Copper's Woodjam and Redgold projects in relation to Imperial Metals' Mount Polley mine. Priority exploration targets at Woodjam are also shown.
Figure 2. Map showing compiled chargeability (induced polarization) results (800 masl depth plan) from the 3D inverted chargeability model (see October 30th, 2024 news release). Priority drill targets to be evaluated include Three Firs, Great Plains and Deerhorn.
Poplar Project Drilling Update
Phase 1 of the 2026 drill program at the Poplar Project that commenced earlier this year (see February 4, 2026 news release) is now complete. Over 11,200 meters were drilled across 21 holes at the Thira, Camp Lake and Copper Pond targets.
Results from the first two drill holes at the Thira Discovery were previously disclosed (see April 6, 2026 news release) and included the longest interval of continuous porphyry-related copper-molybdenum mineralization drilled to date at the target with 675.2 meters of 0.40% CuEq* (0.26% Cu, 0.015% Mo, 1.06 g/t Ag, and 0.04 g/t Au, TH26-151), including 435.0 meters of 0.49% CuEq* (0.31% Cu, 0.022% Mo, 1.24 g/t Ag, and 0.04 g/t Au). Phase 2 of the Poplar drill program will commence once all results from Phase 1 are received and interpreted and the drill program at the Woodjam Project is complete.
*Copper equivalent calculation (CuEq) uses metal prices of: Cu US$4.00/lb, Mo US$25.00/lb, Au US$2,500/oz and Ag US$25/oz and conceptual recoveries of Cu: 80%, Mo: 80%, Au: 70% and Ag: 65%. CuEq is provided for illustrative purpose only to show the combined grades of Cu, Mo, Au and Ag relative to copper price net of conceptual metallurgical recoveries. Composite intervals are calculated using length weighted averages above the cutoff grades noted above, with up to 20 meters of internal dilution. True thickness of the bulk-tonnage style, stockwork-hosted mineralization is unknown. |
New Corporate Secretary
Vizsla Copper is also pleased to announce the appointment of Susy Horna to the role of Corporate Secretary, effective May 14, 2026. Originally from Peru, Susy brings numerous years of experience in the legal aspects of the mining, oil and gas and shipping industries. Prior to joining Vizsla Copper, Susy served as Manager, Corporate Records and Governance for First Majestic Silver Corp., and prior to the acquisition by First Majestic Silver Corp., as Corporate Secretary of Gatos Silver, Inc. Susy has also served as Corporate Secretary for various public and private companies within the Augusta Group of Companies, and as paralegal for Pacific Northwest LNG, Seaspan Corporation and Southwestern Resources Corp., where she was responsible for diverse matters relating to corporate and securities law, in particular, corporate governance and continuous disclosure.
The Company would like to sincerely thank its outgoing Corporate Secretary, Jen Hanson, for the professionalism, experience and wisdom she has brought to Vizsla Copper over the past five years and for helping to build Vizsla Copper's strong foundations as a public company.
About Vizsla Copper
Vizsla Copper is a Cu-Au-Mo focused mineral exploration and development company headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. The Company is primarily focused on its Palmer VMS project in Southeast Alaska, and its Poplar and Woodjam porphyry-related projects in Central and Southern British Columbia. All of the Company's projects are well situated amongst significant infrastructure. The Company's growth strategy is focused on the exploration and development of the properties within its portfolio in addition to value accretive acquisitions. Vizsla Copper's vision is to be a responsible copper explorer and developer in the stable mining jurisdictions of Alaska and British Columbia, and it is committed to socially responsible exploration and development, working safely, ethically and with integrity.
Vizsla Copper is a spin-out of Vizsla Silver and is backed by Inventa Capital Corp., a premier investment group founded in 2017 with the goal of discovering and funding opportunities in the resource sector. Additional information about the Company is available on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) and the Company's website (www.vizslacopper.com).
Qualified Person and National Instrument 43-101 Disclosure
The Company's disclosure of technical or scientific information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Christopher Leslie, Ph.D., P.Geo., Technical Advisor for Vizsla Copper. Dr. Leslie is a Qualified Person as defined under the terms of National Instrument 43-101.
Some technical information contained in this release is historical in nature and has been compiled from public sources believed to be accurate. The historical technical information has not been verified by Vizsla Copper and may in some instances be unverifiable. Investors are cautioned that mineralization on adjacent properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization at Woodjam.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. "Forward-looking information" includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including, without limitation, planned exploration activities. Generally, but not always, forward-looking information and statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or the negative connotation thereof or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotation thereof. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, among others, statements relating to the Company's planned 8,000-metre drill program at the Woodjam Project, including the anticipated focus and objectives of drilling at the Three Firs, Great Plains and Deerhorn target areas; the anticipated results and outcomes of exploration drilling at each target; the planned Phase 2 drill program at the Poplar Project and the timing of its commencement following receipt and interpretation of Phase 1 results; planned drill programs at the Palmer and Copperview projects; and the expected timing and sequencing of the Company's upcoming exploration programs.
Such forward-looking information and statements are based on numerous assumptions, including among others, that the results of planned exploration activities are as anticipated, the anticipated cost of planned exploration activities, that general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner, that financing will be available if and when needed and on reasonable terms, that third party contractors, equipment and supplies and governmental and other approvals required to conduct the Company's planned exploration activities will be available on reasonable terms and in a timely manner, and that commodity prices, including copper, gold and molybdenum prices, will remain at levels supportive of the Company's planned exploration activities. Although the assumptions made by the Company in providing forward-looking information or making forward-looking statements are considered reasonable by management at the time, there can be no assurance that such assumptions will prove to be accurate.
Forward-looking information and statements also involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual events or results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future events or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking information or statements, including, among others: negative operating cash flow and dependence on third party financing, uncertainty of additional financing, absence of current NI 43-101-compliant mineral resources or mineral reserves, the limited operating history of the Company, the influence of a large shareholder, aboriginal title and consultation issues, reliance on key management and other personnel, actual results of exploration activities being different than anticipated, changes in exploration programs based upon results, availability of third party contractors, availability of equipment and supplies, failure of equipment to operate as anticipated; accidents, effects of weather and other natural phenomena and other risks associated with the mineral exploration industry, environmental risks, commodity price volatility including fluctuations in copper, gold and molybdenum prices, changes in laws and regulations, community relations and delays in obtaining governmental or other approvals.
Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information or implied by forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or reissue forward-looking information as a result of new information or events except as required by applicable securities laws.
REFERENCES |
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1. |
Summarized in: Lomas, S. (2022), NI43-101 Technical Report for the Woodjam Property Horsefly, British Columbia, Canada, https://sedarplus.ca |
2. |
Southeast: "NI 43-101 Technical Report for 2012 Activities on the Woodjam South Property, Cariboo Mining Division, British Columbia", prepared by Ross Sherlock, PhD., P.Geo., Gold Fields Canada Exploration BV and Alex Trueman, P.Geo., MAusIMM CP(Geo), Gold Fields Exploration, Inc., prepared for the Former JV Partner (60:40 ownership between Fjordland Exploration Inc., and Cariboo Rose Ltd.) and WCC with an effective date of May 15, 2013. The Historical Estimate on the Southeast deposit (the "Southeast Historical Estimate") was completed by Alex Trueman, P.Geo., MAusIMM CP (Geo), Chief Resource Geologist, Gold Fields Exploration Inc. with an effective date of May 15, 2013. The Southeast Historical Estimate was prepared with localized multivariate uniform conditioning, with a cutoff grade of US$8.60/t. The NSR calculation uses US$1,650/oz Au, US$3.90/lb Cu and recoveries of 69% Au and 85% Cu. The Southeast Historical Estimate was reported within a modelled open pit shell based on a price assumption of US$1,650/oz Au and US$3.90/lb Cu. |
3. |
Deerhorn: "NI 43-101 Technical Report for 2012 Activities on the Woodjam North Property, Cariboo Mining Division, British Columbia", prepared by Ross Sherlock, PhD., P.Geo., Gold Fields Canada Exploration BV, Jacqueline Blackwell, Ph. D., P. Geo., Gold Fields Canada Exploration BV and Twila Skinner, P.Geo., Gold Fields Canada Exploration BV, prepared for the Former JV Partner and WCC with an effective date of May 15, 2013. The Historical Estimate on the Deerhorn deposit (the "Deerhorn Historical Estimate") was completed by Brian Wolfe (MAIG), Principal Resource Geologist, Gold Fields Australasia Pty. Ltd. with an effective date of May 15, 2013. The Deerhorn Historical Estimate was prepared with localized multivariate uniform conditioning, with a cutoff grade of US$8.60/t. The NSR calculation uses US$1,650/oz Au, US$3.90/lb Cu and recoveries of 69% Au and 85% Cu. The Deerhorn Historical Estimate was reported within a modelled open pit shell based on a price assumption of US$1,650/oz Au and US$3.90/lb Cu. |
4. |
The Historical Estimates are considered historical in nature and as such are based on prior data and reports prepared by previous property owners. The reader is cautioned not to treat them, or any part of them, as current mineral resources or reserves. The Company has determined the Historical Estimates are reliable given that they are based on data collected with modern drilling and sampling methods and were completed for the Former JV Partner, and relevant to be included here in that they simply demonstrate the mineral potential of the Woodjam Project. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the Historical Estimates as current resources and Vizsla Copper is not treating the Historical Estimates as current resources. Significant data compilation, re-drilling, re-sampling, data verification and a site visit may be required by a qualified person before the Historical Estimates can be classified as a current resource. There can be no assurance that any of the historical mineral resources, in whole or in part, will ever become economically viable. In addition, mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. Even if classified as a current resource, there is no certainty as to whether further exploration will result in any inferred mineral resources being upgraded to an indicated or measured mineral resource category. The Historical Estimates relating to inferred mineral resources were calculated using prior mining industry standard definitions and practices for estimating mineral resource and mineral reserves. Such prior definitions and practices were utilized prior to the implementation of the current standards of the Canadian Institute of Mining for mineral resource estimation, and have a lower level of confidence. |
SOURCE Vizsla Copper Corp.
Contact Information: For more information, please contact Craig Parry, Executive Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, Tel: (604) 364-2215 | Email: info@vizslacopper.com
