Metal Energy Corp. has scheduled an initial 2,000-metre drill program to begin in October at its Highland Valley Copper Project in south-central British Columbia.

The 240-square-kilometre project is permitted and drill-ready following the receipt of a multi-year Mines Act permit in July authorizing up to 50 drill sites, 11.7 kilometres of new exploration trail, and 80 line-kilometres of geophysical surveying. The planned 35-day campaign is estimated to cost approximately C$800,000 and will test six priority porphyry targets generated from historical and recent surveys.

The property covers ground in the southern Guichon Creek batholith, directly on trend with Teck Resources' Highland Valley Copper mine. The project has seen more than 55,000 metres of historical drilling across 402 holes, underpinning two mineralized zones: Zone 1, which features copper-silver-molybdenum over roughly 1,200 metres of strike and remains open at depth, and Zone 2, which contains higher-grade copper-gold-silver-molybdenum-rhenium with strong gold enrichment. The ground has not been drilled in six years.

"Highland Valley is now permitted and ready to drill. We hold 240 square kilometres within the same intrusive complex that hosts the Highland Valley Copper mine, Canada's largest copper operation. Two years of geophysical, geochemical and permitting work have delivered a well defined set of six priority targets, and we intend to begin testing them in October. The scale of the land package, the quality of the target inventory and the experience of our technical team give us considerable confidence as we undertake the first recent drill test of this ground," said C.J. "Charlie" Greig, CEO of Metal Energy.

To satisfy milestone payments under its acquisition agreement, Metal Energy issued 2,358,797 common shares valued at C$2,000,000 to Fox Tungsten Inc., based on a deemed price of C$0.85 per share calculated using the 30-day volume-weighted average price.

Metal Energy is supported by major mining companies Centerra Gold Inc. and Teck Resources Limited, which each hold a 9.9% strategic equity interest in the company.

Read the full announcement: Metal Energy Prepares Initial Drill Program at Its Highland Valley Copper Project, British Columbia