Epworth Making Good Progress
Just before the end of the year, Aston Bay (TSX.V: BAY, FSE: 6AY, WKN: A2AUFP) delights its shareholders with an update on the progress of the company’s various projects. They coalesce into a positive overall impression, making 2024 appear as a very successful year for the company, as important successes were achieved and milestones were reached in many areas.
This year’s focus was on the company’s own Epworth project and the Storm copper project, which Aston Bay Holdings is developing together with its partner American West. At Storm, the partner American West is primarily responsible for planning, financing, and conducting exploration work. Significant successes were achieved here in the last twelve months, as 22,475 meters of drilling were completed on the project.
This was significantly more drilling meters than planned for 2024 at the end of last year. The assay results showed consistent copper grades. They underline the excellent lateral continuity of high-grade mineralization within the known zones. In addition, new discoveries were made and promising areas were defined.
The major goal at Storm is to increase the current resource. The drilling completed in 2024 will certainly contribute to this goal, as the copper grades were outstanding, as they were in 2022 and 2023. Unlike the two previous years, however, the market had little interest in copper in general and in the shares of Aston Bay Holdings and American West in particular this year.
Are There Opportunities?
Looking at the chart and price development, one might easily get the feeling that the work carried out this year did not bring the desired success for both Aston Bay Holdings and American West. As understandable as this impression is, it is equally wrong. Investors could realize this as early as the beginning of 2025, when this year’s drilling at Storm is fully evaluated and integrated into the resource calculation.
The low price level at the end of the year could therefore represent one of the last particularly favorable entry points for interested investors in Aston Bay Holdings. Whether these favorable entry prices will continue to exist for long remains to be seen, as at the beginning of this week, American West announced an increase in the Storm resource to 20.6 million tons of rock with 1.1% copper and 3.3 g/t silver, with more than 61% of the resource now attributable to the higher category of ‘Indicated Resources’.
A study on the economic viability of the project is also in progress. It received a strong boost this year not only from the drilling carried out but also from the way American West handled the logistics on the project. The transport of heavy machinery and bulk samples taken at Storm was carried out by ship. This represented a significant improvement compared to 2023.
Transport by ship was not only cheaper but immediately raised the question of whether direct shipping of ores to processing facilities could be an option for the project. This is currently being pursued vigorously, so investors in Aston Bay Holdings and American West currently have every reason to look forward to the publication of the study on the economic viability of the project next year with great anticipation.
Aston Bay Holdings Making Good Progress on the Epworth Project
On the Epworth project, also located in the Canadian province of Nunavut, Aston Bay Holdings was also able to advance exploration work in a targeted manner this year. A total of 376 rock grab samples and 39 lake sediment samples were taken and subsequently analyzed in the laboratory. In addition, a geological mapping program was carried out, which also included structural and stratigraphic studies by Dr. Elizabeth Turner.
The positive results of the field studies led to the addition of nine claims with a total area of a further 11,900 hectares to the project, so that the Epworth project now covers a total area of 89,000 hectares or 890 km².
A MobileMT geophysical survey was also conducted on Epworth in August and September. It covered the entire property with a total length of 8,105 kilometers. The preliminary data from the results is currently being further processed and merged with the existing historical data. Aston Bay Holdings currently expects that the evaluation of the geophysical results of the measurements can be published as early as January.
In retrospect, 2024 looks very positive for Aston Bay Holdings and the shareholders invested in the company. Important progress has been made and the foundations laid for a continuation of successful exploration in 2025. As an important publication of the geophysical data from the Epworth project is due at the very beginning of the year, the new year could start with a new highlight in the first few weeks.
