White Cliff Minerals (ASX: WCN) has hit a significant milestone with its Rae Copper Project in Canada, delivering high-grade copper discoveries across multiple districts. These exceptional results are complemented by a $5 million capital raise, cornerstoned by John Hancock, which provides the funding needed to aggressively pursue exploration in 2025.
Rae Project: Copper Bonanza Unveiled
White Cliff’s 2024 exploration campaign at the Rae Copper Project has continued to impress, with some of the highest copper grades recorded globally in recent years. The Rocket and Thor districts, key areas of the project, have delivered outstanding assay results from rock chip samples. The Rocket district revealed three parallel chalcocite-dominant vein systems over a 380-metre strike, with top samples reaching 54.12% copper and 14 g/t silver, while multiple other assays returned over 50% copper.
The Thor district, not far from Rocket, produced equally strong results, with samples showing 54.02% copper and 34 g/t silver from a mineralised structure over an 800-metre strike length. These results add to earlier discoveries from the Vision district, where assays delivered an extraordinary 64.02% copper and 223 g/t silver. The expanding high-grade copper footprint across the Rae Project suggests potential for a world-class copper deposit.
Capital Raise to Power Exploration
White Cliff's exploration success is backed by a robust $5 million capital raise, which closed at a 2.5-cent share price, a 4% premium to the last traded price and 8.5% above the 15-day VWAP. Led by John Hancock, who personally invested $2.5 million, the raise attracted strong institutional interest from Australia, the UK, and the USA. Hancock’s involvement highlights the confidence in the project’s potential. He stated, “The Rae Copper Silver Project and Great Bear IOCG + Silver are amazing properties and represent the best risk-reward commodity-based investment opportunity, certainly in North America”.
The funds will be utilised to accelerate exploration at Rae, including a maiden drill campaign scheduled for early 2025. Further work is also planned for the company’s Great Bear project, with drilling expected to begin mid-year using a multi-rig approach.
Expanding Exploration Horizons
As White Cliff gears up for 2025, the company is awaiting MobileMT geophysical survey results, which will provide critical data to sharpen drill targets across the Rae project. One key area of focus is the Hulk prospect, a large-scale sediment-hosted copper system that holds significant potential.
White Cliff’s Managing Director, Troy Whittaker, expressed enthusiasm about the company’s direction: “The Rae Copper Project continues to reinforce its significance. With the financial backing now secured, we’re well-placed to advance exploration and bring this remarkable project to the next stage”.
With both financial support and exploration momentum, White Cliff Minerals is poised for a transformative year ahead. The combination of high-grade copper discoveries and strong capital backing places the company in an excellent position to capitalise on growing global demand for copper.
