Rio Tinto Group Confirms Porphyry Copper-Gold-Molybdenum at Frisco Copper Project

Alderan Resources and its partner, Rio Tinto Group subsidiary Kennecott Exploration, have identified three new targets at their Frisco copper project in Utah, including a porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum mine. Fieldwork will begin before a decision is made to drill, and Kennecott could earn up to a 70 percent stake in Frisco by spending $30 million on exploration over 10 years.

The first phase will require $6 million to be spent by November 2023, which will bring Kennecott's ownership of the project to 55%. Kennecott's drilling in 2020 returned assay results at Frisco that included 41 meters of 1.9% copper, 0.62 g/t gold, 7.1 g/t silver and 62.8 ppm molybdenum.

Another hole intersected mineralization at 0.99% copper, 0.14 g/t gold, and 13.3 g/t silver over 34 m. Targets at the Cactus Mine (one of Utah's large historical operations), Reciprocity, and the North Carbonate property were defined by magnetic technology.

Field inspections and surface sampling conducted this quarter will determine whether or not to drill on the property. Frisco has historically conducted exploration, including Alderan, prior to signing a farm-in agreement with Kennecott in November 2019.

Kennecott has two targets at Frisco: a porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum deposit and a high-grade copper mine. Kennecott's parent company, Rio Tinto Kennecott, operates the Bingham Canyon copper mine in Utah, one of the largest copper mines in the United States.

Kennecott is located 300 meters southwest of Salt Lake City, and the project area contains "numerous" historic copper-gold and lead-zinc-silver mines, including the Horn silver mine, the Cactus, and Imperial copper mines.

The objective of the UAV survey was to better understand the geology and structure of the Frisco area," said Scott Caithness, Managing Director of Alderan. The survey was successful in identifying new magnetic targets and improving the resolution of already known anomalies. It is exciting to see that Kennecott's exploration work at Frisco continues to bear fruit, including the potential for a Rio Tinto-scale porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum."

Alderan Resources Ltd. is a U.S.-focused copper and gold exploration company that listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in June 2017. Its portfolio includes four high-quality exploration projects in Utah, USA.

Alderan's flagship project, Detroit, hosts strong porphyry and Carlin-type copper and gold potential. Having consolidated claims and convincing surface exploration results (up to 3.2% copper and 9.1 g/t gold in rock samples), our focus is on discovering copper and gold deposits that the company can next define and evaluate as a resource.