Amarc Announces New High Grade "AuRORA" Copper-Gold-Silver Deposit Discovery in Collaboration With Freeport at the Joy District, British Columbia

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / January 17, 2025 / Amarc Resources Ltd. ("Amarc" or the "Company") (TSXV:AHR)(OTCQB:AXREF) is pleased to announce discovery of the new, high grade, gold-rich porphyry copper-gold-silver ("Cu-Au-Ag") AuRORA deposit at its 100% owned JOY Copper-Gold District ("JOY"), in the prolific Toodoggone-Kemess porphyry Cu-Au region of north-central British Columbia ("BC"). The AuRORA Deposit Discovery is located within an area of the 495 km ² JOY District that had not previously been drill tested (see Figures 1, 2 and 3). Freeport-McMoRan Mineral Properties Canada Inc. ("Freeport") is fully funding work programs at JOY to earn an interest in the project, and Amarc is the operator of all programs.

Highlights from Initial AuRORA DEPOSIT Discovery Drill Holes Include:

Notes: See Table 1.

Hole JP24057, the first hole ever drilled at AuRORA, intersected a new porphyry Cu-Au-Ag system hosting high and continuous Au grades (see Tables 1, 2 and 3). Following completion of this discovery hole, Amarc, with Freeport, systematically stepped out, aggressively drilling with three core rigs, with a view to begin outlining an outstanding Cu-Au-Ag deposit and to confirm its high grade potential. This release details the results of discovery hole JP24057 and six other holes drilled at approximately 100 m intervals on east-west section 7800N (see Figures 2 and 3). Drilling on this section established a 600 m wide zone of porphyry mineralization encountered from near surface that is open to lateral expansion, and which is characterized by excellent lateral and vertical continuity. Final compilations and confirmatory analyses from six additional holes drilled at AuRORA along east-west section 7900N, a 100 m step out to the north of section 7800N, are near completion and will be released in the very near future. These additional results show similar very encouraging grades and characteristics to those reported in this release.

"This impressive new, high grade porphyry copper-gold-silver discovery is a pivotal moment for Amarc and its shareholders," said Dr. Diane Nicolson, Amarc President and CEO. "It represents a significant inflection point in the exploration of the JOY District with Freeport. Our discovery is the culmination of years of relentless groundwork by the Amarc team, coupled with the firm, unwavering belief, shared by Freeport, that the JOY District holds significant potential for high grade porphyry gold-copper deposits. This discovery comes during a period of positive market sentiment for gold, copper and silver, which we believe further increases the attractiveness of Amarc as an exciting investment opportunity."

The AuRORA Deposit Discovery is located within the expansive Northwest Gossan ("NWG") Target area located at the northwest end of a possible 15 km mineralized trend that extends southeast toward the GAP and SWT Targets (see Figure 1). The NWG Target is outlined by a 3.7 km ² Induced Polarization ("IP") anomaly (>14mV/V) (see Figure 3) with coincident Cu, Au, Mo and Ag anomalies outlined in soils and rocks (see Amarc releases May 2 and July 11, 2024). The 2024 initial drill testing of the NWG Target area focused primarily on an internal zone of higher (>20 mV/V) IP chargeability some 1,500 m long and 500 m wide. Much of the NWG Target area remains unexplored.

"The AuRORA Deposit Discovery has been made through the Amarc team's depth of knowledge and porphyry copper-gold discovery track record in BC and the Toodoggone region, combined with the support and insight from Freeport, based on its global capabilities as a top-tier copper and gold producer and discoverer. Together, our goal in 2024 was to focus on discovery and we are clearly on the right track with AuRORA. Notably, the AuRORA Deposit Discovery area is only one of eight large scale sulphide mineralized systems clustered along several mineralized trends drilled in 2024 at JOY. These important-scale sulphide systems have been established by district-wide geological, geochemical and geophysical ground IP surveys. Additional results from the 2024 drill program will be forthcoming. We are extremely optimistic about further important progress at JOY," concluded Nicolson.

In addition to today's announced drill holes, an additional 33 scout holes were also completed on eight porphyry Cu-Au targets, including at the AuRORA Deposit Discovery, PINE Deposit, Canyon Discovery and at the Twins Deposit Target within the JOY District (see Figure 1). These targets were established through 290 line-km of property wide IP surveying, the collection and analyses of 8,400 soil and 1,500 rock samples, and geological mapping and prospecting.

Figure 1: Large Scale Mineral System Trends Occur at JOY that Host the AuRORA Deposit Discovery, PINE Deposit, Canyon Discovery, Twins and Other Sulphide Systems

Figure 2: AuRORA Deposit Discovery: Located in the New Underexplored NWG Target

Figure 3: AuRORA Deposit Discovery: Hosted Within the Exciting New NWG Target Area IP-Chargeability Anomaly Never Previously Drilled

Figure 4: AuRORA Deposit Discovery Never Previously Drilled and Open to Expansion

Figure 5: AuRORA Deposit Discovery: Drilling Outlines Open-Ended, Near Surface, Continuous, High Grade Cu-Au-Ag Mineralization (Section 7800N)

Figure 6: AuRORA Deposit Discovery Multi-Phase High Grade Mineralization Hosted by Potassic Alteration from Drill Hole JP24074

Table 1: JOY AuRORA Porphyry Cu-Au-Ag Deposit Discovery Section 7800N Mineralized Intervals of Significance