Midnight Sun Mining Corp. reported all preparations have been completed and drilling has commenced on the Company's Solwezi Licences in Zambia. Midnight Sun has contracted ATL Drilling Services Ltd. to perform the diamond drilling program previously announced by the Company. This drill program was designed based on a review and re-interpretation of data generated by Rio Tinto Mining and Exploration Limited ("Rio Tinto") under the terms of a now terminated earn-in and joint venture agreement. Target Type and Location; Midnight Sun has committed to up to 4,500 metres of drilling at its Solwezi Licences for the 2022 field season. The drill meterage has been allocated to 4 targets which include the known Mitu and Dumbwa prospects and two new targets at North 22 Zone and the Crunch Zone. Mitu Cu-Co Prospect; The interpretation of high-resolution airborne magnetics shows multiple structures cross cutting the Solwezi Dome margin and the overlying Copperbelt sediment succession. The displacement occurs primarily along northeast trending structures which are key to mineralisation at the nearby Kansanshi
Mine, owned by First Quantum Minerals. A reassessment of drill cores confirms a structural overprint on stratiform mineralisation and provides justification to revisit existing prospects including the proposal of structural corridors controlling mineralization around the Mitu area as intercepted in hole MDD-17-15 which measured 4.23% CuEq over 11.6 metres . Five diamond drill holes have been planned for the Mitu area, targeting northeast-trending structures.
Dumbwa Cu Prospect The Dumbwa Prospect is geologically located over basement rock with mineralisation which resembles that of Barrick Gold's Lumwana Mine, located approximately 60 kilometres west of Solwezi. The
Dumbwa Prospect is marked by a north-south soil anomaly that extends for more than 20 kilometres. Previous drilling has intersected copper mineralisation but follow up drilling was unable to determine the source of this large anomaly. New magnetic data shows that the southern area of the Dumbwa anomaly is underlain by a major lineament and two east-west drill hole traverses totalling nine holes have been planned to target the source of the surface anomaly. New Targets; 22 Zone North & Crunch Zone The 22 Zone North & Crunch Zone targets are concepts derived from a combination of structural interpretation, subtle geochemical anomalism, and new insights into the genesis of mineralisation in the Zambian-Congo Copperbelt. The primary objective of this drilling is to assess the structural control on mineralisation in the area. The selected locations show apparent structural displacements of several hundreds of meters and are oriented in a favourable direction for fluid flow during compressional deformation, potentially leading to areas which trap and concentrate copper-bearing fluids.