Copper Reef Mining Corp. is releasing initial results from the 2014 till sampling program on its B1 and B2 Pikoo diamond project in Saskatchewan, where 25 samples were successfully collected on the B1 Pikoo property and seven samples were collected on the B3 Pikoo property. Three out of the nine magnetic anomalies that were till sampled on Copper Reef's B1 and B3 Pikoo properties returned diamond indicator minerals derived from down-ice till samples. Only one of the nine magnetic anomalies (Pikoo 1-001) proved to be quite problematic for till sampling purposes, as the magnetic anomaly was likely located under a lake.

The best till results came from down ice of the magnetic anomaly Pikoo 1-002 that is located within the B1 Pikoo property and represents the largest, northernmost and most significant magnetic anomaly. The sampling came back with three chrome diopsides and one eclogitic olivine. A ground magnetic survey over the area outlined a strong circular anomaly approximately 100 metres in diameter beneath overburden and occurring just south of a large, mostly non-magnetic granite hill.

Also down ice from the Pikoo 1-002 magnetic anomaly, a single grain of chrome diopside was found in a till sample collected just south of magnetic anomaly B. Ground geophysics over this anomaly indicated a weak anomaly caused by a small body less than 25 metres wide and likely representing a dike. The chrome diopside could have just as easily have come from target Pikoo 1-002, which is up ice and not anomaly B.

Another highly significant magnetic target within the B1 Pikoo property was the Pikoo 1-004 anomaly, which was also investigated by Stornoway Diamond Corp. Here a single grain of possibly kimberlitic orthopyxene was found in till sourced just south of this anomaly. While the anomaly appears to be caused by a north-northeast-trending dike located in an overburden-covered north-northeast lineament depression situated between two non-magnetic large granite outcrops, there is some concern whether the ground magnetic anomaly actually coincides with the aeromagnetic anomaly or if it is a separate magnetic feature. In addition, the aeromagnetic target may not have been properly covered by ground magnetic surveys and appears to lie farther west beneath the lake in an area on strike with a more northerly lineament. In any event, till sampling carried out in 2014 may not have adequately covered the down-ice aspect of the target.

No samples were collected south of the second-largest circular airborne magnetic anomaly on the B1 Pikoo property (that is, the Pikoo 1-001 target), which likely lies beneath lake waters immediately south along the same lineament as the Pikoo 1-004 target.

There were no indicator minerals obtained from till sampling on the western B3 Pikoo property. The magnetic anomalies mostly appear to be explained by magnetite-bearing metasedimentary gneisses intruded by pegmatites possessing up to fist-size clusters of magnetite. The northernmost and quite intriguing circular magnetic anomaly on the B3 Pikoo property was investigated both geologically and geophysically. However, no till samples were collected down ice the from the ground magnetic anomaly, and the magnetic anomaly also appears to be explained by magnetite-bearing metasedimentary gneisses.

In conclusion, the highest-priority target noted to date on Copper Reef's Pikoo properties is represented by the B1 Pikoo property 1-002 circular magnetic target, which possesses key kimberlite indicators located in glacial tills collected down ice from this anomaly. Although this target could represent a kimberlite pipe, it will require additional till sampling and confirmation drilling. The B3 Pikoo property magnetic targets have now been downgraded as not having an obvious kimberlitic association. Management and Copper Reef's board are evaluating the results and how to best to approach the B1 Pikoo 1-002 target in particular, as well as targets B1 Pikoo 1-001 and 004, as they may lie beneath lake waters.