VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / June 25, 2026 / Amarc Resources Ltd. ("Amarc" or the "Company") (TSXV:AHR)(OTCQB:AXREF)(FSE:AQ5) is pleased to announce it has commenced field surveys to firm up copper-gold ("Cu-Au") deposit targets for potential drill testing later in the season at the DUKE Copper-Gold District ("DUKE District" or "District") in central British Columbia ("BC"). This $4 million, 2026 exploration program is fully funded by Boliden Mineral Canada Ltd. ("Boliden") as part of the Boliden 60%/Amarc 40% Joint Venture (the "DUKE JV" or "JV") (see Amarc release April 2, 2026). Under the terms of the DUKE JV, Amarc has 180 days from April 30, 2026 to elect to contribute $2.66 million in funding to the program to maintain its full 40% interest in the JV. Amarc is continuing as project operator.
"Amarc continues to advance the DUKE District in collaboration with Boliden through the systematic approach to exploration that has been the hallmark of our team's success over the years," said Diane Nicolson, President and CEO. "The overall goal of the DUKE JV is to be a substantial party to the potential establishment of an important BC porphyry copper-gold district, to further increase shareholder value from success in the JOY District with the discovery of the high grade AuRORA Deposit which will play a key leading role in the development of the Toodoggone copper-gold region. Such successes have long-term positive economic implications for the provincial and local communities."
The 732 km2 DUKE District is located 80 km northeast of Smithers within the Babine Region, a well mineralized porphyry belt in BC, hosting the former Bell and Granisle Cu-Au mines that were operated by Noranda Mines, and the advanced stage copper-gold Morrison deposit owned by a third party. Notable infrastructure is in place to service the former mines and the forestry and mineral exploration industries, including an extensive network of forest roads across the DUKE District.
To-date, the systematic and extensive DUKE District programs have both substantially expanded the DUKE Cu-Mo-Au-Ag Deposit to an area measuring 900 x 600 metres which remains open to expansion, and also revealed the potential for the development of a porphyry Cu-Au district while efficiently screening out less prospective areas (see Amarc release July 2, 2025). Notably, the DUKE Deposit lies approximately 6 km to the southeast of American Eagle's promising NAK Cu-Au Deposit (see American Eagle website https://americaneaglegold.ca), along the southeast trending regional NAK-DUKE magnetic corridor (see Amarc release April 2, 2026). This corridor also hosts Amarc's C6 and M4 targets which are to the southeast of the DUKE Deposit.