Overview
The Yuma King Project is Corcel Exploration’s flagship copper-gold exploration asset, located in the historic Ellsworth Mining District of west-central Arizona. The project offers a combination of historical high-grade production, evidence of a porphyry-skarn system, strong infrastructure, and large-scale exploration potential.
- 100%-optioned property covering 3,200 hectares (515 unpatented claims)
- Located in a highly prospective but underexplored mineral district
- Multiple mineralization styles: copper-gold skarn, porphyry Cu-Mo-Au, and structurally hosted gold
- High-grade historical production with modern exploration upside
- Supported by extensive historical data and newly generated surface results
- Jurisdiction: La Paz County, Arizona – mining-friendly, tier-one jurisdiction
- Access: Year-round access via paved and maintained gravel roads
- Power: Near transmission lines and within reach of energy infrastructure
- Smelter Access: Located in a state that hosts one of only three operating copper smelters in the U.S.
- Proximity: Approx. 150 km northwest of Phoenix; surrounded by regional transportation networks including rail and highway
The Yuma King Project is geologically situated within a favorable Laramide-age metallogenic belt known for porphyry and skarn-style deposits.
Key Geological Features:
- Host rocks include metasedimentary and intrusive units, commonly altered to garnet-pyroxene skarn assemblages
- Copper mineralization is commonly associated with magnetite skarns and quartz stockwork veins
- Gold mineralization occurs both in association with copper (skarns) and independently in altered breccia and quartzite units
Mineralization Styles Identified:
- Skarn Cu-Au – centered around the Yuma Mine and peripheral showings
- Porphyry Cu-Mo-Au – supported by legacy drill intercepts and soil anomalies
- Au-only systems – newly identified zones with up to 17.15 g/t gold from surface sampling
Typical Yuma King Property Topography (view looking west) Production History:
- Intermittent underground mining at the Yuma Mine from 1940–1963
- Estimated total production: 8,600 tons of ore at 2.3% Cu, 0.3 oz/t Ag, and 0.03 oz/t Au
Key Historical Highlights:
- Mining focused on copper skarn mineralization
- No modern mining or development conducted since 1960s
- Historical data includes limited drill logs, surface sampling, and mine maps
Previous Work Programs
Historical Drilling:
- 21 diamond drill holes totaling 3,904 metres (12,809 feet)
- Conducted in 2006 and 2011 by Big Bar Gold and VANE Minerals respectively
Notable Historical Drill Results:
- YK01-A (2006):
- 45.4 metres of 0.78% Cu, 0.53 g/t Au, and 6.3 g/t Ag from 4.6 m
- YK01-B (2006):
- 36.9 metres of 0.62% Cu, 0.53 g/t Au, and 3.8 g/t Ag from 5.2 m
- YK01-C (2006):
- 24.4 metres of 0.74% Cu, 0.48 g/t Au, and 4.4 g/t Ag from 5.9 m
- YK01-D (2006):
- 30.8 metres of 0.55% Cu, 0.56 g/t Au, and 4.7 g/t Ag from 6.7 m
- AV-1 (2011):
- 27.4 metres of 0.14% Cu, 0.08 g/t Au, and 1.1 g/t Ag from 344.4 m in hole AV-1, a ~400m down-dip step-out from the historical Yuma King mine
- Intersected high-grade Cu-Au zones and confirmed porphyry potential
Legacy Observations:
- Porphyry potential identified through monzonite porphyry intersections and geochemical signature
- Skarn zones remain open laterally and at depth
- No comprehensive geophysical survey or modern drill targeting conducted until now
In 2024, Corcel Exploration completed the first-ever systematic property-scale sampling program at Yuma King, providing breakthrough insights into the scale and quality of mineralization.
Soil Sampling
- 2,263 soil samples across a 20 km² grid
- 50×50 m spacing near the Yuma Mine and 100×100 m in reconnaissance areas
- Results:
- 1.2 km Cu-Au-Mo anomaly around Yuma King Mine
- Additional Cu-Au-Mo clusters at “Yuma King West” with limited historical attention
- Broad W-Mo anomaly in NW region near historical tungsten showings
Rock Sampling
- 303 rock chip samples from showings, workings, and altered zones
- High-Grade Results:
- 11.60% Cu from a waste pile (sample J156062)
- 17.15 g/t Au from brecciated, sericitized outcrop at Yuma King West (sample J155917)
- Multiple samples >1.0 g/t Au and >3.0% Cu across various zones
New Discoveries
- 400 m gold trend identified east of Yuma Mine, with 11/25 samples >1.0 g/t Au
- Yuma King West identified as a new priority target with both Cu-Au and Au-only potential
Geochemical Signatures Indicate:
- Skarn and porphyry-related mineralization styles
- High-grade mineralization both at surface and in untested subsurface zones
Airborne Magnetic Survey Results:
- Strong untested magnetic features associated with possible extensions of Cu-Au mineralization at the Yuma King Mine and YK West are partially hidden by thin structural cover and remain untested by drilling.
- Integration of magnetic and geological data indicates structural overturning and repetition of magnetite-bearing skarn horizons, increasing the potential volume of rock prospective for Cu-Au skarn mineralization
- Magnetite destructive alteration in the Three Musketeers area is associated with very strong Au and Cu in soils (up to 1.47 g/t Au and 10,750 ppm Cu) and rocks (up to 17.15 g/t Au and 11.6% Cu; see news release dated May 13, 2025).
- This alteration may indicate the upper levels of a porphyry system, which is partially obscured by structural cover and completely untested by modern exploration (Fig. 2). The area represents a new exploration target that could either represent the porphyry core to the Yuma King Mine/YK West skarn system or a distinct porphyry center.
Corcel is advancing toward the first modern drill campaign at Yuma King, with work focused on refining and prioritizing targets based on robust geological and geochemical datasets.
Q4 2025
- Commence Phase 1 Drilling at Yuma King planned for Q4 2025
- IP Survey for Yuma King West and Three Musketeers and Yuma King Mine area
- Hyperspectral data will enable detailed mineral mapping, alteration zonation, and vectoring toward mineralized systems.
- 3D Geological Model Refinement
Key Catalysts for Investors:
- Initial drill targeting announcement
- Commencement of first drilling program
- Expansion of targets based on new mapping and sampling
Folded Copper Oxide (azurite, Malachite, Chrysocolla) Skarn In Yuma Mine Adit 
Azurite And Malachite Mineralization From The Yuma Mine Adit 
CoreboxshowingYK-01Aat68-footdepth
copperoxidemineralization
Assays from 398 to 403 ftdepth yielded 0.079 wt. % Cu and 0.017 wt. % Mo with 19 ppb Au and 0.31
ppmAg(YK-02B1)
Core box showing stage 4 alaskitic aplo-granite- hosting molybdenum- copper mineralization
(YK-02B1)
Alaskite-hosted molybdenum (chalcopyrite-pyrite) mineralization (683.5-ft depth) in Yuma Mine area (YK-02B1) 
Turquoise in HQ core from drill hole YK-01 in the oxide zone of
the Yuma King propertyTypical Yuma King Property Topography (view looking west) 
Drilling at Yuma King (Site 2) in 2006
