“Thomas Ullrich” Stormy DreamThe Following commentary is based...

“Thomas Ullrich” Stormy Dream

The Following commentary is based on Aston Bay Holdings Ltd public announcements - Met2020.

Thomas Ullrich (CEO, Aston Bay Holdings Ltd) has over 20 years of experience in mineral exploration and geoscience at both major and juniors in the metals and mining industry. Thomas Ullrich's recent comments on the Storm Copper Project are positive and optimistic. He believes that the project has the potential to be a major discovery, and he is excited to see what the upcoming drill program reveals based on,

· The high grades of copper mineralization that have been encountered in historic drilling.

· The continuity of the mineralization, which has been demonstrated over a strike length of several kilometres.

· The large geophysical anomalies that are coincident with the known mineralization.

· The potential for Storm to host a large stratiform sedimentary hosted copper system.

My question, Why did Thomas Ullrich come to Aston Bay?

In 2011, Thomas Ulrich was Chief Geologist North America for Antofagasta Minerals plc, investigating the region's copper potential through extensive property evaluations and management of drill programs in Alaska and Canada.

In June 2014, Thomas’s involvement led to Antofagasta signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Aston Bay Holdings Ltd to advance the Storm Copper Project and have the opportunity to earn up to 70% total interest in Storm as a joint venture partner. The JV involved.

• · In Phase I, Antofagasta had to spend a minimum of US$10 million over six years to earn a 50.1% interest.
• · In Phase II, Antofagasta had to spend an additional US$6 million over three years and provide a technical report demonstrating an Indicated Resource of at least 15 million tonnes of copper-bearing rock, at a 0.2% copper cut-off, to earn an additional 19.9% interest, for a total of 70%.
• · In Phase III, Antofagasta had to fund all expenditures for two years following the completion of a possible Feasibility Study. If Antofagasta elected not to proceed, Aston Bay could buy back Antofagasta's interest for 130% of expenditures or maintain its 30% interest and take control of the technical committee or board of the operating company by paying US$1 million to Antofagasta.
• · In Phase IV, both Aston Bay and Antofagasta would pay their pro rata shares of expenditures, according to their respective interests in the Storm project.

However, on 18th January 2015 (8 months into JV) Antofagasta abruptly terminated its agreement with Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. because of budget cuts due to copper market uncertainty. The copper market was in a state of flux at the time, and Antofagasta was looking to reduce its spending on exploration projects. The Storm Project was a relatively early-stage project, and Antofagasta decided that it was not worth the risk to continue funding it. Antofagasta said that it was "disappointed" to terminate the agreement, but that it was "prudent" to do so given the current state of the copper market. (Copper spot metal pricing subsequently dropped from US$6,970/mt in January 2015 to US$6,385/mt in July 2015, -8.4%)

Antofagasta Minerals plc had to change its strategic exploration focus due to external market economic factors, but from Thomas Ullrich’s Geology technical perspective, Storm Project still had significant exploration merit.

In Feb 2016, 14 months after the JV termination, Thomas Ullrich became Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President Exploration, Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. Alas, he changed sides!!! At the time, Thomas was noted by the previous CEO as being instrumental in advancing the Storm project while at Antofagasta. “Storm has very promising exploration potential for the discovery of a high grade, large tonnage copper target in North America,” said Mr. Ullrich. “I look forward to continuing the advancement of the project with Aston Bay and their partners.” Hence, Thomas believed in a strong upside discovery potential for the Storm project.

In May 2016, Aston Bay Holding Ltd, announced an Option Agreement / JV Agreement with BHP Billiton Ltd.

By November 2016, Thomas was appointed CEO, Aston Bay Holding Ltd.

However, for reasons unknown on 20th January 2017, BHP Billiton terminated the Storm Copper project JV. At the time, “We remain confident in the technical merits of the Storm Copper and Seal Zinc Projects, as well as the exploration potential for both copper and zinc on Somerset Island,” stated Thomas Ullrich, Chief Executive Officer of Aston Bay.

At the end of the 2017 Storm Property Exploration program, the company release the initial mineral resource estimate for Seal Zinc Deposit estimated to contain 1.01 million tonnes at a grade of 10.24% zinc and 46.5 grams per tonne silver, using a cut-off of 4.0% zinc equivalent.

A Falcon Plus Airborne Gravity Gradiometry survey was conducted during the August-September 2017 field season. The survey examined the Storm Copper prospect and Seal Zinc prospect in the northern block, and the Typhoon Zinc prospect and nearby target areas in the south. All three areas returned strong gravity responses.

By 30th August 2018, the company announced completion of the 2018 summer drill program where a total of 3,135 metres of diamond drilling was completed in nine holes, targeting copper and zinc mineralization in the vicinity of both the Storm Copper prospect and Seal Zinc deposit.

During COVID, Aston Bay conserved cash and mainly focused on non-Storm Copper Project related assets.

On 9th March 2021, Aston Bay entered into a new Option Agreement with American West Metals Ltd (AW1) for the High Grade Storm Project. In which, AW1 can earn an 80% interest in both Storm Copper Project and high-grade Seal Zinc Deposit.

Since commencement of the AW1 JV, a significant amount of exploration at Storm has occurred based on the Aston Bay Holding announcements.

• 03/05/21 - ASTON BAY ANNOUNCES CLOSING OF THE OPTION AGREEMENT WITH AMERICAN WEST METALS LIMITED FOR THE HIGH-GRADE STORM PROJECT
• 13/12/21 - ASTON BAY REPORTS NEW HIGH PRIORITY EM TARGETS AT THE HIGH-GRADE STORM COPPER PROJECT, NUNAVUT
• 11/04/22 - ASTON BAY REPORTS OVER 53% COPPER FOR DIRECT SHIPPING PRODUCT FROM STORM COPPER PROJECT, NUNAVUT
• 22/06/22 - ASTON BAY ANNOUNCES DRILL PROGRAM FOR THE STORM COPPER PROJECT, NUNAVUT
• 20/07/22 - ASTON BAY ANNOUNCES COMMENCEMENT OF DRILLING AT STORM PROJECT, NUNAVUT
• 25/07/22 - ASTON BAY ANNOUNCES THICK INTERSECTIONS OF COPPER MINERALIZATION IN INITIAL DRILLHOLES AT STORM PROJECT, NUNAVUT
• 08/08/22 - ASTON BAY ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL SHALLOW COPPER MINERALIZATION INTERSECTED AT STORM PROJECT, NUNAVUT
• 23/08/22 - ASTON BAY ANNOUNCES MAJOR NEW COPPER DISCOVERY AT STORM PROJECT, NUNAVUT
• 25/08/22 - ASTON BAY ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL NEAR SURFACE COPPER MINERALIZATION AND EXPANSION OF HIGH GRADE 2750N ZONE AT STORM PROJECT, NUNAVUT
• 01/09/22 - ASTON BAY ANNOUNCES 41 METRES OF 4.18% COPPER INTERSECTED AT STORM PROJECT, NUNAVUT
• 08/09/22 - ASTON BAY ANNOUNCES 48 METRES OF 2.92% COPPER INTERSECTED AT STORM PROJECT, NUNAVUT
• 28/09/22 - ASTON BAY ANNOUNCES NEW COPPER SYSTEM CONFIRMED AT STORM PROJECT, NUNAVUT
• 03/11/22 - ASTON BAY ANNOUNCES NEW ASSAYS CONFIRMING SIGNIFICANT HIGH-GRADE COPPER AT STORM PROJECT, NUNAVUT
• 30/03/23 - ASTON BAY ANNOUNCES DRILLING AND EXPLORATION SET TO COMMENCE AT STORM COPPER PROJECT, NUNAVUT
• 01/05/23 - ASTON BAY INTERSECTS COPPER MINERALIZATION IN FIRST DRILL HOLES AT STORM COPPER PROJECT, NUNAVUT
• 09/05/23 - ASTON BAY INTERSECTS ADDITIONAL COPPER MINERALIZATION AT STORM COPPER PROJECT, NUNAVUT
• 23/05/23 - ASTON BAY ANNOUNCES INITIAL ASSAYS CONFIRMING THICK INTERVALS OF COPPER MINERALIZATION AT THE STORM COPPER PROJECT, NUNAVUT
• 06/06/23 - ASTON BAY AND PARTNER AMERICAN WEST METALS ANNOUNCE ADDITIONAL OUTSTANDING COPPER INTERSECTIONS AT THE STORM COPPER PROJECT, NUNAVUT
• 22/06/23 - ASTON BAY AND AMERICAN WEST METALS ANNOUNCE 8% COPPER INTERSECTED AT THE STORM COPPER PROJECT, NUNAVUT
• 05/07/23 - ASTON BAY AND AMERICAN WEST METALS ANNOUNCE ADDITIONAL COPPER INTERCEPTS AND COMMENCEMENT OF SUMMER DRILLING PROGRAM AT THE STORM COPPER PROJECT, CANADA

As you can see, there has been a lot of activity at the Storm Copper Project in recent months. The company has been drilling and exploring the property and has made some very significant discoveries. The most recent announcement, on July 5, 2023, reported additional copper intercepts and the commencement of a summer drilling program. This is very positive news for the company, and it suggests that the Storm Copper Project has the potential to be a major discovery.

Finally, some of quotes from Thomas Ullrich during 2023:

• "Further impressive results from the spring RC program continue to expand the footprint of near-surface copper mineralization at Storm."
• · “Diamond drilling of the large geophysical targets below the 4100N Zone will also begin soon. Geological and geophysical modelling point to a sediment hosted copper system, the type of mineralization responsible for the very large and high-grade copper deposits of central Africa. The potential for discovery is enormous here, making this one of the most exciting drill programs of the summer.”
• · "The high grades, up to 8% copper in these results and higher elsewhere at Storm, speaks to the quality of the mineralized system, while its apparent continuity and consistency demonstrates a significant increase in the known near-surface high-grade mineralization."

• · "The 4100N Zone sits directly above the largest of several geophysical targets recently delineated at Storm, adjacent to faults that may have served as conduits for the mineralizing fluids. "Our exploration model suggests that the 4100N Zone may be the uppermost of a series of stacked mineralized zones. This would be a game-changing discovery, and we eagerly look forward to testing this hypothesis in the upcoming summer drill program.”

• · "These are spectacular results from the gravity survey conducted at Storm this spring by our partners American West."

• · “The upper margin of one of the largest gravity anomalies was intersected by drill hole ST22-10 in the 2022 drill campaign. Targeting a conductivity anomaly, the hole ended in 68 metres of sulfide mineralization. Being both dense and electrically chargeable, the sulfide is a plausible cause for both the gravity and conductivity anomalies.”
• · “Further, the dominantly pyrite-chalcopyrite sulfide mineralization in the intercept is the style of mineralization found on the periphery of the high-grade copper zones elsewhere at Storm.Here we have a drill hole intercepting peripheral-style sulfide mineralization on the margin of a very large gravity anomaly – this is an exciting target for the summer 2023 drill program.”
• · "We believe these high-grade copper intercepts will support the development of a significant resource."
• · “We are very pleased with the impressive progress of our partner American West Metals in this early exploration program,” stated Thomas Ullrich, CEO of Aston Bay. “The use of a helicopter portable RC drill rig has allowed the earliest ever start to a drill program at Storm, and our partners are well positioned to complete the work required to define maiden copper resources at the 4100N, 2750N and 2200N Zones this year. The detailed MLEM program, also underway and already yielding actionable results, is proving to be valuable in refining targets for the resource drilling as well as defining new targets for additional discovery.”
  
  

Overall, Thomas Ullrich's quotes show that he is very bullish and is optimistic about the future of the Storm Copper Project. He is using words like "impressive," "spectacular," "game-changing," and "significant" to describe the results of the exploration program to date. What more could a CEO ask for!!! He believes the exploration program is finding more and more copper mineralization, and that the project has the potential to be a significant resource.