Maiden Inferred Resource Estimate At Bornite Project

VANCOUVER, BC - Trilogy Metals Inc. reported on the maiden cobalt resource of 77 million pounds of inferred resources for the Bornite Project. The resource estimate utilized assay data from drill holes completed by the Company between 2011 and 2013 and re-sampled historic holes Kennecott drilled in the 1960s and 1970s.  The 2017 drill holes drilled by the Company last year were spaced too far apart for an inferred resource and thus no updates have yet been made to the copper resource for the Bornite deposit at this time.  Results from our on-going metallurgical studies indicate that cobalt occurs predominantly as cobaltiferous pyrite which preferentially reports to the copper tailings.  As a result of this test work, the Company has determined that a cobalt product may be produced on site and therefore justifies reporting an initial cobalt resource in addition to the already existing copper resource at Bornite.  The 77 million pounds of contained cobalt in inferred resources at Bornite reported below is one of the largest cobalt resources in North America.  Further work will focus on developing a flowsheet for cobalt recovery from a pyrite concentrate made from the copper tailings product.

This mineral resource estimate was prepared for Trilogy Metals Inc. by Bruce M. Davis, FAusIMM, BD Resource Consulting Inc. (BDRC) and Robert Sim, P.Geo., Sim Geological Inc. (SGI) who are both independent Qualified Persons as set forth by National Instrument 43-101.  An updated Technical Report on the Bornite Project will be filed within 45 days of this news release.

The Cobalt resources presented are with the copper resources that were contained in the October 12, 2017 amended NI 43-101 Technical Report that has an effective date of April 19, 2016.  Open pit resources are contained within a pit shell that was generated based on a 0.5% copper cut-off grade by AGP Mining Consultants Inc., and the underground resource is material below the pit shell calculated at a higher cut-off grade of 1.5% copper.  Note that although the data supports estimates of copper resources in both the Indicated and Inferred categories, the volume and distribution of available cobalt sample data is considered insufficient to support the estimate of cobalt resources in the Indicated category and, as a result, all of the estimated cobalt resource remains in the Inferred category.

Initial sample data is composited to 2m intervals.  Estimates are made into model blocks measuring 5m x 5m x 5m, using ordinary kriging.  The Cobalt resource model was validated using a combination of a visual review and statistical comparisons with models generated using other estimation methods. Cobalt resources in the Inferred category occur within a maximum distance of 100m from a drill hole and exhibit reasonable confidence in the grade and continuity of mineralization. 

As previously announced a NI 43-101 compliant resource was filed for the Bornite deposit.  At a base case 0.5% copper cutoff grade, the Bornite Project is estimated to contain in-pit Indicated Resources of 40.5 million tonnes at 1.02% Cu and Inferred Resources of 84.1 million tonnes at 0.95% copper.  At a base case 1.5% copper cutoff grade, the Bornite Project is estimated to contain below-pit Inferred Resources of 57.8 million tonnes at 2.89% copper. Preliminary work shows that although cobalt is broadly associated with copper mineralization, cobalt does not have a one-to-one correlation.  It mostly occurs as a cloud of cobaltiferous pyrite in and around the copper mineralization.

Trilogy Metals Inc. is a metals exploration and development company focused on exploring and developing the Ambler mining district located in northwestern Alaska. It is one of the richest and most-prospective known copper-dominant districts located in one of the safest geopolitical jurisdictions in the world. It hosts world-class polymetallic volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits that contain copper, zinc, lead, gold and silver, and carbonate replacement deposits which have been found to host high grade copper mineralization. Exploration efforts have been focused on two deposits in the Ambler mining district - the Arctic VMS deposit and the Bornite carbonate replacement deposit. Both deposits are located within the Company's land package that spans approximately 143,000 hectares. The Company has an agreement with NANA Regional Corporation, Inc., a Regional Alaska Native Corporation that provides a framework for the exploration and potential development of the Ambler mining district in cooperation with local communities. Our vision is to develop the Ambler mining district into a premier North American copper producer.