ATEX Intersects 0.73% CuEq over 1,342.5m in Longest Intersection to Date at Valeriano
ATEX Intersects 0.73% CuEq over 1,342.5m in
Longest Intersection to Date at Valeriano
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 30, 2023) -
ATEX Resources Inc. (TSXV: ATX)
("
ATEX
" or
the "
Company
") is pleased to announce results for diamond drill holes ATXD-11B and ATXD-22. These
are the third and fourth holes completed in its Phase III drill campaign at the Valeriano Copper-Gold
Project ("
Valeriano
" or the "
Project
") located in Atacama Region, Chile.
Highlights include
:
ATXD-11B which intersected higher grade intervals of:
0.80% Copper Equivalent "CuEq" (0.50% Cu, 0.35 g/t Au, 29 ppm Mo) over 1,010
metres; and
0.94% CuEq (0.46% Cu, 0.58 g/t Au, 13 ppm Mo) over 222 metres,
within the wider
interval of 0.73% CuEq (0.46% Cu 0.31 g/t Au, 43 ppm Mo) over 1,342.5 metres
(Figures 1,2A&2B).
Results from ATXD-11B confirm a new "high-grade" porphyry trend, the "Western
Trend", on the Valeriano Project.
The discovery of the Western Trend expands the mineralized corridor over 300 metres to
the west of the Central High-Grade Trend and is open along strike for extension.
ATXD-22 intersected 970 metres of 0.51% Copper Equivalent "CuEq" (0.38 % Cu, 0.10 g/t
Au and 99 ppm Mo).
Drill holes ATXD-23 and ATXD-24 are currently being drilled to the north and south of
ATXD-11B to define and extend high-grade mineralization along the Western High-Grade
Trend.
"Today's results from ATXD-11B are a step change in demonstrating the growing scale potential at
Valeriano," stated Raymond Jannas, President, and CEO of ATEX. "In a very short amount of time, we
have moved from proof of concept, testing the Central High-Grade Trend with hole ATXD-17, to
discovering a similar trend with hole ATXD-11B. We are excited to explore the potential size of the
Western High-Grade Trend in holes ATXD-23 and 24 as part of a transformative Phase III drill program."
Hole ID
From
To
Interval
(2) (3)
Cu
Au
Mo
CuEq
(
1)
Length
(metres)
(metres)
(metres)
%
g/t
ppm
%
(metres)
ATXD-11B
848.0
2,190.5
1,342.5
0.46
0.31
43
0.73
2,190.5
including
1,078.0
2,088.0
1,010.0
0.50
0.35
29
0.80
including
1,438.0
2,088.0
650.0
0.46
0.44
13
0.83
including
1,864.0
2,086.0
222.0
0.46
0.58
13
0.94
including
1,964.0
2,086.0
122.0
0.47
0.65
14
1.01
ATXD-22
630.0
1,600.0
970.0
0.38
0.10
99
0.51
1,712
including
1,016.0
1,128.0
112.0
0.57
0.14
212
0.77
and
1,426.0
1,568.0
142.0
0.40
0.11
55
0.51
1
The CuEq grade was calculated using a copper price of $2.60/lb, gold price of $1,450/oz and molybdenum price of $11.00/lb (all prices in US$).
Metal recoveries are not considered.
CuEq is calculated using the following formula - CuEq% = ((Cu%/100 * Cu $/tonne) + (Au g/t * Au $/gr.) +
(Mo%/100 * Mo $/tonne)) / Cu $/tonne.
2
Intervals are composited at a 0.40% CuEq cut-off and unless otherwise stated a maximum of 10 metres of internal dilution. ATXD-11B includes a
37.9 metre interval from 969.2 to 1007.1 metres of 0.23% CuEq related to a late-stage intrusion.
3
All intervals are reported as core lengths as the true lengths of the intervals are unknown at this time.
Figure 1
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Figure 2A-B
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Results
ATXD-11B (daughter hole) was wedged out at 700 metres from historical hole VAL-11 (mother hole) to
the northeast at an azimuth of 54 degrees and 86-degree dip commencing in mineralized Rock Milled
Breccia "RMB". An early porphyry unit was intersected at a depth of 1,438 metres down hole and
continued in this unit until the hole was terminated at 2,190.5 metres. The Western Porphyry Trend
intersected in this hole is open both to the northeast and southwest. Additionally, ATXD-11B ends in
high-grade mineralization with the ultimate 6.5 metres of core grading 1.31% CuEq (0.61% Cu, 0.87 g/t
Au, 5 ppm Mo).
The historical copper/gold ratio for assays along the Central Trend at Valeriano is 2:1 copper (%) to gold
(g/t). ATXD-11B however, exhibits a much higher level of gold enrichment within early porphyry
mineralization having a 1:1 copper to gold ratio (0.44% Cu and 0.44 g/t Au). This could possibly indicate
that mineralization on the Western Trend appears proximal to the center of the porphyry system.
Hole ATXD-22 (mother hole) was drilled at an azimuth of 322 degrees and 87-degree dip and designed
to be the first hole to evaluate possible presence of early porphyry between the Central and Eastern
Trends. The hole was terminated at a depth of 1,712 metres, not having intersected early porphyry.
ATXD-22, however, clearly demonstrated the presence of porphyry style mineralization within the RMB
and within the overlying crystal tuff unit in this zone. The copper to gold ratio in ATXD-22 is closer to 4:1
due to a lower gold content but is accompanied by higher molybdenum enrichment possibly indicating a
more distal part of the system.
Outlook
The Phase III campaign continues to focus on its stated objectives of expanding the mineralized corridor
through step out drilling along strike, primarily to the northeast, testing new targets along this corridor and
seeking to define the continuity and geometry of the porphyry trends.
ATXD-22A, (daughter hole from ATXD-22) commenced at a depth of 921 metres. This hole is being
drilled at an azimuth of 130 degrees to the Southeast and a dip of 65 degrees. This hole is designed to
test the Eastern Trend for the presence of early porphyry approximately 250 metres to the north of the
mineralized porphyry intersected in VAL-16.
ATXD-23 and ATXD-24 are also underway and are collared 260 metres to the north and 160 metres to
the south, respectively, of ATXD-11B. These holes are expected to be completed in May.
QAQC
Drill holes are collared with a PQ drill bit, reduced to HQ and, sequentially, to NQ as the drill holes
progressed deeper.
Drill core produced by the drill rigs is extracted from the core tubes by the drill
contractor under the supervision of ATEX employees, marked for consistent orientation and placed in
core boxes with appropriate depth markers added. Full core boxes are then sealed before being
transported by ATEX personnel to the Valeriano field camp. Core at the field camp is processed, quick
logged, checked for recovery, photographed, and marked for specific gravity, geotechnical studies and
for assays. From camp, the core is transferred to a secure core-cutting facility in Vallenar, operated by
IMG, a third-party consultant. Here, the core trays are weighed before being cut using a diamond saw
under ATEX personnel oversight. ATEX geologists working at this facility double-check the selected
two-metre sample intervals, placing the samples in seal bags and ensuring that the same side of the
core is consistently sampled. Reference numbers are assigned to each sample and each sample is
weighed.
The core trays with the remaining half-core are weighed and photographed.
Additionally, core
logs are updated, and the specific gravity and geotechnical samples are collected.
The remaining core
is stored in racks at the Company's secure facility in Vallenar.
From Vallenar samples are sent to an ALS preparation facility in La Serena. ALS is an accredited
laboratory which is independent of the Company. The prepared samples are sent to the ALS assay
laboratories in either Santiago, Chile and Lima, Peru for gold (Au-AA24), copper (Cu-AA62),
molybdenum (Mo-AA62) and silver (Ag-AA62) assays as well as and multi-element ICP (ME-MS61)
analysis. No data quality problems were indicated by the QA/QC program.
Qualified Person
Mr. Ben Pullinger, P.Geo., registered with the Professional Geoscientists Ontario, is the Qualified
Person, as defined by National Instrument 43-101 -
Standards for Disclosure for Mineral Projects
, for
the Valeriano Copper Gold Porphyry Project. Mr. Pullinger is not considered independent under NI 43-
101 as he is Senior Vice President of Exploration and Business Development at ATEX. He has
reviewed and approved the disclosure of the scientific and technical information contained in this press
release.
About ATEX
ATEX is exploring the Valeriano Copper Gold Project which is located within the emerging copper gold
porphyry mineral belt linking the prolific El Indio High-Sulphidation Belt to the south with the Maricunga
Gold Porphyry Belt to the north. This emerging belt, informally referred to as the Link Belt, hosts a
number of copper gold porphyry deposits at various stages of development including, Filo del Sol (Filo
Mining), Josemaria (Lundin Mining), Los Helados (NGEX Minerals/JX Nippon), La Fortuna (Teck
Resources/Newmont) and El Encierro (Antofagasta/Barrick Gold).
Valeriano hosts a large copper gold porphyry deposit overlain by a near surface oxidized epithermal
gold deposit. In 2022, ATEX completed the Company's first limited drill test of the copper gold porphyry
system that is now being followed up with campaign of directional drilling to extend the high-grade trend,
test new targets and expand the mineralized envelope.
For further information, please contact:
Raymond Jannas,
President and CEO
Email:
Ben Pullinger,
Senior Vice President of Exploration and Business Development
Email:
or visit ATEX's website at
www.atexresources.com
.
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Such forward-looking statements include, among others: plans for the evaluation of exploration
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exploration activities; mine development prospects; potential for future metals production; changes in
economic parameters and assumptions; all aspects related to the timing and extent of exploration
activities including the Phase III drill program contemplated in this press release; timing of receipt of
exploration results; the interpretation and actual results of current exploration activities and
mineralization; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; the results of regulatory
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