COPPER GIANT STRENGTHENS TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP AS MOCOA DRAWS WORLD- CLASS EXPERTISE Edwin Naranjo Sierra Promoted to VP of Exploration; Mark Gibson Appointed to Board of Directors and Joey Wilkins Joins as Strategic Advisor
COPPER GIANT STRENGTHENS TECHNICAL
LEADERSHIP AS MOCOA DRAWS WORLD-
CLASS EXPERTISE
Edwin Naranjo Sierra Promoted to VP of Exploration; Mark Gibson Appointed to Board of
Directors and Joey Wilkins Joins as Strategic Advisor
VANCOUVER, BC
,
July 28, 2025
/CNW/ - Copper Giant Resources Corp. ("
Copper Giant
" or the
"
Company
") (TSXV: CGNT) (OTCQB: LBCMF) (FRA: 29H0) is pleased to announce the
strengthening of its leadership team with three major appointments:
Mark Gibson
, former senior executive with Ivanhoe Electric and Cordoba Minerals, joins the
Board of Directors as an Independent Director
Joey Wilkins, a renowned porphyry exploration geologist, joins as Strategic Advisor
Edwin Naranjo Sierra, MSc and FAusIMM, current Exploration Manager, is promoted to Vice
President of Exploration
These appointments reinforce the Mocoa project's emergence as a magnet for top-tier porphyry
expertise and reflect Copper Giant's evolution into a company capable of delivering world-class
discovery and development outcomes.
"We are proud to welcome Mark and Joey and to recognize Edwin's outstanding leadership. These
appointments underscore the caliber of Mocoa as a porphyry system—and our ability to attract the
best minds in the business. The technical team we are building has not only discovered and
defined world-class copper systems but actually advanced them toward production. That's the kind
of real-world experience that turns potential into reality"
—
Ian Harris
, President & CEO
.
A Technical Team That Gets It Built
Great geologists want to be part of great projects. With today's announcement, Copper Giant adds
decades of high-level experience in porphyry discovery, resource growth, and mine
advancement—
both in
Colombia
and globally.
Mark Gibson
brings a career defined by execution at the highest levels. Most recently, he served as
Chief Geophysics Officer and previously COO of Ivanhoe Electric (NYSE: IE), and as COO of
Cordoba Minerals (TSXV: CDB), where he played a pivotal role advancing the Alacran copper-gold
project in
Colombia
from exploration through feasibility. Over his career, he has built and led teams
across
Anglo American
, HPX, and Kaizen Discovery, contributing to major global exploration
programs and building strong community and regulatory foundations to enable long-term success.
"Having worked extensively in
Colombia
, I know the difference between good assets and
exceptional ones. Mocoa stands out—and so does the team behind it. The opportunity to contribute
my experience in exploration, and project advancement, both in
Colombia
and globally was a key
reason I accepted this role. I'm confident that my background can add real value here—and that it
will be welcomed by a technically sophisticated team committed to excellence."
—
Mark Gibson
,
Independent Director
Joey Wilkins
is a porphyry exploration specialist with deep experience across the Americas and
Asia
, including leadership roles at Aztec Minerals, Kennecott (Rio Tinto), McLeod Willams Capital
Corp, and Coeur Mining. His porphyry expertise spans discovery through advanced targeting, and he
has built a reputation for technical rigor, field leadership, and sound judgment. He recently visited
Mocoa and will support strategic targeting and system interpretation as the Company advances
toward its next phase of growth.
"I first encountered Mocoa personnel and drill core at PDAC but seeing it on the ground recently and
meeting the team confirmed what I suspected: this system checks every box. It has the scale,
intensity, and complexity of the world's largest porphyries. What's equally impressive is the quality of
the team, which is deeply knowledgeable, rooted in the region, and clearly capable of taking this to
the next level. This is the kind of project and team that doesn't just lead in Colombia—it gets
recognized globally." —
Joey Wilkins
, Strategic Advisor
Edwin Naranjo Sierra
, who has led Copper Giant's exploration team since 2022, is promoted from
Exploration Manager to Vice President of Exploration. Edwin's breakthrough work on age dating,
system architecture, and mineralization controls has fundamentally reshaped the understanding of
the Mocoa system and positioned it as a leading district-scale porphyry target in the Northern
Andes. He is finalizing his PhD in Economic Geology, with specialization in magma-fertility related to
Jurassic porphyry copper-molybdenum deposits, a specialization directly relevant to unlocking the full
potential of Mocoa. His leadership has been instrumental in attracting high-caliber geologists and
building a technically elite, locally grounded exploration team.
"Mocoa is the project every geology student in
Colombia
learns about. For me and our team, it's not
just a job, it's personal. We've put our heart and soul into understanding this complex and
extraordinary system. This new role is a chance to give even more. I'm proud to continue leading
such a talented team and grateful for the opportunity to help shape one of the most exciting copper
projects in the region." —
Edwin Naranjo Sierra
, Vice President of Exploration
The Company further announces an aggregate of 6,250,000 incentive stock options (the "Options")
have been granted to certain directors, officers, employees and consultants of the Company as well
as investor relations personnel. The Options are exercisable at a price of
$0.18
per share, vesting
immediately (subject to those Options granted to investor relations personnel) and expire on
July 25,
2035
, subject to approval of the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV"). 125,000 Options granted to
investor relations personnel will vest on a quarterly basis over a twelve-month period in tranches of
25% each per the requirements of the TSXV.
About Copper Giant
Copper Giant Resources Corp. is part of the Fiore Group, a private and well-established Canadian
organization known for building successful, high-impact companies across the natural resource
sector. Copper Giant was formed with a singular focus: to advance high-quality copper projects
beyond resource definition—responsibly, efficiently, and with long-term positive impact.
The Company is led by a team with uncommon experience, having successfully taken some of the
few major copper mines developed in the past two decades from discovery through to construction.
Copper Giant's current focus is the Mocoa copper-molybdenum deposit in southern Colombia, one
of the largest undeveloped resources of its kind in the Americas. Recent exploration success has
revealed potential well beyond its original footprint, highlighting Mocoa as a broader district-scale
opportunity—and the catalyst for the Company's name and evolution.
Guided by the values of
respect
and r
esponsibility
, and grounded in its
Good Neighbor
philosophy,
Copper Giant is committed to creating enduring value for all stakeholders and playing a meaningful
role in the global energy transition.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in
the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of
this release.
This news release includes forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties.
All statements within, other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding the
drilling results and the outcome of the Company's current resource expansion strategy; other
activities and achievements of the Company, including but not limited to: the timing and success
for the advancement of the Mocoa Project, the expansion of the Mocoa resource base; are to be
considered forward looking. Although Copper Giant believes the expectations expressed in such
forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not
guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from
those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those in forward-looking statements include market prices and volatility with the Company's
common shares, exploitation and exploration successes, uncertainty of reserve and resource
estimates, risks of not achieving production, continued availability of capital and financing,
processes, permits and filing requirements, risks related to operations in foreign and developing
countries and compliance with foreign laws and including risks related to changes in foreign laws
and changing policies related to mining and local ownership requirements in
Colombia
, and
general economic, market, political or business conditions and regulatory and administrative
approvals. There can be no assurances that such statements will prove accurate and, therefore,
readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. We do not assume any
obligation to update any forward-looking statements
SOURCE
COPPER GIANT RESOURCES CORP.
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For further information:
Additional Information: Ian Harris, Chief Executive Officer,
[email protected], +1 604 294 9039; Tetiana Konstantynivska, Vice President Investor
Relations, [email protected], +1 778 829 8455
CO: COPPER GIANT RESOURCES CORP.
CNW 07:30e 28-JUL-25