Fitzroy Minerals Intersects 111.9 m at 0.97% Cu from 21.1 m, Including 18.0 m at 1.59% Cu from 84.0 m at the Buen Retiro Copper Project, Chile
July 23, 2026
Fitzroy Minerals Intersects 111.9 m at 0.97% Cu from 21.1 m, Including 18.0 m at 1.59% Cu
from 84.0 m at the Buen Retiro Copper Project, Chile
Vancouver, British Columbia – July 23, 2026 – Fitzroy Minerals Inc. (TSXV: FTZ, OTCQX: FTZFF,
FSE: C3Y) (“Fitzroy” or the “ Company”) is pleased to provide an update on drilling at the Buen
Retiro Copper Project, Copiapó, Chile (“ Buen Retiro” or the “ Project”). Drilling is ongoing with
three diamond drill (“ DD”) rigs at site and a Reverse Circulation (“ RC”) rig. The 1.7 km trend of
copper mineralization to the southwest of the historical Manto Negro open pit has been renamed
“Tenorita”. Results from 15 drill holes in the Tenorita area are reported here.
Highlights
Drill hole BRT-DDH072 returned 111.9 m @ 0.97% Cu from 21.1 m, including 18.0 m @
1.59% Cu from 84.0 metres.
Drill hole BRT-DDH070 returned 147.7 m @ 0.41% Cu from 26.3 m, including 47.0 m @
0.88% Cu from 113.0 metres.
Merlin Marr-Johnson, President and CEO of Fitzroy, commented: “Buen Retiro continues to deliver
excellent results and several of the fifteen drill holes reported today reflect wide zones of
mineralization in leachable material close to surface. Note that the best drill hole reported today,
drill hole #72, is to the east of drill hole #70, confirming consistent shallow mineralization for about
300 metres across the widest part of the Tenorita area.
Fitzroy has four rigs turning at Buen Retiro, and the team aims to complete the drill-out of the
Tenorita area in August, to stay on track with our stated aim of production in early 2028.”
Overview
Fitzroy has completed 78 diamond drill holes for a total of 13,036 metres since the start of
February 2026. Drilling with four drill rigs at the Project is ongoing. Currently one DD rig is drilling
shallow sulphides north of the historical Manto Negro pit (“ Manto Negro”) in an area that has
been renamed “ Ortuzar”, another DD rig is testing the southern extension of the Manto Negro
pit in an area that has been renamed “Nativo”, the third DD rig is drilling the northeast extension
of the Tenorita area , and the RC rig is drilling regional exploration targets.
Fitzroy will complete a further 9,000 m of drilling in 2026 with three key objectives. One aim is to
advance the Tenorita area to Measured, Indicated, and Inferred resource categories adequate to
support a robust mine-life for inclusion in the Pre-Feasibility Study. A second aim of the drilling
plan is to define Inferred resources elsewhere on the Buen Retiro Property. The third aim of the
drilling plan is to test new exploration targets at Buen Retiro.
Figure 1. Plan map with location of drill holes, Buen Retiro, Copiapó, Chile (UTM WGS 84 19S).
Drilling, Assaying, and Geology Update
Selected results from fifteen drill holes, BRT-DDH066 to BRT-DDH080 are shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Definition Drilling core assay results* for drill holes BRT-DDH066 to BRT-DDH080 Buen Retiro, Copiapó, Chile (UTM
GS84 19S).
Drill Hole UTM East
(m)
UTM North
(m)
Azimuth /
Dip
From
(m)
To
(m)
**Interval
(m)
Cu
(%)
BRT-DDH066 345221 6920805 250 / -45 52 60 8 0.18
And 68 98 30 0.20
and 105 143 38 0.36
including 127 132 5 1.52
BRT-DDH067 345172 6920947 250 / -45 114 158 44 0.25
including 119 143 24 0.32
and 163 182 19 0.16
BRT-DDH068 345169 6920893 250 / -45 26 41 15 0.39
and 53 116 63 0.20
including 91 102 11 0.45
and 128 141 13 0.29
BRT-DDH069 345208 6920854 250 / -47 37.7 48 10.3 0.27
and 107 128 21 0.14
and 134 151 17 0.25
including 140 143 3 0.69
BRT-DDH070 345144 6920990 250 / -45 26.3 174 147.7 0.41
including 113 160 47 0.88
including 133 160 27 1.20
BRT-DDH071 345267 6920977 250 / -45 26.16 69 42.84 0.50
including 51 65 14 0.92
and 90 158 68 0.23
including 109 128 19 0.4
BRT-DDH072 345255 6921029 250 / -45 21.1 133 111.9 0.97
including 32 51 19 1.50
and 84 102 18 1.59
and 111 129 18 1.91
BRT-DDH073 345115 6921033 250 / -45 93 161 68 0.36
including 100 142 42 0.47
BRT-DDH074 345080 6921074 250 / -45 88 152 64 0.23
BRT-DDH075 345245 6920549 250 / -51 82.5 131 48.5 0.38
BRT-DDH076 345294 6920831 250 / -45 65.7 106 40.3 0.24
BRT-DDH077 345292 6920724 250 / -45 105 143 38 0.25
including 128 133 5 0.52
and 152 157 5 0.21
BRT-DDH078 344959 6920908 250 / -45 no significant results
BRT-DDH079 345239 6921076 250 / -53 20 25 5 0.21
and 28 38 10 0.16
and 56 59 3 0.26
and 102 126 24 0.70
including 103 111 8 1.09
BRT-DDH080 344857 6921367 250 / -45 58 97 39 0.20
*Calculated on a minimum thickness of 5 m and minimum average grade of 0.20% Cu
**Estimated to be 80-90% of true thickness
Drill hole 72 returned 111.9 metres at 0.97% Cu from 21.1 metres depth, including three sub-
intervals of note: 19 metres at 1.50% Cu from 32 metres, 18 metres at 1.59% Cu from 84 metres,
and 18 metres at 1.91% Cu from 111 metres.
Drill hole 70 returned 147.7 metres at 0.41% Cu from 26.3 metres depth, including 47 metres at
0.88% Cu from 113 metres, and 27 metres at 1.20% Cu from 133 metres.
Figure 2. Cross-section A-A’, including drill holes BRT-DDH070 and BRT-DDH007 Buen Retiro, Copiapó, Chile (UTM
GS84 19S).
Section A-A’ (see Figure 2.) shows zones of broad and shallow mineralization in the south-central
portion of the Tenorita area, covering approximately 300 metres east-west. Data from the
National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report for the Buen Retiro Copper Project (issue date 23
October 2024) shows that drill hole 7 intersected 25 metres at 0.72% Cu, from 158 metres,
including 6.86 metres @ 1.40% Cu from 168.6 metres, 1 metres at 1.03% Cu from 174 metres, and
2 metres at 1.53% Cu from 200 m metres More recent drilling (previously reported here) shows
that drill hole 27 intersected 133 metres at 0.46% Cu, from 22 metres including 40 metres at 0.53%
Cu from 30 metres, and 35 metres at 0.77 % Cu from 115 metres. Similarly, drill hole 58 (previously
reported here) returned 75.0 metres at 0.82% Cu from 9.0 m metres including 8.0 m at 3.77% Cu
from 12.0 metres.
Buen Retiro Core Sampling Procedures, Laboratory and QA/QC
Buen Retiro HQ drill core, in labelled and secured wooden core trays, is picked up from the drilling
site by Company personnel and transported by truck from the drill rig to the core processing
facility in Copiapó. Core lengths are checked, after which geotechnical logging is performed.
Using an electric core cutting diamond blade saw, primary half-core samples are collected from
HQ- or NQ-sized drill core with the remaining half-core stored in the original wooden core trays
at the rented core storage warehouse in Cuesta Cardones, south of Copiapó.
A silica blank is inserted every 20 samples (approximately every 20 m); a blank is always inserted
immediately after a section that contains native copper. Pulp duplicates are randomly selected in
proportion to the number of samples from each drill hole and inserted into the sample stream
along with high-, medium-, and low-grade copper standards. Sample identifications are changed
and coded by the Company.
The Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) samples prepared by the Company represent
about 12% of the total primary core samples. The three certified copper standards (both oxide
and sulphide), acquired from Chilean company Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Estandarización
y Metrología Ltda. (“ INTEM”), have international standard certification. The certified standards
are used to evaluate the accuracy (approximation versus true value) of the laboratory analysis.
Blanks are used to evaluate the quality of the laboratory preparation and identify possible
contamination. Pulp duplicates are used to test analytical accuracy (repeatability). No secondary
laboratory (referee lab) samples were completed in this round of drilling; however, the next stage
and subsequent stages of drilling will see a secondary laboratory introduced to replicate
procedures.
Once prepared, the core samples are bagged, tagged, and transported to the laboratory by the
project team. At the laboratory reception, the samples and their identification codes are verified
and accepted once the physical inventory matches the assay request form.
The pulps and rejects of crushed samples are collected from the ALS-Patagonia laboratory in
Copiapó every 3 months. The rejects are stocked in closed drums, identified with the
corresponding batches and sample ranges, while the pulps are stocked in boxes and in shelves
inside a container separated for this purpose. Both are located in the same Company warehouse
facilities in Copiapó.
A visual review of the QA/QC results from the standards and blanks inserted by the Company and
the laboratory’s internal QA/QC information was completed by the Company and no significant
issues were identified.
The Company and Qualified Person are independent of the assay laboratories disclosed in this
news release.
Qualified Person (“QP”)
Dr. Scott Jobin-Bevans (P.Geo., Ph.D., PMP), a QP as defined by NI 43-101 and independent
geological consultant to the Company, has reviewed and approved the technical information
provided in this news release and verified the data disclosed, including the sampling, analytical
and test data underlying the technical information contained in this news release. Specifically, the
QP has verified selected laboratory assay results against reported drill core intervals, as well as
drill core logs against the geology, as supplied by the Company.
About Fitzroy Minerals
Fitzroy Minerals is focused on exploring and developing copper-focused mineral assets with
substantial upside potential in the Americas. The Company’s current property portfolio includes
the Buen Retiro Copper Project located near Copiapó, Chile, the Caballos Copper and Polimet
Gold-Copper-Silver projects located in Valparaiso, Chile, the Taquetren Gold Project located in Rio
Negro, Argentina, and the Caribou Project in British Columbia, Canada. Fitzroy Minerals’ shares
are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol FTZ and on the OTCQX under the symbol
FTZFF.
On behalf of the board of Fitzroy Minerals Inc.
Merlin Marr-Johnson
President and CEO
For further information, please contact:
Merlin Marr-Johnson
+447803712280
For more information on Fitzroy Minerals, please visit the Company's website:
www.fitzroyminerals.com
Neither Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of
the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
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exploration plans on the Company’s mineral properties and the timing and results of future
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