NGEx Minerals Announces Planned Exploration Drill Program at Valle Ancho Copper-Gold Project
NGEx Minerals Ltd.
2000 – 885 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC Canada V6C 3E8
T +1 604 689 7842
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NGEXminerals.com
NGEx Minerals Announces Planned Exploration Drill Program at Valle Ancho
Copper-Gold Project
VANCOUVER, OCTOBER 12, 2021 - NGEX Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: NGEX) (“NGEx Minerals” or the “Company”)
is pleased to announce that it has finalized plans for an exploration program on the Valle Ancho Project in
Catamarca Province, Argentina, where the Company has an option to earn a 100% interest from the
government of the Province of Catamarca. The field program has begun with geophysical surveys underway.
A drill program of between 3,000 and 4,000 metres of diamond drilling on several high-potential gold and
copper-gold targets identified in 2020 is expected to commence upon receipt of environmental permits.
Wojtek Wodzicki, President and CEO, commented “NGEx is a generator and incubator of high-quality exploration
projects and builds on the Lundin Group’s strong track record in Argentina and the region, which includes the
grassroots discoveries of Los Helados in Chile, and Josemaria, Filo del Sol, and Veladero in Argentina. A
predecessor Lundin Company was instrumental in advancing the Bajo de la Alumbrera deposit in Catamarca
Province, Argentina. The Valle Ancho project has many of the same geological characteristics that we saw in the
early days of our previous discoveries, and we are very pleased to announce plans to begin drill testing some of
the exciting drill targets resulting from our earlier reconnaissance work. Our efforts at Valle Ancho bring the
Lundin Group’s 30 years of successful investment in Argentina, full circle to where it started with the Bajo de la
Alumbrera Copper-Gold Mine, also located in Catamarca Province. We look forward to working with the
Catamarca authorities to bring the next chapter of responsible resource development to Catamarca.”
About the Valle Ancho Project
The Valle Ancho Project consists of two Exploration and Mining Reserve Areas held by the Province of
Catamarca that cover approximately 1,000 km2 of highly prospective and underexplored ground on the
Argentinian side of the Maricunga Gold Belt. More than 100 million ounces of gold have been discovered on
the Chilean side of the border whereas the Argentinian side has seen much less exploration despite having
similar geology. The Company has entered into an option agreement with the Province of Catamarca and can
earn a 100% interest in the project by completing approximately US$8 million in expenditures by December
2022. Of this amount approximately US$1.5 million has been spent to date with the remaining US$6.5
million expected to be invested over the coming field season.
The project area was initially explored in the 1990’s resulting in the identification of several interesting gold
and copper-gold targets. Despite the encouraging results obtained by earlier explorers the area was not
available for exploration for most of the last 20 years. The main targets lie along a major northwest trending
structural corridor called the Valle Ancho Lineament. Many of the major deposits in the Andes are spatially
related to similar northwest trending lineaments.
The Company carried out an initial field program at the Valle Ancho Project during the 2019/2020 Southern
Hemisphere Summer. The exploration program focused on review and compilation of historical data,
analysis of satellite imagery, an airborne geophysical survey, field examination, geochemical sampling and
mapping of existing prospects to identify, develop and prioritize targets for further evaluation. The program
was cut short by the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic but was still successful in defining several priority
targets for drill testing and discovering new zones of gold-silver mineralization which were unrecognized by
previous explorers.
The company plans to complete an airborne magnetic survey that was cut short by the pandemic and bad
weather in 2020 as well as targeted IP (Induced Polarization) geophysical surveys in order to refine drill
targeting. Drill targets that have been defined to date include:
Nordin
The Nordin target is an area of strong hydrothermal alteration and gold-bearing banded quartz veins and
hydrothermal breccias surrounded by younger gravel cover and thin volcanic flows – see attached figure.
The alteration is typical of the upper levels of an epithermal gold system and similar to that seen in the
upper levels of some of the major deposits of the Maricunga Gold Belt located just across the border into
Chile. Shallow drilling by a previous operator in the 1990’s intersected strongly anomalous gold values from
surface including up to 62 metres @ 1.02 g/t gold and 84 metres @ 1.15 g/t gold. The drill holes were
oxidized throughout their entire lengths. The Nordin target is open laterally and at depth and the planned
NGEx drilling will test for extensions of this mineralization. Much of the Nordin area is covered by shallow
talus and younger volcanic flows with occasional areas of outcrop exposed through the younger cover.
Prospecting in an area approximately 2 kilometres south of the main Nordin prospect identified another
potential drill target in an area of silicified structures and hydrothermal breccias with strongly anomalous
gold values ranging from 0.5 g/t to 7.07 g/t with silver values up to 580 g/t.
La Quebrada
La Quebrada is a porphyry copper-gold target. The alteration in La Quebrada outcrops in an erosional
window through younger cover rocks and extends over an area of approximately 2.5 km by 1 km. The
outcropping mineralization has the characteristics of theleached cap of a porphyry system, with the
presence of oxides minerals including jarosite, goethite and hematite and locally copper oxides. Oxide
mineralization occurs in veinlets and disseminated and is most intense in areas with a higher density of
quartz veining. The 174 rock chip samples taken in the area average 0.5 g/t gold and 0.2% copper which is
considered encouraging in an area were the rocks are oxidized and leached. Leaching commonly removes
copper which is mobile in a supergene environment and therefore even low-level copper numbers can be
important indicators of mineralization at depth. Higher gold and silver numbers were obtained from
structurally controlled zones in the area with values ranging up to 8.57 g/t gold and 114 g/t silver.
An initial IP survey is planned in order to characterize the geophysical response of the area and develop
targets for the drill program, which is planned to test outcropping mineralization and possible extensions
under younger cover rocks.
La Austral
The La Austral target is located approximately 9 kilometres southeast of La Quebrada. It was discovered by
NGEx geologists in 2020 through follow-up of a stream sediment anomaly. Mineralization is associated with
silica-alunite cemented breccia zones containing strongly anomalous gold. The breccias contain highly
silified angular clasts in a matrix of silica, alunite, and jarosite. Initial grab samples of the breccia zone
returned values of up to 7.18 g/t gold and 777 g/t silver. Three other samples returned values in excess of 1
g/t Au. All samples were high in eptithermal pathfinder elements Hg-Te-Sb-As-Bi. The Austral target was
discovered late in the 2019/2020 season and more work is required to define drill targets but the values
obtained to date are encouraging.
IP geophysical surveying and additional geological mapping and sampling is planned for La Austral, leading
to drilling of the highest priority areas during the upcoming program.
ABOUT NGEX MINERALS
NGEx Minerals is a copper and gold exploration company based in Canada with projects in Chile
and Argentina. NGEx Minerals holds the large-scale Los Helados copper-gold deposit, located
in Chile's Region III, as well as other early-stage projects located in Argentina. NGEx Minerals is the majority
partner and operator for the Los Helados Project, subject to a Joint Exploration Agreement with Nippon
Caserones Resources Co., Ltd. (formerly, Pan Pacific Copper Co., Ltd.). NGEx Minerals is actively seeking to
add to its portfolio of projects as part of its overall growth strategy. The Company is listed on the TSXV
under the trading symbol “NGEX”.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV)
accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
The information contained in this news release was accurate at the time of dissemination but may be
superseded by subsequent news release(s). The Company is under no obligation nor does it intend to update
or revise the forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
QP AND TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Bob Carmichael, B.Sc., P.Eng.,
who is the Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Carmichael is Vice President, Exploration for the
Company.
Reverse circulation drilling was completed on the Nordin target by Eldorado Gold Corporation during the
1995/1996 season. NGEX has reviewed the original annual exploration report detailing the drilling and
sampling methodology as well as the original assay certificates. Samples were collected every two metres,
and were split twice resulting in 1/8 of the original sample being retained for analysis. Field duplicates were
included in the sample batches, however no assay standards or blanks were included. Analyses were
completed by Bondar Clegg Inchcape Testing Services in North Vancouver, Canada. Bondar Clegg Inchape
was an accredited assay lab which was independent of Eldorado Gold Corporation. Gold analyses were by
fire assay fusion with AAS finish on a 30g sample. In addition, NGEX has reviewed chips from the sample
intervals. Drilling, sampling and assaying was done to industry standards at the time, and NGEX has no
reason to believe that the analytical data reported here is inaccurate, however the Company has not
completed its own sampling to independently verify the assay results.
Sample results reported above from the 2019/2020 NGEx program are grab samples from individual
locations and are not associated with a length of width of the mineralized zone.
Samples were collected in the field by NGEx geologists, identified with sample tags and placed in plastic
sample bags for transportation to the lab via truck. Samples were delivered to the ALS prep lab in Mendoza,
Argentina who sent a prepared sub-sample on to the ALS assay laboratory in Lima, Peru for analysis.
Samples were assayed for gold by fire assay and AAS on a 50g sample (Au-AA24), mercury by by ICP-MS
following aqua regia digestion (Hg-MS42) and a suite of 48 elements using ICP-MS and ICP-AES following a
four-acid digestion (ALS ME-MS61L) with overlimit (>10,000ppm) copper samples re-analyzed with Cu-AA62.
ALS is an accredited global analytical company which is independent of the Company.
On behalf of NGEx Minerals,
Wojtek Wodzicki,
President and CEO
For further information:
Amanda Strong, Investor Relations, Canada: +1 604 689 7842 or [email protected]
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made and information contained herein in the news release constitutes “forward-looking
information” and “forward -looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securities legislation
(collectively, “forward-looking information”). The forward-looking information contained in this news release
is based on information available to the Company as of the date of this news release. Except as required under
applicable securities legislation, the Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update
this forward-looking information. Generally, this forward-looking information can frequently, but not always,
be identified by use of forward -looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is
expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate",
or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events, conditions
or results “will”, "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative
connotations thereof. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward -looking
statements.
Forward-looking statements contained in this news release include statements regarding the nature and
timing of the work to be undertaken to advance the Valle Ancho Project and the potential for the discovery of
extensions of mineralized zones and new exploration targets. For example the Company expects to be able to
drill 3,000-4,000 metres however, it has never drilled at Valle Ancho before may encounter unexpected drilling
and other challenges, costs, or delays that could prevent the company from completing the expected number
of metres. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements
and/or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements since
the Company can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. These statements involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ
materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to risks related
to: the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic and the risk that an intensification of the pandemic or an outbreak at the
project could impact the company’s ability to carry out the program and could cause the program to be shut
down, estimations of costs, and permitting time lines; ability to obtain environmental permits, surface rights
and property interests in a timely manner; currency exchange rate fluctuations; requirements for additional
capital; changes to government regulation of mining activities; environmental risks; unanticipated reclamation
or remediation expenses; title disputes or claims; limitations on insurance coverage; and o ther risks,
uncertainties and other factors identified in the Company’s periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators.
In addition, these statements involve assumptions made including that the company will receive the permits
required to drill at Valle Ancho in a timely manner, that the current price of and demand for commodities will
be sustained or will improve, that the general business and economic conditions in Argentina will not change
in a material adverse manner, that financing will be available if and when needed on reasonable terms and
that the Company will not experience any material labour dispute, accident, or failure of plant or equipment.
These factors are not, and should not be construed as being, exhaustive.
The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as at the date of this news release
and the Company does not undertake any obligations to publicly update and/or revise any of the included
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of additional information, future events and/or otherwise,
except as may be required by applicable securities laws. Forward -looking information is provided for the
purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans and allowing investors
and others to get a better understanding of the Company 's operating environment. Although the Company
has attempted to identify important factors that would cause actual results to differ materially from those
contained in forward -looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as
anticipated, estimated, or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate,
as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. All the
forward-looking information contained in this document is qualified by these cautionary statements. Readers
are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward -looking information due to the inherent uncertainty
thereof.
Cautionary Note to U.S. Readers
Information concerning the mineral properties of the Compan y contained in this news release has been
prepared in accordance with the requirements of Canadian securities laws, which differ in material respects
from the requirements of securities laws of the United States applicable to U.S. companies subject to the
reporting and disclosure requirements of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.