Solaris Regrets to Announce Passing of David Lowell
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SOLARIS REGRETS TO ANNOUNCE PASSING OF DAVID LOWELL
May 5, 2020 – Vancouver, B.C. – Solaris Resources Inc. (“Solaris” or the “Company”) regrets to announce
that J. David Lowell, a consultant and strategic partner of the Company, passed away at his home in
Tucson, Arizona, earlier this week at the age of 92. David is survived by his wife, daughter and two sons.
Daniel Earle, President & CEO, commented, “We are deeply sorry to have learned of David’s passing and
extend our thoughts and prayers to his family and everyone touched by this extraordinary person. David
was the ‘World’s Best Mine Finder,’ discovering 17 major minerals deposits over a 50-year career. Our
flagship project, Warintza, was a discovery he made while exploring in southeast Ecuador in the early
2000s, and our pipeline of grassroots exploration projects were his targets for future discoveries.”
Up until the very end of his life, David was busy designing programs to test his vision for the future of
discovery in the Americas. Innovation and ingenuity were constants throughout his legendary career,
which began with first defining the porphyry copper model with John Guilbert, a deposit type which is
now thought to account for 60% of the world’s copper.
The direct application of this model in the field led to David’s discoveries at Kalamazoo and Vekol Hills in
Arizona, which were remarkable at the time given the lack of visible copper mineralization at surface, and
the discovery of Bajo Alumbrera, Argentina’s greatest copper deposit, in the mid to late 1960s.
David went on to discover the world’s largest copper deposit, La Escondida, in Chile in 1981. This came
from recognizing how the signature of his porphyry copper model would be modified in an extremely arid
environment by a process known as ‘super leaching,’ which five prior companies exploring the property
previously had failed to recognize.
Likewise, in Peru, David identified the Northern Peru Gold Belt after library study, regional mapping,
reconnaissance and sampling in a region that was not thought to be prospective. This work allowed him
to narrow his focus and make the Pierina gold discovery in 1996, which was acquired by Barrick Gold for
over C$1 billion later that year.
With Peru Copper, David took what was a known but underappreciated deposit in Toromocho, relogged
the existing drill core and completely reinterpreted the geology to lay the foundation for an exploration
program that would increase its size by more than an order of magnitude. The project was acquired in
2007 for over C$800 million.
Finally, in Solaris, David had a vehicle to bring his Warintza discovery to full fruition. Warintza was one of
two major discoveries he made from a regional exploration program he led in the early 2000s – his other
discovery, Mirador, was made in an unrelated company and the deposit has since been developed into
Ecuador’s largest mine.
Mr. Earle concluded, “Once restrictions are lifted in Ecuador, it is our intention to responsibly recommence
exploration at Warintza and to test David’s targets for potential discoveries in Chile and, eventually, Peru.
We also intend to pursue the programs he designed for us to generate new targets in line with his vision
for the future of discovery in the Americas. These efforts will be led by his protégé and our VP of
Suite 555 - 999 Canada Pl., Vancouver, BC Canada V6C 3E1
Exploration, Jorge Fierro. We encourage those interested in learning more about this extraordinary man
to read his autobiography, ‘Intrepid Explorer: The Autobiography of the World’s Best Mine Finder’.”
On behalf of the Board of Solaris Resources Inc.
“Daniel Earle”
President & CEO, Director
For Further Information
Jacqueline Wagenaar, VP Investor Relations
Direct: 416-366-5678 Ext. 203
Email: [email protected]
About Solaris Resources Inc.
Solaris is advancing a portfolio of copper and gold assets in the Americas, which includes: a high-grade
resource with expansion and additional discovery potential at the Warintza copper and gold project in
Ecuador; discovery potential on the grass-roots Tamarugo project in Chile and Capricho and Paco Orco
projects in Peru; exposure to US$130M spending / 5-yrs through a farm-out agreement with Freeport-
McMoRan on the Ricardo Project in Chile; and significant leverage to increasing copper prices through the
60%-interest in the development-stage La Verde joint-venture project with Teck Resources in Mexico.
Solaris Resources operates as a reporting issuer, however, is not currently listed on a designated stock
exchange.
Cautionary Notes and Forward-looking Statements
This document contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of
applicable securities legislation (collectively “forward-looking statements”). The use of the words “intention”, “will”,
“may”, “can”, and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Although Solaris 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 Solaris 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 the risks, uncertainties and other factors identified in Solaris’ Management’s Discussion and
Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2019 available at www.sedar.com. Furthermore, the forward-looking
statements contained in this news release are made as at the date of this news release and Solaris 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.