NGEx drills new high-grade copper-gold zone in Chile

VANCOUVER – NGEx Minerals Ltd. [NGEX-TSXV] has reported the discovery of a third zone of high-grade copper-gold mineralization at the Los Helados project in Chile.

NGEx is the majority partner and operator at the large-scale Los Helados deposit, subject to a joint exploration agreement with Nippon Caserones Resources Co. Ltd. The project is located in Chile’s Region 111.

The new zone, called the Alicanto Zone, is located 550 metres north of the Condor Zone, and is related to a new porphyry centre. The Alicanto Zone was discovered by hole LHDH078, which was targeting a geophysical anomaly north of hole LHDH062 (256 metres at 0.56% Copper Equivalent (CuEq).

Drill hole LHDH078 returned 474.8 metres at 0.61% CuEq from 566 metres, including 100.0 metres at 1.20% CuEq from 844 metres and 0.56% CuEq over the last 20.8 metres of the hole.

This intersection constitutes the discovery of a third distinct zone, the Alicanto Zone, of high-grade mineralization within the overall Los Helados deposit, the company said in a press release. It remains completely open to expansion in all directions.

“Hole 78 has given us exactly what we were looking for this season – the discovery of a brand new zone of high-grade mineralization associated with the giant Los Helados system,” said NGEx President and CEO Wojtek Wodzicki.

 “This discovery is a direct result of the re-interpretation of the geology at Los Helados, and confirmation that we are on the right track in our quest for additional high-grade material,” he said.

“Our improved understanding of the controls on mineralization has given us a clear, testable model, which provides huge upside for expanding the high-grade at Los Helados as we continue to drill the extensions of the Condor, Fenix and now the Alicanto Zone.”

Los Helados is located 16 kilometres north of the Filo del Sol deposit where Filo Mining Corp. [FIL-TSXV, NASDAQ First North] is drilling a major copper-gold discovery. Filo del Sol and Los Helados lie along the same major northeast-trending structure which controls a series of alteration zones, representing high-quality exploration targets, between the two deposits.

Recent drilling at Los Helados returned 1,016.3 metres at 0.65% copper equivalent (CuEq) from a depth of 42 metres, including 294 metres at 0.87% CuEq from a depth of 201 metres, and 140 metres at 0.83% CuEq from a depth of 606 metres.

The Alicanto Zone occurs within the northernmost of three parallel mineralized structural corridors which trend west-northwest and are comprised of phreatic and hydrothermal breccias associated with different copper-gold porphyry intrusion phases.

These corridors host, from north to south, the Fenix, Condor and now Alicanto zones, each of which is open to expansion at depth and along strike of the corridors.

Drilling is planned to continue until the current holes are completed in late June, the company said.

Meanwhile, on June 10, 2022, NGEx shares closed at $2.68 and currently trade in a 52-week range of $4.22 and 53 cents.