NGEx Minerals (TSX: NGEX; US-OTC: NGXXF) released another batch of high-grade copper, gold and silver intercepts from its Lunahuasi project in Argentina that extend mineralization in multiple directions – including one interval grading more than 20% copper.
Standout hole DPDH078 in the Mars zone cut 20.5 metres of 6.29% copper, 15.18 grams gold per tonne and 53.5 grams silver from 298 metres downhole, with a 3.5-metre interval that returned 20.25% copper, 21.3 grams gold and 172 grams silver from 301 metres depth, NGEx said Thursday in a statement. Hole DPDH076, meanwhile, cut 10.7 metres grading 3.4% copper, 4.4 grams gold and 31 grams silver from 136 metres downhole.
Results “further validate Lunahuasi as a district-scale discovery, with the high-grade Mars zone emerging as a key growth driver” ahead of an expanded drilling program, Desjardins Securities mining analyst Bryce Adams said Thursday in a note. They “continue to expand a large mineralized system spanning ultra-high-grade epithermal gold veins, massive sulphides and porphyry-style copper-gold mineralization,” he added.
His counterpart at TD Securities in Toronto, Craig Hutchison, called the results “impressive.” They conclude a 27,318-metre, 32-hole drilling campaign.
New discovery
Located inside the Vicuña district along the Chile-Argentina border, Lunahuasi is a relatively new discovery, having been first identified in 2023. The project has quickly gained attention for delivering some of the highest copper and gold grades encountered in the district, which hosts major deposits such as Josemaria and Filo del Sol held in the Lundin Mining (TSX: LUN) and BHP (LSE, NYSE, ASX: BHP) joint venture, as well as NGEx’s Los Helados.
Drilling so far has outlined multiple mineralization styles, including high-sulphidation epithermal systems, porphyry copper-gold mineralization and high-grade gold veins.
Other results from the company’s most recent drill campaign include hole DPDH073, which cut 34 metres of 3.03% copper, 1.89 grams gold and 30.8 grams silver from 567 metres depth, and hole DPDH075, which cut 13.5 metres grading 5.74% copper, 7.25 grams gold and 38.3 grams silver from 399 metres downhole.
DPDH073 and DPDH075 provide some of the most southern and northern mineralized intersections in Lunahuasi and “clearly leave the deposit open to expansion in both directions,” NGEx said.
Unique system
Lunahuasi remains at an early stage, with NGEx yet to publish an initial resource estimate. While no formal capital cost estimate has yet been published, comparable large-scale Andean copper developments in the Vicuña district typically require multi-billion-dollar investments and multi-year construction timelines.
“Our location in the middle of the giant deposits of the Vicuña district combined with the extent of the mineralization we have drilled to date give us confidence that we are a long way from fully defining this system,” CEO Wojtek Wodzicki said in the statement.
“The more we drill, the bigger it gets. It is becoming evident that Lunahuasi is a unique system which encompasses the entire range of porphyry-related mineralization types.”
NGEx has applied for Lunahuasi to be included in Argentina’s Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI). Key features, which are good for 30 years, include a reduction of the federal corporate income tax rate to 25% from 35%; the elimination of export duties on gold and silver sales; and an accelerated tax depreciation of plant and equipment.
Additional targets
With the latest round of drilling now complete, NGEx is updating its geological model, Wodzicki said. It’s also planning another large campaign and the development of an exploration adit aimed at further expanding the Lunahuasi system and testing additional targets.
NGEx shares rose 2.2% to $25.78 Thursday morning in Toronto, valuing the company at about $5.6 billion (US$4 billion). The stock has traded between $18.89 and $32.41 in the past year.
The Lundin family is NGEx’s largest shareholder. It owns about 36% of the company’s outstanding shares.
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