NGEx wraps up campaign with high-grade hit

VANCOUVER — Copper explorer NGEx Resources (NGQ-T) capped off a busy drill season in April, with the Vancouver-based company completing 44,000 metres over a promising property package that straddles the Chile-Argentina border, southeast of Copiapo, Chile.

Though most of NGEx’s exploration was focused on infill activities at its resource-stage Los Helados project, the company expanded high-grade copper zones at its nearby Josemaria and Filo del Sol properties.

On May 23, NGEx released assays from a five-hole program at Filo del Sol that totalled 820 metres and targeted a high-grade copper-silver zone extension in the northern part of the mineralized system, which has been traced by previous drilling over 1.2 km. Filo del Sol is a high-sulphidation epithermal copper-gold-silver system that overlies a porphyry copper-gold system, which includes disseminated and stockwork mineralization, and remains open in all directions.

Due to poor ground conditions attributed to an upper zone of vuggy and sandy silica, NGEx had to abandon all five holes above the target depth for the high-grade zone. But NGEx did confirm a zone extension 150 metres west, where hole 8 cut 38.1 metres grading 1.23% copper, 0.21 gram gold per tonne and 10.9 grams silver per tonne starting from 142 metres depth. NGEx also notes that the hole ended in mineralization grading 1.33% copper at 180 metres depth.

“Although we faced challenging drilling conditions this year, we are encouraged by the results from Filo del Sol, and particularly the confirmation of a potentially significant high-grade copper-silver zone within a much larger area of disseminated copper-gold mineralization,” says president and CEO Wojtek Wodzicki. “It’s a big system with excellent potential to add to our current resource base.”

Expanding high-grade zones across its Vicuna project package — which includes the 60%-owned Los Helados, Josemaria and Filo del Sol systems — was a major theme for NGEx over the past year. In  March the company reported initial results from 7,300 metres of drilling at Josemaria that extended by 100 metres a high-grade chalcocite zone it had intersected last season.

Highlights from the Josemaria program include 231 metres averaging 0.78% copper equivalent from 278 metres depth in hole 61, and 160 metres grading 0.66% copper equivalent from 242 metres depth in hole 62.

“[The results] are positive and expand a zone of high-grade chalcocite mineralization that could, if further extended, have a significant impact on the existing resource and the project,” Wodzicki says. “The high-grade zone remains open in several directions, and we continue an aggressive program of stepout drilling to test this potential.”

Results from 32,000 metres of drilling at Los Helados have been rolling in. In late April NGEx released assays from six new holes at the program, as stepout drilling intersected mineralization beyond Los Helados’ current resource boundary. Highlights from NGEx’s April results include 304 metres grading 0.63% copper and 0.2 gram gold from 760 metres depth in hole 21, and 304 metres averaging 0.86% copper and 0.29 gram gold from 654 metres depth in hole 55.

“This season’s drill program included a combination of infill holes designed to convert the existing [inferred resources] to [indicated], and stepout drilling designed to test areas outside the existing resource boundary,” Wodzicki says, noting that the mineralization remains open to the north and at depth. “Drilling from that program will contribute to the resource update expected to be completed in the third quarter.”

Los Helados hosts 1.1 billion indicated tonnes at 0.55% copper equivalent, and 1.02 billion inferred tonnes at 0.47% copper equivalent.

NGEx should have enough money to outline its systems across all three projects. The company closed a $34-million private placement in late January, when it issued 10 million shares at $3.40 per share.

Falling copper prices have not been kind, however, with shares of NGEx declining 37%, or $1.25 since early January, en route to a $2.12 press-time close.

The company had 158 million shares outstanding at press time for a $336-million market capitalization.