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NGEx Minerals

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NGEx Minerals is a copper and gold exploration company based in Canada, focused on exploration of the Lunahuasi copper-gold-silver project in San Juan Province, Argentina, and the nearby Los Helados copper-gold project located approximately nine kilometres to the northeast in Chi

Investor website: https://ngexminerals.com/

About

NGEx Minerals is a copper and gold exploration company based in Canada, focused on exploration of the Lunahuasi copper-gold-silver project in San Juan Province, Argentina, and the nearby Los Helados copper-gold project located approximately nine kilometres to the northeast in Chile’s Region III. Both projects are located within the Vicuña District, which includes the Caserones mine, and the Josemaria and Filo del Sol deposits. NGEx owns 100% of Lunahuasi and is the approximate 69.1% majority partner and operator for the Los Helados project, which is subject to a Joint Exploration Agreement with Lundin Mining Corporation. The Company’s common shares are listed on the TSX under the symbol “NGEX” and also trade on the OTCQX under the symbol “NGXXF”. NGEx is part of the Lundin Group of Companies.

Verified company data

Cash position
~C$143M (June 30, 2025)
Shares outstanding
216858780
Fully diluted shares
228050110
Mineral resource
The most recent Mineral Resource estimate for the Los Helados project, effective as of October 31, 2023, at a cut-off grade of 0.33% CuEq is comprised of 2.1 billion tonnes at 0.40% copper, 0.15 g/t gold and 1.5 g/t silver, containing 18.4 billion pounds of copper, 10.2 million ounces of gold and 97.5 million ounces of silver in the Indicated category, and an Inferred Mineral Resource estimate of 1.1 billion tonnes at 0.34% copper, 0.10 g/t gold and 1.4 g/t silver for 8.2 billion pounds of copper, 3.6 million ounces of gold and 50.2 million ounces of silver. The deposit contains a higher grade core at a cut-off grade of 0.60% CuEq of 510 million tonnes at 0.72% CuEq (0.56% copper, 0.21 g/t gold, 1.8 g/t silver).
Projects
["Lunahuasi: Location: San Juan Province, Argentina. Ownership: 100% NGEx. Deposit Type: High-sulphidation epithermal system. Mineralization: Copper-Gold-Silver. Summary: Lunahuasi is a copper-gold-silver high-sulphidation epithermal deposit discovered by NGEx in 2023, and the most recent discovery in the emerging Vicuña District which encompasses the Caserones mine, and the Josemaria, Filo del Sol and Los Helados deposits. Drilling to date at Lunahuasi has returned the highest grades ever encountered in the Vicuña District with significant upside as NGEx continues to explore the large mineralized system. Ownership: Lunahuasi is 100% owned by NGEx Minerals. Location: Access to both Lunahuasi and Los Helados is via Copiapó, Chile (a driving distance of about 177 kilometres), or from San Juan, Argentina (a driving distance of approximately 264 kilometres). Geology: The new discovery at Lunahuasi is situated in the central part of the Vicuña structural-magmatic corridor, approximately mid-way between the Los Helados porphyry-copper-gold deposit 10 kilometres to the north, and the Filo del Sol porphyry-epithermal system 9 kilometres to the south. It occurs in a structurally complex area within the district where northeast-trending faults that are related to a deep-seated lithospheric-scale structure transect the dominant north-northeast trend of the Vicuña belt. Drilling in early 2023 discovered a copper-gold-silver mineralized vein swarm within pre-mineral host rocks. Massive pyrite and enargite occur within mineralized structures that have siliceous cores, vuggy silica, and advanced argillic alteration. The structures are vertical to steeply subvertical and appear to trend primarily north-northeast, although additional work is required to fully understand their orientation, and analogy with similar deposits suggests there may be several orientations of mineralized structures. Where drilled to date, they have estimated true widths of up to almost 100 metres. Limited surface mapping suggests at least a one kilometre continuous trend to the vein system, although further work needs to be completed to adequately test the dimensions of the system. The discovery area is situated near the base of a steep east-facing slope at the head of the Rio Blanco valley. While the veins themselves display advanced argillic alteration, they are emplaced into propylitic altered wall rock. Upslope to the west, however, the alteration changes quickly to a thickness of 500 metres of sericitic alteration capped by advanced argillic alteration. The indication is that the new discovery is likely part of a much larger porphyry-epithermal system with over 800 metres of vertical thickness to the west, above the new discovery, that is yet to be explored. Exploration Potential: The mineralization at Lunahuasi was discovered in 2023. Six holes were drilled into the discovery zone, all of which had multiple high-grade intersections, and it remains open in all directions. There remains excellent potential for expanding the system. Mineralization is remarkably consistent throughout the deposit, typically occurring as coarse-grained pyrite, enargite and lesser covellite, ranging from disseminations through semi-massive and breccia-fill textures to massive sulphide zones up to several metres in core length. The system displays a clear transition from discreet high-grade structures separated by unmineralized and propylitically altered wall rock in the east towards higher temperature alteration and stockwork and disseminated mineralization to the west. The more continuous mineralization in the western portion of the holes is comprised of consistent alteration of the host rhyolite and andesite cut by an apparent stockwork of massive sulphide veins ranging from 5cm to 5m thick. This progression of mineralization from discreet structures in the east to a more homogeneous stockwork zone in the west is interpreted to represent a transition towards the centre of the system which is thought to be further west than the extent of the current holes. Mineralization has been drilled to 1.1 kilometres vertically below surface and, although access to the steep surface topography is difficult above the drilled area, we see massive silica zones which are interpreted to represent the surface outcrop of the structures we are drilling. As of the end of the 2023-2024 season, we have drilled various mineralized zones throughout a 750m x 890m x 180m volume, and with only 21 holes into the deposit, we are still early on the learning curve. However, what we are seeing is consistent with the drilled mineralization being the peripheral part of a much larger system.","Los Helados: Location: Region III, Chile. Ownership: ~69% NGEx, ~31% Lundin Mining. Deposit Type: Copper-Gold Porphyry. Mineralization: Copper-Gold-Silver. Summary: Los Helados is one of the largest grassroots copper-gold discoveries made in the last decade and is one of the largest undeveloped copper-gold resources in the world. Los Helados is located within the Vicuna District, which includes the operating Caserones mine, where NGEx Minerals’ 31% partner at Los Helados, Lundin Mining, also holds a majority interest, and approximately 10 kilometers from Lundin Mining’s Josemaria and Filo del Sol deposits, which are moving toward development in San Juan Province, Argentina. Metallurgical test work indicates that Los Helados would produce a high-quality precious metal-rich copper concentrate. The combination of a large, high-quality resource in proximity to mining infrastructure owned by our joint-venture partner positions Los Helados as one of the best advanced-stage copper development opportunities globally. Ownership: NGEx currently holds an approximate 69% interest in Los Helados subject to a Joint Exploration Agreement with Lundin Mining which holds the remaining approximate 31%. NGEx is the operator of the Los Helados project. Location: Los Helados is located in the Andes Mountains of Region III (Atacama Region), Chile, approximately 10 kilometres north of NGEx’s Lunahuasi project located in the San Juan Province, Argentina. Access to both Lunahuasi and Los Helados is via Copiapó, Chile (a driving distance of about 177 kilometres), or from San Juan, Argentina (a driving distance of approximately 264 kilometres). Mineral Resources: The most recent Mineral Resource estimate for the Los Helados project, effective as of October 31, 2023, at a cut-off grade of 0.33% CuEq is comprised of 2.1 billion tonnes at 0.40% copper, 0.15 g/t gold and 1.5 g/t silver, containing 18.4 billion pounds of copper, 10.2 million ounces of gold and 97.5 million ounces of silver in the Indicated category, and an Inferred Mineral Resource estimate of 1.1 billion tonnes at 0.34% copper, 0.10 g/t gold and 1.4 g/t silver for 8.2 billion pounds of copper, 3.6 million ounces of gold and 50.2 million ounces of silver. The deposit contains a higher grade core at a cut-off grade of 0.60% CuEq of 510 million tonnes at 0.72% CuEq (0.56% copper, 0.21 g/t gold, 1.8 g/t silver). Geology: Los Helados is a copper-gold porphyry deposit. Mineralization at Los Helados is primarily hosted by a Miocene magmatic–hydrothermal breccia that forms a roughly circular, pipe-like body with minimum dimensions of 1,100m east–west, 1,200m north–south, and at least 1,500m vertically. The breccia body is surrounded by a broad halo of moderate to low grade copper-gold mineralization which diminishes in grade with increasing distance from the breccia contact. Metallurgical Testwork: A two-phase metallurgical test work program for Los Helados was conducted at SGS Minerals S.A. (SGS) laboratories in Santiago, Chile, under the supervision of Amec Foster Wheeler. Material from Los Helados was also tested for amenability to processing by High Pressure Grinding Rolls (HPGR) by Thyssenkrupp. The testwork completed to date indicates Cu recovery ranges from 84.2% to 93.9%, gold recovery averages 76% and silver recovery averages 60%. No deleterious elements were noted in the concentrates produced from the testwork completed on Los Helados mineralization and they are expected to be marketable to copper smelters around the world. Exploration Potential: The two most recent years of exploration at Los Helados have discovered two new high-grade zones within the main breccia unit. These zones need further drilling to define their limits and both are open to depth with existing drilling ending in high-grade mineralization. Similarly, the high-grade central Condor Zone remains open to depth. With the existing drilling to date at Los Helados, there are still domains along the margin of the breccia that have not seen a high drill density and there remains ample room for further high-grade discoveries.","Valle Ancho: The Valle Ancho Project is a significant land package located in the Province of Catamarca, Argentina that covers approximately 1,000 km2 of underexplored and highly prospective ground on the Argentinian side of Chile’s Maricunga Gold Belt. More than 100 million ounces of gold have been defined on the Chilean side of the border whereas the Argentinian side has seen much less exploration despite having similar geology. NGEx has a 100% interest in the Project following completion of an earn-in with the Province of Catamarca in 2022. The project area was initially explored in the 1990’s resulting in the identification of several interesting gold and copper-gold targets. While not independently verified by the Company, historical drill intercepts include 62 metres at 1.0 g/t gold, and 108 metres at 1.0 g/t gold. 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 Hemispshere Summer, and followed up with a 3,060 metre, 8-hole diamond drill program during the 2021/2022 field season to test high priority exploration targets. The 2021/2022 drill campaign at the Valle Ancho Project confirmed the discovery of a new copper-gold porphyry system at the La Quebrada target with an intersection of 596.5 metres grading 0.50% copper equivalent (0.23% copper, 0.37 g/t gold, 1.4 g/t silver). In addition, the two holes completed at the Nordin target, VADH001 and VADH002, returned 150 metres at 1.05 g/t gold from surface, and 198 metres at 0.63 g/t gold from surface, respectively. While the discoveries at Valle Ancho are encouraging and positive confirmation of the prospectivity of the broader land package, additional work will be required to better understand extent, geometry and controls of this mineralization."]
Leadership
Wojtek Wodzicki (President & CEO, Dr. Wodzicki holds a doctorate in Geosciences from the University of Arizona and brings over 30 years of international experience in mineral exploration and corporate leadership. He has led successful exploration teams worldwide, managing large-scale projects from the generative stage through to engineering studies.), Alex Tong (Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Tong is a seasoned mining finance professional with over 20 years of experience supporting exploration, development, and operating companies. He has held senior finance roles with international mining companies.), Bob Carmichael (Vice President Exploration, Mr. Carmichael joined NGEx Minerals’ predecessor company from the UK office of Lundin Mining Corporation, where he was General Manager, Resource Exploration. He has 23 years of experience in public company management and international mineral exploration.), Rich Flynn (Vice President Geology & Resources, Mr. Flynn joined the Lundin Group in 2022 as Principal Resource Geologist, responsible for data management, geological modeling and resource estimation. He has 15 years of experience in technical leadership.), Arndt Brettschneider (Vice President Operations & Projects, Mr. Brettschneider has 30 years of international mining, project development and consulting experience. He has held various senior roles in the Lundin Group.), Finlay Heppenstall (Vice President, Corporate Development & Investor Relations, Mr. Heppenstall has over 10 years of experience in capital markets and the natural resource industry, previously serving as Director, Investor Relations & Corporate Development at Lundin Gold Inc.), Martin Rode (South America General Manager, Mr. Rode is a Geologist focused on South American Andean projects, with over twenty years of experience in the Vicuña District.), Judy A. McCall (Corporate Secretary, Ms. McCall is a senior corporate governance and securities professional with more than 18 years’ experience supporting publicly traded natural resource companies. She has extensive experience in securities compliance and corporate financings.)

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