NGEx Announces Copper Gold Discovery at Nacimientos Project

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 26, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

NGEx Resources Inc. (TSX: NGQ) (Nasdaq Stockholm: NGQ) ("NGEx" or the "Company") is pleased to report encouraging copper-gold results from initial scout drilling at its new Nacimientos exploration project in San Juan Province Argentina.

Please view PDF version of News Release including maps.

The Nacimientos Project is the Company's newest exploration project and is a district-scale land package that extends over approximately 15,000 hectares and covers at least six distinct porphyry copper-gold and epithermal gold targets.  The project area is located approximately 80 kilometres south of Barrick Gold's Veladero Mine and is within a possible extension of the prolific El Indio-Veladero gold belt that hosts past production and current resources of more than 50 million ounces of gold  (see Figure 1).  Project logistics are excellent, and the site is approximately an hour's drive on dirt roads from a paved highway and small town.

Three diamond drill holes were completed in April 2018, during the last few weeks of the field season. The holes provided an initial test of three out of six target areas identified earlier this year. Two holes, NADH001 and NADH003, confirmed the presence of extensive porphyry copper-gold mineralization associated with an open ended 4 x 2 kilometre copper-gold anomaly.  A third hole, NADH002, confirmed the presence of epithermal alteration under unaltered cover rocks (see Figure 2).  All three scout holes tested multi-kilometre scale targets and were intended to prove geological concepts rather than to be definitive tests.

Commenting on the results from Nacimientos, Wojtek Wodzicki President and CEO of NGEx stated; "We are very encouraged by these early results from Nacimientos.  This was a quick, end-of-season drill program designed as an initial test of geological concepts which has now confirmed the presence of a significant porphyry copper gold system and a large epithermal system under younger cover rocks.  The encouraging results at Nacimientos are an important first step that will guide further exploration that we expect will lead us into the core of the system."

This initial success has encouraged us to plan further drilling, to better define these zones, test a minimum of three other targets, and to vector into the higher-grade parts of the system.  This Phase II work program is scheduled to begin later in the year.

Porphyry Copper-Gold Target 

NADH003 was sited at the east end of the copper-gold soil anomaly and intersected 52 metres of 0.40% copper and 0.35 grams/tonne gold for a copper equivalent grade of 0.63% CuEq^[1] starting from 16 metres below surface The hole was strongly altered and mineralized from 12 meters to its final depth of 166 metres. Drilling was halted due to the onset of winter weather. This drill hole is interpreted to be on the edge of the system but is encouraging because it confirms the presence of a large, near surface, mineralized copper-gold system. Further drilling is planned for later this year to vector into the core of the system.

Drill hole NADH001 collared approximately 2 kilometres northwest of NADH003, and intersected strongly altered rocks and anomalous copper and gold averaging 0.12% copper and 0.28 grams/tonne gold (0.30% CuEq^[1)] over 288 meters starting at 14 metres depth confirming the extension of the porphyry system intersected in NADH003 over at least 2 kilometres.

Gold Target 

NADH002 was drilled to test for the extension under younger cover rocks, of a previously mapped, flat lying zone of massive silica that outcrops on the slope of an elevated plateau area (see Figure 3). Massive silica can be an important feature of epithermal gold deposits because the silica can act as a seal beneath which ponding of gold bearing solutions occurs.  The drill hole was located near the geographic center of the plateau and approximately 500m from the nearest outcrop of silica (view PDF). A zone of high resistivity identified in a  geophysical survey completed earlier this year, suggested a possible extension of the silica under the cover rocks. The hole drilled through the cover rocks and into massive silica and underlying strongly silicified rocks with highly anomalous levels of epithermal pathfinder elements including mercury, arsenic, and tellurium.  This hole is important because it confirms the presence of a large hydrothermal system extending over at least 1 square kilometre, under the cover rocks. Future work will try to vector towards the interpreted gold-rich part of the system.

Table 1: Drill Hole Intersections 

                From      To    Length     Cu %   Au g/t   Ag g/t   CuEq %
    NADH001       14      302      288     0.12     0.28     0.95     0.30
    NADH002       No Significant Values
    NADH003       12      166      154     0.22     0.23     0.67     0.37
       incl       16       68       52     0.40     0.35     1.31     0.63

Table 2: Drill Hole Collar Information 

    Hole ID  East(m)  North(m)  Elev(m) Azimuth   Dip  Length(m)
    NADH001   428689   6670533    4530       15   -70     302.0
    NADH002   428600   6671700    5010      180   -75     331.7
    NADH003   431000   6670200    4180       15   -70     185.5

Qualified Person 

Technical disclosure for the Company's projects included in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Bob Carmichael, P. Eng. (BC). Mr. Carmichael is NGEx's Vice President of Exploration and a Qualified Person ("QP") under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101).

About NGEx 

NGEx is a Canadian mineral exploration company with projects in Chile and Argentina. The Company's shares are listed on the TSX and on Nasdaq Stockholm under the symbol "NGQ". The Company's main focus is on advancing the development of its two, large copper/gold deposits, Los Helados and Josemaría, located in Chile's Region III and adjacent San Juan Province, Argentina. The Company owns a 100% interest in the Josemaría project and is the majority partner and operator for the Los Helados project, subject to a Joint Exploration Agreement with its joint exploration partner in Chile, Pan Pacific Copper ("PPC").  The Company is also actively seeking new exploration projects and carrying out earlier stage exploration on projects with large scale potential.

^[1]Copper Equivalent Basis:  CuEq was calculated using US$3/lb Cu, US$ 1300/oz Au and US$ 15/oz Ag.  The formula used is Cu % + 0.632 * Au g/t + 0.0073 * Ag g/t.

Additional Information 

The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, on June 25, 2018 at 3:15 p.m. Pacific Time.

On behalf of the board

Wojtek Wodzicki,
President and CEO

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements 

Certain statements made and information contained herein in the press release constitutes "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking information"). The forward-looking information contained in this press release is based on information available to the Company as of the date of this press release. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update this forward-looking information. Generally, this forward-looking information can frequently, but not always, be identified by use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events, conditions or results "will", "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotations thereof. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements. In particular, this press release contains forward-looking statements with respect to future exploration plans, the success of future exploration activities; success of future efforts to vector in to higher grade parts of the system, ability to build shareholder value through discovery and resource development; and other risks and uncertainties.

Forward-looking information is provided for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans and allowing investors and others to get a better understanding of the Company's operating environment. Forward-looking information is based on certain assumptions that the Company believes are reasonable, including that the company will be able to complete the currently planned drill holes before the onset of winter conditions, the current price of and demand for commodities will be sustained or will improve, the supply of commodities will remain stable, that the general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner, that financing will be available if and when needed on reasonable terms and that the Company will not experience any material labour dispute, accident, or failure drilling equipment. These factors are not, and should not be construed as being, exhaustive.

Forward-looking information is necessarily based on estimates and assumptions that are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: risks and uncertainties relating to, among other things, current interpretations of geological targets and potential for mineralization identified on surface to persist at depth or under cover rocks, the ability of drill contractors to reach target depths, as well as other risks and uncertainties more fully described under "Risks Factors" in the Company's Annual Information Form available under the Company's profile at http://www.sedar.com and the Company's website.

The forward-looking information contained in this news release is made as of the date of this news release. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update this forward-looking information. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that would cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. All of the forward-looking information contained in this document is qualified by these cautionary statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information due to the inherent uncertainty thereof.

Michelle Fyfe, Investor Relations (604) 689-7842.