NGEx Reports 2024 Results; Phase 3 Drilling at Lunahuasi Project Continues to Showcase Significant Grades and Scale
VANCOUVER, BC, March 25, 2025 /CNW/ - NGEx Minerals Ltd. ("NGEx Minerals" "NGEx" or the "Company") (TSX:NGEX) (OTCQX:NGXXF) is pleased to report its results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2024. PDF Version
Highlights for the three months and year ended December 31, 2024, include the following, details of which are discussed further below:
Drilling at Lunahuasi continues to deliver high-grade results over a sizeable scale. Phase 2 Lunahuasi drilling, which was undertaken from October 2023 to April 2024, and Phase 3 drilling, which began in October 2024 and is planned to continue into May 2025, have consistently delivered high-grade copper, gold and silver intercepts from not only short-range holes, but also in the longest step out holes assayed to date.
Another emerging giant in the Vicuña District. Following the initial discovery of the Lunahuasi deposit in 2023, Phase 2 and Phase 3 step out drilling has expanded the boundaries of the mineralized volume to over 1km north-south, east-west and at depth. This mineralized volume is open in all directions, with numerous intersections at the edges of the current drill pattern continuing to return strong grades.
Substantial grades that compare to high-grade, gold-only deposits. Gold values intersected in a number of holes completed to date rival those apparent in some of the highest-grade gold deposits globally. These results showcase the significant precious metal content and robust nature of the Lunahuasi deposit.
Expansion of current Phase 3 drill program following strong early results and $176.9 million financing. The early successes of the Phase 3 drill campaign have led to the addition of two rigs in late February 2025, bringing the total rig count to eight, and an increase to the number of drill metres planned for the campaign from 20,000m to 25,000m. The ability to expand the Phase 3 program was afforded by the successful completion of an oversubscribed, non-brokered private placement of common shares of the Company on October 31, 2024, which raised gross proceeds of $176.9 million.
Wojtek Wodzicki, President and CEO, commented, "The Company has quickly established the Lunahuasi deposit as a key asset within the rapidly evolving Vicuña District, showcasing a unique combination of unusually high-grades and significant size. The mineralized volume at Lunahuasi now measures a minimum of 1km north-south, east-west and vertically. There remains significant potential for further expansion as drilling continues to return strong grades at the edges of the current drill pattern.
With the incorporation of two additional rigs to the ongoing Phase 3 program, the Company has accelerated exploration at Lunahuasi. A top priority continues to be additional step out drilling to extend and further define high-grade mineralization. A secondary objective is testing for a porphyry source to the west. We look forward to a strong conclusion to our Phase 3 program, planned for late Q2 2025, a subsequent steady flow of assay results into mid-year leading into the release of an initial Exploration Target, as defined under National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101"), in the second half of the year."
2024 Operating Highlights and Outlook
Lunahuasi Continues to Exceed Expectations with High-grades and Significant Potential for Scale
During the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company focused on advancing and accelerating exploration at the Lunahuasi deposit, located in San Juan, Argentina. Discovered in early 2023, Lunahuasi has quickly grown to become a cornerstone asset within the Vicuña District due to its remarkably high-grades, significant size potential, and strategic location close to neighbouring advanced properties in this emerging giant metals region.
In the first half of 2024, the Company successfully completed its second ever drill program at Lunahuasi with 12,952m of core drilling in 15 holes. The Phase 2 campaign continued to intersect long, high-grade intervals in and around the initial discovery hole, DPDH002, and confirmed the presence of mineralized structures throughout a volume measuring at least 400m by 900m by 960m. Importantly, the Lunahuasi deposit remained open in all directions with several of the holes that marked the outer boundaries of the drill pattern returning significant mineralization, such as:
Northern boundary: DPDH002 which included 60.0m at 7.52% copper equivalent ("CuEq") (5.65% Cu, 2.04 g/t Au, 44.0 g/t Ag);
Southern boundary: DPDH021 which included 58.1m at 6.04% CuEq (3.53% Cu, 2.76 g/t Au, 56.3 g/t Ag) 380m south of the intersection in DPDH002; and
Western boundary: DPDH022 which included 12.1m at 4.48% CuEq (3.82% Cu, 0.59 g/t Au, 25.2 g/t Ag) near the bottom of the hole, 500m west of the intersection in DPDH002.
Building on the success of its Phase 2 program, the Company launched its ambitious Phase 3 drill program at Lunahuasi in October 2024, which is planned to continue into May 2025. As of the date of this news release, the Phase 3 program has already completed over 18,000m of drilling in 18 holes (DPDH024 to DPDH041), becoming the Company's largest campaign to date at Lunahuasi. The program also includes drill rigs with depth capacities beyond 2,000m which are intended to test the western extent of the system.
Most notably, the Phase 3 program is testing the Lunahuasi deposit at three target scales:
Long-range exploration holes (+300m spacing) are big step-outs that are testing for significant extensions of mineralization to the north, south, and west.
Mid-range step out holes (50-300m spacing) are exploring for extensions of the mineralized zone in all directions and start to fill in large gaps in the drill pattern.
Short-range infill holes (30-50m spacing) are testing the short-range variability of mineralized structures and high-grade zones and confirming the main structural orientations, ultimately contributing towards developing a future mineral resource estimate for Lunahuasi.
To date, four sets of assay results from the Phase 3 program have been released by the Company. Highlights from Phase 3 up to the date of this news release include:
Continuation of high-grade intersections across considerable widths, including within short-range holes, which have confirmed local grades within the mineralized structures. Highlights include:
DPDH024 which intersected 86.60m at 4.39% CuEq (1.76% Cu, 3.37 g/t Au, 20.6 g/t Ag), including 12.25m at 23.35% CuEq (9.36% Cu, 18.16 g/t Au, 84.7 g/t Ag);
DPDH028 which intersected 51.10m at 13.84% CuEq (5.98% Cu, 9.70 g/t Au, 90.4 g/t Ag);
DPDH032 which intersected 27.40m at 25.19% CuEq (7.80% Cu, 23.17 g/t Au, 55.9 g/t Ag) including 8.60m at 15.80% Cu, 69.82 g/t Au and 127.4 g/t Ag; and
DPDH035 which intersected 51.5m at 12.26% CuEq (including 10.42 g/t Au) including 21.50m at 23.81% CuEq (including 23.81 g/t Au);
Significant expansion of the Lunahuasi deposit with successful mid- and long-range step out holes that have extended the mineralized volume to a minimum distance of 1km north-south, east-west, and vertically. Of particular note, the largest step-outs completed at Lunahuasi and assayed to date include:
DPDH028, the best hole drilled to date at Lunahuasi, which was drilled deeper and to the west of all previous holes;
DPDH029, which was drilled 470m south of DPDH028 and returned 157.7m at 2.18% CuEq (1.67% Cu, 0.49 g/t Au, 16.7 g/t Ag); and
DPDH033, which extended the deposit 50m to the north with 16.25m at 6.79% CuEq (5.05% Cu, 1.87 g/t Au, 42.5 g/t Ag) plus 23.00m at 4.49% CuEq (2.34% Cu, 2.51 g/t Au, 35.6 g/t Ag).
Presence of elevated high-grade precious metals, particularly ...
