ATEX Demonstrates Scalability and Discovers Overprinting High-Grade System in Phase IV Drill Program

Rhea-AI Summary

ATEX Resources announces assay results for partial drill holes ATXD25A and ATXD26A from its Phase IV drill campaign at the Valeriano Copper-Gold Project in Chile.

Highlights include: Confirmation of a new geological model, expanding the strike length of Early Porphyry units to 1.2km and width to 0.5km; a high-grade overprint event with ATXD26 intersecting 122.0m at 1.60% CuEq.

ATXD25A intersected 224.2m at 0.47% CuEq, paused due to early storms, to be continued in Phase V.

ATXD26A intersected 31.45m at 0.62% CuEq, also paused, to be continued in Phase V.

Phase IV concluded with promising results, setting a strong foundation for Phase V starting in H2 2024.

Positive

• New geological model confirmed, expanding Early Porphyry units' strike length to 1.2km and width to 0.5km.
• High-grade overprint event discovered, with ATXD26 intersecting 122.0m at 1.60% CuEq.
• Phase IV assays returned highest grades seen at the Valeriano Project to date.

Negative

• Drilling paused due to early seasonal storms, causing delays in project completion.

Results for Partial Holes ATXD25A & ATXD26A Point to Further Expansion and High-grade in Phase V

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 25, 2024) - ATEX Resources Inc. (TSXV: ATX) ("ATEX" or the "Company") is pleased to announce assay results for partial drill holes ATXD25A and ATXD26A, the seventh and eighth holes from its Phase IV drill campaign at the Valeriano Copper-Gold Project ("Valeriano" or the "Project") located in the Atacama Region, Chile.

Highlights from the Phase IV program include:

• A new conceptual geology model being confirmed through drilling at the end of Phase IV and setting up for an exciting Phase V drill program.

  • New model outlines increased continuity and size potential of the Early Porphyry ("EP") units along a strike length of 1.2km and a width of approximately 0.5km defined in drilling to date. The EP remains open along strike and associated wall rock mineralization remains open in all directions.

  • Within this EP body, additional drilling demonstrated potential for greater continuity and a strike length of >1.0% CuEq mineralization. ATXD16A, which intersected 594m grading 0.92% CuEq (0.67% Cu, 0.32 g/t Au, 1.13 g/t Ag and 71 g/t Mo) in the southeast remains open to the southeast and the trend continues northwest towards ATXD11B where it remains open.

• Discovery of a new high-grade overprinting event indicated by ATXD26 which intersected 122.0m of 1.60% CuEq (1.11% Cu, 0.49 g/t Au, 2.71 g/t Ag and 348 g/t Mo) including 68m of 2.02% CuEq (1.39% Cu, 0.6 g/t Au, 3.81 g/t Ag and 473 g/t Mo) above the contact of the high-grade porphyry trend, and could represent a new discrete high-grade domain within the resource envelope and nearer to surface.

Highlights from partial holes ATXD25A and ATXD26A:

• ATXD25A intersected 224.2 metres of 0.47% CuEq (0.37% Cu, 0.07 g/t Au, 0.57 g/t Ag and 112 g/t Mo) from 1,230 metres downhole.

  • ATXD25A was targeting mineralization in hole ATXD25 which previously expanded the extent of the mineralized porphyry corridor to the west.

  • The drill hole was paused in mineralization associated with a contact between wall rock and Mineralized Porphyry units, expanding the known extent of this unit to the northwest and opening new space for further expansion along strike.

  • The drill hole was paused due to early seasonal storms and will be completed during Phase V drilling.

• ATXD26A intersected 31.45 metres of 0.62% CuEq (0.45% Cu, 0.13 g/t Au, 1.31 g/t Ag and 175 g/t Mo) from 792 metres downhole.

  • ATXD26A, drilled out of ATXD26, will continue to follow up on mineralization intersected in ATXD26 and test continuity of high-grade mineralization above the intersection in ATXD24 (312.4 metres of 1.00% CuEq (0.73% Cu, 0.30 g/t Au and 77 g/t Mo). See Company news dated July 13, 2023.

  • Mineralization in this drill hole was associated with potassic altered Rock Milled Breccia ("RMB") containing fragments of earlier mineralized porphyry units.

  • The drill hole was paused short of target depth due to early seasonal storms and will be completed during Phase V drilling.

• ATXD27 was paused with over 1,000m remaining to drill and will target the northern extension of mineralization intersected in ATXD26. ATXD27 will be completed during Phase V drilling.

"Phase IV exceeded our expectations and highlights the potential for more high-grade mineralization and provides first evidence for the presence of multiple overlapping systems yielding higher grades along the growing high-grade trend from ATXD16A through to ATXD26 representing a strike length of approximately 700m and open along strike in both directions, and at depth," stated Ben Pullinger, President and CEO of ATEX. "Equally exciting is that our understanding of the shape and size of the Valeriano Porphyry system and higher-grade EP component has increased dramatically through the Phase IV program. All holes so far in Phase IV have continued to intersect significant mineralized intervals within the yet to be defined limits of the system. Additionally, this program continues to return the highest grades seen at the Project to date and provides an exciting springboard to launch from in Phase V."

Table 1 - Summary Results for ATXD25A, ATXD26A and ATXD27

Hole ID(2,3)	From	To	Interval2	Cu	Au	Ag	Mo	CuEq MRS(1)
	(m)	(m)	(m)	(%)	(g/t)	(g/t)	(g/t)	(%)
ATXD25A	1,230.00	1,454.20	224.20	0.37	0.07	0.57	112	0.47
ATXD26A(4)	791.85	823.30	31.45	0.45	0.13	1.31	175	0.62
ATXD27	0	944.3	Incomplete

 

1. CuEq calculated using recoveries assumed in 2023 MRE (90% Cu, 70% Au, 80% Ag and 60% Mo) (See Company news dated September 12, 2023) using the formula stated below:
   1. Copper Equivalent (CuEq) is calculated using the formula CuEq % = Cu % + (6,481.488523 * Au g/t /10,000) + (94.6503085864 * Ag g/t /10,000) + (4.2328042328 * Mo g/t /10,000).
2. Drill holes were composited at a cut-off of 0.3% CuEq.
3. Holes ATXD25A, ATXD26A and ATXD27 were paused at end of Phase IV.
4. ATXD26A includes an interval of 3.2m from 801.3m to 804.5m where no core was recovered due to use of a directional drilling tool.

Due to the early onset of seasonal weather in the region, the Phase IV program has been concluded totalling approximately 12,000m of diamond drilling. Utilizing directional drilling for the completion of daughter holes out of existing parent holes drilled from surface, ATEX has been able to realize an effective total of 20,100m drilled in the event all holes had been drilled from surface. ATEX has announced assay results for completed holes, ATXD16A, ATXD17A, ATXD12A, ATXD25, AXTD17B, ATXD26 and partial holes ATXD25A, ATXD26A and ATXD27.

Phase IV Exploration Program Summary

Phase IV has been another transformative exploration season, at Valeriano, during which ATEX has vastly improved the understanding of the geometry of the Valeriano system and demonstrated more continuity of the higher-grade core by intersecting the best grades seen on the Project to date. At the end of the campaign, the system remained open in all directions despite increasing the strike length on the mineralized intrusive units to over 1.2 kilometers demonstrating potential for scalability of the deposit. Additionally, the late-stage epithermal system overprinting wall rock mineralization that was intersected above the top of the porphyry units provides another exciting exploration target to follow up on in Phase V and represents potential optionality as a separate high-grade domain within the greater resource envelope and higher up in the system.

Table 2 - Phase IV Drill Program Results

Hole ID (2,4)		From		To		Interval		Cu		Au		Ag		Mo		CuEq MRS(1)		Drilled	Comment
		(m)		(m)		(m)		(%)		(g/t)		(g/t)		(g/t)		(%)		(m)
ATXD12A		864.00		1,986.00		1,122.00		0.37		0.14		0.97		57		0.48		1,395.75	Daughter hole from VALDD12-012. Expanded early porphyry corridor to along southern margin of Western trend.
incl.		1,500.00		1,986.00		486.00		0.36		0.17		1.40		21		0.49
Also incl.		1,648.00		1,682.00		34.00		0.48		0.22		2.60		44		0.65
and		1,890.00		1,924.00		34.00		0.48		0.25		2.02		5		0.65
ATXD16A(5)		950.00		1,802.00		852.00		0.60		0.28		0.98		72		0.82		1,221.65	Daughter hole from VALDD13-016. Intersected EP between Central and Eastern trends confirming continuity between previously modeled trends and expanded southeastern extents of high-grade trend. Remains open to SE along strike below existing drill holes.
incl.		1,168.00		1,762.00		594.00		0.67		0.32		1.13		71		0.92
incl.		1,616.00		1,728.00		112.00		1.01		0.57		2.06		46		1.42
ATXD17A(6)		1,052.00		1,976.00		924.00		0.45		0.17		0.88		99		0.61		1,555.65	Daughter hole from ATXD17. Drilled over top of porphyry contact into mineralized wall rock, proximal to projected southern porphyry extents.
incl.		1,062.00		1,555.00		493.00		0.50		0.21		0.82		113		0.69
incl.		1,216.00		1,314.00		98.00		0.56		0.28		0.90		103		0.79
ATXD25		1,346.00		2,208.20		862.20		0.42		0.27		1.72		26		0.62		2,208.20	Significantly expanded western extent of EP corridor and confirmed continuity of EP in previously modeled gap between Central and Westen trends.
incl.		1,550.00		2,208.20		658.20		0.42		0.33		2.09		7		0.66
And incl.		1,858.00		2,208.20		350.20		0.45		0.42		2.60		3		0.75
And incl.		2,084.00		2,198.00		114.00		0.54		0.48		2.95		6		0.88
ATXD17B		750.00		1,254.00		504.00		0.42		0.17		0.96		51		0.56		1,203.10	Daughter hole from ATXD17. Deviated outside of porphyry corridor and intersected sporadic high-grade intervals indicative of deeper porphyry mineralization below.
ATXD26(7)		586.00		1,564.00		978.00		0.54		0.21		1.26		145		0.75		1,565.40	A high-grade, copper, gold and silver enriched low sulphidation epithermal system, overprinting existing mineralization was intersected above projected porphyry target. Porphyry target below remains untested for Phase V follow-up.
Incl.		1,010.00		1,366.00		356.00		0.70		0.29		1.49		180		0.98
And incl.		1,086.00		1,208.00		122.00		1.11		0.49		2.71		348		1.60
And incl.		1,100.00		1,168.00		68.00		1.39		0.60		3.81		473		2.02
ATXD25A(3,9)		1,230.00		1,454.20		224.20		0.37		0.07		0.57		112		0.47		824.64	Drill hole paused in mineralization, proximal to intrusive contact inferred from ATXD25, and to be completed in Phase V.
ATXD26A(3,8,9)		791.85		823.30		31.45		0.45		0.13		1.31		175		0.62		133.64	Drill hole paused in mineralization, as in ATXD26, and to be completed in Phase V.
ATXD27(3,9)		0		944.3		Incomplete												944.30	Drill hole paused in host rock with over 1,000m to be completed.

 

1. CuEq calculated using recoveries assumed in 2023 MRE (90% Cu, 70% Au, 80% Ag and 60% Mo) (See Company news dated September 12, 2023) using the formula stated below:
   1. Copper Equivalent (CuEq) is calculated using the formula CuEq % = Cu % + (6,481.488523 * Au g/t /10,000) + (94.6503085864* Ag g/t /10,000) + (4.2328042328 * Mo g/t /10,000).
2. Drill holes were composited at a cut-off of 0.3% CuEq.
3. Holes ATXD25A, ATXD26A and ATXD27 were paused at end of Phase IV.
4. Please see Company releases noted below for full details on Phase IV results:
   1. ATXD12A - Released January 18, 2024.
   2. ATXD16A and ATXD17A - Released February 22, 2024.
   3. ATXD25 - Released April 30, 2024.
   4. ATXD17B and ATXD26 - Released May 15, 2024.
5. ATXD16A includes an interval of 10.8m from 996.2m to 1,006.9m where no core was recovered due to use of directional drilling tool.
6. ATXD17A includes intervals of 16.85m from 1,554.8 to 1,571.65m and 13.85m from 1,580.95 to 1,594.8m where no core was recovered due to use of directional drilling tool.
7. ATXD26 includes intervals of 22.2m from 804.3m to 826.5m and 8.0m from 854.7m to 862.7m where no core was recovered due to use of a directional drilling tool.
8. ATXD26A includes an interval of 3.2m from 801.3m to 804.5m where no core was recovered due to use of directional drilling tool.
9. The three uncompleted holes (ATXD25A, ATXD26A and ATXD27) will be completed during the Phase V campaign.

Figure 1. Long-section through Trends with 2023 MRE Copper Grade Shell

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6303/214229_71eecfec74cf182f_001full.jpg

Table 3 - Detailed Results for ATXD25A and ATXD26A

Hole ID(4,6)	From	To	Interval2	Cu	Au	Ag	Mo	CuEq MRS(1)	CuEq In Situ(2)	CuEq Met Results(3)
	(m)	(m)	(m)	(%)	(g/t)	(g/t)	(g/t)	(%)	(%)	(%)
ATXD25A	1,230.00	1,454.20	224.20	0.37	0.07	0.57	112	0.47	0.51	0.50
ATXD26A(5)	791.85	823.30	31.45	0.45	0.13	1.31	175	0.62	0.68	0.66

 

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   FAQ

   What are the recent assay results for ATEX Resources (ECRTF) Phase IV drill program?

   ATEX Resources announced assay results for partial drill holes ATXD25A and ATXD26A, highlighting intersections of 224.2m at 0.47% CuEq and 31.45m at 0.62% CuEq respectively.

   How did the Phase IV drill program affect ATEX Resources (ECRTF)?

   The Phase IV drill program led to the confirmation of a new geological model, improved understanding of the Valeriano system, and discovery of high-grade mineralization, positively impacting ATEX Resources.

   What was discovered in ATEX Resources' (ECRTF) ATXD26 drill hole?

   ATXD26 intersected 122.0m of 1.60% CuEq, indicating a high-grade overprint event at the Valeriano Copper-Gold Project.

   What are the future plans for ATEX Resources (ECRTF) following Phase IV?

   ATEX Resources plans to continue drilling in Phase V, starting in H2 2024, to expand and further explore the high-grade mineralization discovered in Phase IV.