Culpeo Minerals expands Chile landholding by 45% with new licences

Santiago, Chile – Culpeo Minerals, a dynamic player in the junior mining sector, has announced a substantial expansion of its exploration landholding in Chile, securing 24 new exploration licences (ELs) that increase its total tenure in the country by a significant 45%. This strategic acquisition, covering an additional 2,809 hectares, brings Culpeo’s total Chilean land package to 9,033 hectares, consolidating its position across its burgeoning Lana Corina and Fortuna copper-gold projects. Dated July 20, 2026, this move underscores the company’s commitment to establishing a dominant presence in one of the world's most prolific copper-producing regions.

Strategic Expansion in a Key Mining Jurisdiction

The expansion of Culpeo Minerals’ landholding is a pivotal development in its overarching strategy to build a robust copper-gold portfolio in Chile. The addition of 2,809 hectares across its Lana Corina and Fortuna projects is not merely an increase in size but a calculated effort to encompass areas surrounding and along-strike from known mineralisation. This approach is fundamental in mineral exploration, as prospective extensions of existing deposits often represent significant future resource potential, reducing geological risk and streamlining exploration efforts.

Chile, consistently ranking as the largest copper producer globally, offers an attractive environment for mineral exploration and development. Its geological endowment, characterised by extensive porphyry copper and iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) systems, has made it a magnet for mining investment. For a company like Culpeo Minerals, expanding its tenure in such a high-calibre jurisdiction provides critical access to areas with proven geological prospectivity, aligning with the industry's focus on securing long-term supply chains for essential base and precious metals.

As Geoff McNamara, Interim Executive Chair of Culpeo Minerals, articulated, “The granting of these licences materially strengthens Culpeo’s land position across the Lana Corina and Fortuna project areas and supports our objective of establishing a district-scale, copper-gold portfolio in Chile.” This statement highlights the strategic intent behind the expansion: to aggregate sufficient land to potentially define multiple deposits or a very large, contiguous mineralised system, characteristic of a "district-scale" project. Such projects often offer economies of scale in terms of infrastructure, processing, and operational efficiencies, making them highly attractive targets for development.

Focused Growth at Lana Corina and Fortuna

The newly granted licences are strategically allocated across Culpeo's two primary projects in Chile:

• Lana Corina Project: This project received five new ELs, adding 793 hectares to its footprint. This expansion aims to capture extensions of the copper-gold mineralisation already identified and explored within the existing Lana Corina tenure. Access to adjacent ground is crucial for understanding the complete geological context of a mineral system and for identifying targets for future drilling that could significantly enhance the project's resource potential.
• Fortuna Project: The Fortuna project saw a more substantial increase, with 19 new ELs covering an additional 2,016 hectares. This significant expansion provides Culpeo's geological team with a much broader area to explore, particularly along known mineralisation trends. The Fortuna project is already understood to host multiple prospects with confirmed copper-gold mineralisation, making additional surrounding tenure invaluable for identifying new drilling targets and potentially linking existing zones of mineralisation.

The decision to expand precisely in these areas demonstrates a geological understanding developed through prior exploration programs. By securing ground "surrounding and along-strike from known mineralisation," Culpeo aims to apply its refined geological models to these new areas, increasing the likelihood of discovering additional high-value targets. This method is a standard and effective practice in mineral exploration, particularly in regions known for large, interconnected mineral systems.

Intensified Exploration Programs Underway

Culpeo Minerals has not delayed in integrating these newly acquired areas into its ongoing exploration programs, showcasing a proactive approach to unlocking their potential. These programs are designed to systematically evaluate the expanded tenure and refine targets for future drilling.

Early-Stage Exploration: Paving the Way for Deeper Insights

Initial exploration activities across the new licences include fundamental geological techniques:

• Geological Mapping: This involves meticulously documenting rock types, structural features (such as faults and folds), and alteration patterns. It helps geologists understand the overall architecture of the mineral system and identify areas where mineralisation is most likely to occur.
• Rock-Chip Sampling: This method involves collecting small, representative samples of rock directly from outcrops or float. These samples are then sent for laboratory analysis to determine their metal content (e.g., copper, gold), providing direct indications of mineralisation.
• Channel Sampling: Similar to rock-chip sampling, channel sampling involves collecting a continuous sample across a specific width of an outcrop or trench. This technique provides a more representative average grade over a defined interval, offering valuable insights into the width and consistency of mineralised zones.

These activities are crucial for developing a comprehensive understanding of the project areas and are instrumental in identifying and prioritising targets for subsequent, more intensive exploration phases, particularly drilling.

Advanced Geophysics and Drilling at Fortuna

At the Fortuna Project, exploration efforts are proceeding with more advanced techniques, reflecting the project’s maturity and confirmed mineralisation. An induced polarisation (IP) survey has commenced, covering approximately 24 line-kilometres. An IP survey is a geophysical technique that measures the chargeability and resistivity of subsurface rocks. Chargeability can indicate the presence of disseminated sulphide minerals, which are often associated with copper and gold deposits, while resistivity contrasts can highlight different rock types or structures. By mapping these properties, geophysicists can identify anomalies that may represent buried mineralisation.

The data from this IP survey, when combined with insights from geological mapping, trenching, geochemical analyses, magnetic surveys, and existing drilling data, will form a multifaceted dataset. This integrated approach allows Culpeo’s geological team to refine and rank exploration targets with a higher degree of confidence, ensuring that subsequent drilling campaigns are focused on the most promising areas.

Concurrent with these efforts, diamond drilling activities are actively underway at the El Quillay South prospect, an integral part of the Fortuna project. Diamond drilling is the gold standard for subsurface exploration, providing core samples that allow geologists to directly observe geology, alteration, and mineralisation at depth, and to precisely measure metal grades. The industry eagerly anticipates the initial assay results from this drilling, which are expected to be available by August 2026. These results will be critical in validating the geological models and advancing the understanding of the mineralisation at El Quillay South, potentially leading to resource definition and future development planning.

The Vision: Developing a District-Scale Portfolio

Culpeo Minerals’ stated objective of establishing a “district-scale, copper-gold portfolio in Chile” resonates deeply within the mining industry. A district-scale approach signifies a strategy to consolidate and explore a large, contiguous land package that has the potential to host multiple deposits or a single, very large mineral resource amenable to long-term, large-scale mining operations. Such an approach offers several compelling advantages:

• Enhanced Resource Potential: Maximises the opportunity to define substantial mineral resources and reserves, often leading to longer mine lives.
• Operational Efficiencies: Allows for the development of shared infrastructure (roads, power, water, processing facilities) across multiple deposits within the district, leading to lower per-unit operating costs.
• Reduced Risk: A diversified resource base within a single district can mitigate the risks associated with individual deposit performance.
• Strategic Appeal: District-scale projects are highly attractive to major mining companies looking for significant, long-term asset acquisitions.

This ambition positions Culpeo Minerals not just as an explorer looking for individual deposits, but as a potential developer of a significant mining complex in Chile, aligning its growth trajectory with some of the industry's most successful ventures.

Chile's Enduring Appeal for Copper-Gold Exploration

Chile's prominence in the global mining landscape is well-established. Beyond its status as the world's leading copper producer, the country boasts a rich history of gold production and remains a highly attractive destination for exploration investment due to numerous factors:

• Geological Endowment: The Andes mountain range hosts some of the planet’s largest and highest-grade copper-gold porphyry and IOCG deposits.
• Established Infrastructure: Decades of mining activity have led to well-developed infrastructure in many regions, including ports, roads, power grids, and access to skilled labour.
• Favourable Mining Law: While regulations can evolve, Chile generally offers a stable and predictable legal framework for mining investments compared to many other jurisdictions.
• Global Demand: Copper is a critical component for the global energy transition, essential for electric vehicles, renewable energy infrastructure, and grid modernisation. Gold, meanwhile, maintains its status as a store of value and a hedge against economic uncertainty.

Culpeo Minerals' expansion directly leverages these advantages, positioning the company to capitalise on both the country's geological potential and the robust long-term demand for its target commodities.

What Lies Ahead: Awaiting Key Results and Future Development

The immediate focus for Culpeo Minerals in the coming months will be the analysis and interpretation of the IP survey data from Fortuna and, critically, the assay results from the diamond drilling at the El Quillay South prospect, anticipated by August 2026. These forthcoming results will provide crucial insights into the grade and extent of mineralisation, which will inform the next phases of exploration and potential resource definition.

Success in these exploration programs could pave the way for a series of escalating milestones, including:

• Further infill and step-out drilling to delineate the full extent of mineralisation.
• Commencement of maiden resource estimates in accordance with international reporting standards.
• Initiation of scoping studies or preliminary economic assessments (PEAs) to evaluate the economic viability of the projects.
• Potential for partnerships or joint ventures with larger mining companies seeking to acquire significant copper-gold assets.

Culpeo Minerals’ expanded landholding in Chile represents a significant step forward in its long-term strategy. By systematically exploring these prospective areas with a combination of basic and advanced techniques, the company is positioning itself to be a key contributor to Chile's vibrant mining future and a valuable player in the global supply of critical metals. The industry will be watching closely as the results from El Quillay South emerge later this year, potentially marking a significant inflection point for the company.