NGEx Minerals Ltd announces that it has entered into an option agreement with the Province of Catamarca, Argentina to earn a 100% interest in the Valle Ancho, Interceptor, Filo de las Vicunas properties collectively the Valle Ancho gold project.
Valle Ancho is a large land package held by the Province of Catamarca that covers ~100,000 Ha (1,000 sq km) of underexplored and highly prospective ground on the Argentine side of Chile’s Maricunga Gold Belt (Resources >100Moz gold). The project area lies along the Valle Ancho Lineament a major NW trending structural corridor. Many of the major deposits in Chile and Argentina lie along similar NW trending lineaments. Initial exploration work done in the 1990’s produced interesting results from a number of gold and copper-gold targets. Highlights include historical drill intercepts of 62m @ 1.0 g/t Au and 108m @ 1.0 g/t Au. (Note these results are historical in nature and have not been verified by NGEx). To our knowledge no significant exploration work has been undertaken in the area for almost 20 years.
“Valle Ancho represents a very rare opportunity to acquire a very large land package that we believe has excellent potential for both gold and copper-gold deposits, with near term drill targets developed by previous explorers. The property lies in the underexplored Argentine half of one of the main gold belts in South America”, said NGEx President and CEO Wojtek Wodzicki. “Catamarca is a mining friendly province where the Lundin Group has a long history due to its key role in the development of the Bajo de la Alumbrera, copper-gold mine which was Argentina’s largest mine for more than twenty years. The recent spinout of NGEx allows our highly successful exploration team to return to its roots and we hope that this agreement is just the first step in a new chapter of success. We believe that Valle Ancho is a valuable addition to our existing portfolio.”
Previous work in the Valle Ancho area identified two copper-gold porphyry prospects and one high sulfidation gold system. An initial review of satellite imagery identified 5 additional untested hydrothermal alteration areas. The Corporation plans an initial work program involving compilation of historical data, satellite image analysis to identify areas of hydrothermal alteration, field examination and mapping of existing prospects, followed by an airborne geophysical survey. The objective of the initial program will be to develop targets for future drill testing.
NGEx has the option to acquire a 100% interest in the project by making $8.2 million in expenditures over 2 years.
About NGEx Minerals
NGEx Minerals Ltd. is a Lundin Group copper and gold exploration company based in Canada with projects in Chile and Argentina. NGEx holds the large-scale Los Helados copper-gold deposit, located in Chile’s Region III, as well as other early-stage projects located in Argentina. NGEx 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 Co., Ltd. NGEx is actively seeking to add to its portfolio of projects as part of its overall growth strategy. The Corporation is listed on the TSX-V under the trading symbol NGEX.
