Andina Copper Corp. has intersected a wide interval of copper-gold-silver mineralization at its Piuquenes East project in San Juan Province, Argentina, significantly expanding the vertical extent of the known mineralized envelope. Drill hole PIU09, the third hole drilled at Piuquenes East, intersected 126 meters at 0.46% copper, 0.53 grams per tonne gold, and 2.14 grams per tonne silver from 529 meters depth, within a broader 402-meter interval averaging 0.25% copper, 0.21 g/t gold, and 1.19 g/t silver from 253 meters.
The results confirm increasing gold grades and intensity of porphyry stockwork veining laterally and to depth, indicating the presence of a new vertically extensive gold-rich porphyry copper-gold-silver system within the Piuquenes-Altar cluster. The mineralization is hosted within strongly veined, dioritic porphyry with intense sericitic alteration overprinting potassic assemblages. Higher gold grades and increasing intensity of A and B-type veining were observed at depth, consistent with proximity to a porphyry core, with bornite-rich potassic alteration and higher gold grades potentially preserved beneath the sericitic overprint.
Follow-up drilling is currently underway to evaluate the northern continuity of the copper-gold mineralized porphyry system at Piuquenes East. Hole PIU11 is designed to test the northern continuity and evaluate the lateral and vertical extent of the mineralized corridor. The hole targets a geophysical chargeability anomaly defined by Induced Polarization surveying and a coincident conductive feature identified in Magnetotelluric data, representing a priority target within the evolving geological model.
Concurrently, a second drill rig has commenced testing a strong, discrete geophysical anomaly at Piuquenes North, immediately adjacent to the Piuquenes Central deposit. This deep-seated, low-resistivity anomaly, identified by a recently completed MT survey and detailed in a 10 February 2026 News Release, commences approximately 600 meters below surface and extends well below current drilling limits. In the context of Miocene-aged porphyry systems in the southern Andes, conductive features of this scale and depth are commonly associated with deep intrusive activity or magmatic-hydrothermal sources.
The integration of MT data with existing IP datasets, drilling results, and structural interpretation suggests the currently defined mineralization at Piuquenes East and Central may represent upper-level expressions related to a deeper source at Piuquenes North. The PIU12 drill hole and a planned hole, PN02, are designed to test this feature and its interpreted relationship to known mineralization. The company's technical approach and previous results, including those from hole PIU06 reported in an 30 April 2025 News Release, form the basis for the ongoing exploration program.
This discovery is significant for the global copper market, as it points to a potentially substantial new source of copper and gold in a proven mineral belt. The increasing grades at depth suggest the system may strengthen further, which could have considerable implications for resource estimates and the project's economic viability. For the mining industry, the successful application of advanced geophysical techniques like Magnetotelluric surveys to identify deep targets demonstrates a modern exploration methodology that could be replicated in other mature mining districts.
The expansion of mineralization at Piuquenes East and the investigation of a deeper source at Piuquenes North represent critical steps in assessing the district-scale potential of Andina Copper's assets in Argentina. The results from PIU09 and the ongoing drill programs will be essential for understanding the full extent and quality of the mineralized system, which could contribute to future copper supply in a metal essential for electrification and global decarbonization efforts.
