공시 • May 12
Coppernico Metals Inc. Advances Multi-Kilometre Tipicancha Copper-Gold Target Ahead of Initial Drilling
Coppernico Metals Inc. provided an exploration update on the Tipicancha epithermal-porphyry copper-gold target at its Sombrero Project in Peru. Geological mapping has defined a large hydrothermal alteration footprint containing locally developed advanced argillic cores, now extending over more than four kilometres, consistent with a district-scale hydrothermal framework with potential for a porphyry-related source at depth. Shallow excavation sampling has confirmed near-surface copper enrichment and further refined the continuity of the sulfide-rich hydrothermal horizon. Ongoing mapping increasingly defines vertical and lateral alteration zonation and structural controls which will inform the upcoming drill program. Systematic mapping is materially refining the scale, geometry and structural framework of the Tipicancha hydrothermal footprint, now interpreted to extend over more than 4 km in length. Shallow excavation sampling has further defined continuity of a laterally extensive pyrite-rich hydrothermal horizon and confirmed localized copper enrichment within mixed oxide-sulfide zones. Multi-element geochemistry (Cu-Mo-Se-S) and pathfinder enrichment characteristic of high-sulfidation environments continue to support interpretation of a vertically zoned magmatic-hydrothermal system with potential for deeper porphyry-related mineralization. Structural interpretation identifies ENE-WSW corridors and intersecting NNE-trending structures that appear to focus alteration, sulfide development, and copper enrichment, providing explicit vectors for initial drill targeting. For the purposes of this news release, Coppernico uses “lithocap” to describe the broad contiguous footprint of strongly hydrothermally altered volcanic rocks at Tipicancha, characterized by pervasive argillic alteration and locally developed zones of silicification, residual silica, pyrite enrichment, and higher-temperature advanced argillic assemblages. Advanced argillic alteration refers here to acid-sulfate assemblages including quartz–alunite (Na- and K-bearing), quartz–kaolinite ± plagioclase, abundant pyrite, locally developed residual to vuggy silica, and locally associated native sulfur. Surface mineral assemblages may locally reflect oxidation and supergene overprint of earlier hydrothermal assemblages. Between February and March 2026, Coppernico geologists completed a program of 41 shallow vertical pits (up to 2 m depth) across the Tipicancha pyrite horizon and selected step-out areas to the south. The program was designed to define lithological contacts, characterize the depth and nature of the oxide–sulfide transition, and to test for indications of supergene copper enrichment at the base of the leached cap. Of the 41 pits, 32 were sampled and 25 reached either the sulfide horizon or an oxide-sulfide mixed zone. The pits confirm a laterally extensive, pyritic horizon, typically developed beneath a thin (0–1.5 m) leached cap of strongly argillized volcanic rocks with abundant iron oxides (jarosite > goethite). Massive to semi-massive pyrite is locally developed at 50-70% sulfide, with patchy covellite mineralization in eight of the pits, predominantly hosted in faults and fractures. Native sulfur is locally present and is strongly fracture controlled. Six pits returned values greater than 0.1% copper (“Cu”), including individual samples up to 0.44% Cu (4,410 ppm) in pit 26SRT-076 and 0.42% Cu (4,180 ppm) in pit 26SRT-077, both within mixed oxide-sulfide breccia zones containing covellite, massive pyrite, and native sulfur. Selected pit-by-pit results are summarized in Table 1 below. Reported values represent the highest individual ICPMS Cu assay returned from each pit. True widths are unknown. The program locally improved definition of the southern extent of the mapped pyrite-rich horizon. Confirmed continuity of the horizon along structurally focused trends, supports interpretation of a laterally extensive, structurally controlled, sulfide-rich body developed beneath the Tipicancha lithocap. Copper mineralization within the pyrite horizon is primarily hosted in covellite and other secondary copper sulfides, consistent with the supergene-modified upper expression of a magmatic-hydrothermal source. Multi-element geochemistry is revealing that Cu-Mo-Se-S anomalism is concentrated within sulfide-rich horizons and adjacent alteration zones, while pathfinder elements (As, Sb, Sn) characteristic of high-sulfidation epithermal environments are more widely and variably distributed within the lithocap. Together, these observations support the presence of a robust, vertically and horizontally zoned magmatic-hydrothermal framework with potential for deeper porphyry-related mineralization. Structural interpretation has identified ENE-WSW corridors and NNE-SSW intersections that focus alteration, sulfide deposition, and copper enrichment, consistent with the structural framework outlined by the Company’s recent geophysical surveys. The Company’s recent expansion of its Sombrero land position, including the Horizonte concessions, has enabled systematic geological mapping, surface sampling and structural interpretation across the broader Tipicancha hydrothermal system. This work is helping define the nature and scale of alteration and structural framework, with the hydrothermal footprint now interpreted to extend over more than 4 km in strike length and up to approximately 1.5 km in width. Surface mapping is increasingly defining vertical zonation within the broader Tipicancha hydrothermal footprint. This evolving geological framework will allow the Company to transition from broad target definition toward more explicit drill vectoring based on converging structural, geochemical and alteration indicators. Higher-elevation exposures in the central and southern portions of the lithocap are dominated by vuggy and residual silica, native sulfur, silicified hydrothermal breccia, and quartz-alunite ± kaolinite alteration, characteristic of high-sulfidation lithocap environments. Mid-elevation exposures host the laterally persistent pyritic horizon described above, with localized, fracture-controlled copper enrichment and structurally focused covellite, interpreted to represent exposure at a lower erosional level within the broader and strongly leached hydrothermal footprint. Lower elevation exposures near the northern limit of the lithocap footprint include sheeted quartz-pyrite veining, providing a vector toward potentially hotter and deeper parts of the hydrothermal system.