Chakana Copper Targets Tier-One Discovery Potential with Pivotal Drill Program

• Chakana Copper is a junior copper explorer in Peru that has made a significant copper-gold-silver discovery dating back to 2017
• The company published a high-grade resource in 2022 with over 625,000 gold equivalent ounces starting at surface and open at depth
• Chakana is funded with Goldfields and Rick Rule as strategic investors
• A 3,000m drill program is set to begin in April 2024 to test two tier-one targets, including a porphyry target and high sulfidation epithermal target
• Positive drill results could lead to a major re-rating of company stock with high-grade resource already in hand

About Chakana Copper

Chakana Copper (TSXV: PERU) flagship asset is the Soledad project in the Ancash province of Peru, an established mining jurisdiction. The company has advanced the project with 62,000 meters of drilling since its discovery in 2017.

In 2022, Chakana published a maiden resource at Soledad, boasting an impressive 625,000 ounces of gold equivalent where notably the high-grade resource starts right at surface. It also remains open at depth, suggesting strong potential to expand the resource with additional drilling.

As Chakana Copper's CEO David Kelley explains:

"We've hit 42 grams gold in our drilling, 5 kilograms of silver in our drilling, and we've hit 27% copper in our drilling - significant widths."

Interview with President & CEO David Kelley

Well-Funded to Execute

To date, Chakana has raised $52 million to systematically advance Soledad. The company's shareholder base includes two mining heavyweights - Goldfields and Rick Rule.

Goldfields first invested in Chakana in 2019 and has participated in every financing since then, while renowned resource investor Rick Rule has invested in Chakana three separate times, suggesting strong vote of confidence in the company's assets and management team.

Having these mining savvy strategic investors on board provides important validation and de-risking of the Soledad story. With $2.4 million in the treasury, Chakana is well funded to execute on its upcoming exploration plans.

High-Impact Drilling on Deck

In early April this year, Chakana will kick off a 3,000 meter drill program to test two exciting new targets at Soledad:

• Porphyry target underlying the known breccia pipes. Porphyry deposits are responsible for a large proportion of the world's copper supply and are coveted by major mining companies for their scale. Chakana will drill six holes into this target.
• High-sulphidation epithermal target that could represent the top of a large mineralized system. Three holes are planned for this target.

While this initial drill program is modest in scale, it will provide valuable information about the potential for these targets to host tier-one scale copper-gold deposits. Major Goldfields has indicated that intersecting a large mineralized system, even without economic grades on the first pass, would be considered a success that warrants follow-up drilling.

CEO David Kelley comments:

"Goldfields has told us, 'Look, you don't even have to hit ore grade intercepts, as long as you can demonstrate that you've got a big system there and that we can vector towards where we need to be.' They consider that success."

Potential to Create Significant Shareholder Value

For Chakana, a junior with a $18 million market cap, a major new discovery could be a game-changer. Nearby examples show how transformative exploration success can be for junior mining shares.

Kelley explains:

"Hercules Silver is probably a great example of a small junior explorer exploring high-grade veins at surface, historic mining district, lots of similarities with what we've got... They had a big, large geophysical anomaly at depth sitting beneath their veins and they put a wonder hole into it... They went from an $11 million market cap a year ago to well over $200 million market cap right now...If we hit, I don't expect our results to be any different than what we've seen in that other example, where the market has rewarded their efforts and recognized that they're onto a big system"

Next Steps

With drilling starting imminently, Chakana expects to have initial assay results back in 4-6 weeks. The company has a strong track record of executing drilling efficiently and reporting results to the market in a timely manner.

Based on the initial results, Chakana would look to follow up with additional drilling to further define any zones of mineralization and demonstrate the scale potential. The company is permitted for a total of 200 drill pads across the expanded project area.

Crucially, Chakana will remain disciplined with its capital regardless of the drill results. The focus will remain on systematically advancing the most promising targets to create value for shareholders.

The Investment Thesis for Chakana Copper

• High-grade copper-gold-silver resource already defined with expansion potential
• Fully funded for impactful 2024 drill program testing scale potential
• Strategic investments from Goldfields and Rick Rule provide validation
• Upcoming drill program could be a major catalyst if large system confirmed
• Company's $18m market cap leaves huge room for upside on exploration success

Chakana Copper offers speculatively inclined investors a shot at potentially game-changing exploration upside in 2024. With an established high-grade resource, a major drill program about to begin, and a world-class shareholder base, the company appears to be at an inflection point. Positive drill results could quickly put Chakana on the map for a much broader audience. However, mineral exploration is inherently risky and uncertain. Chakana is appropriate only for investors with a high risk tolerance as part of a diversified portfolio. Investors should monitor the story closely and be prepared to adapt their thesis as new information comes to light.

Copper Insights

The copper market is entering a period of growing structural deficits as the global economy accelerates its transition to lower carbon technologies. Electric vehicles, renewable energy infrastructure, and the electrification of everything all require substantial amounts of incremental copper supply in the coming years. At the same time, copper mine supply growth is challenged by declining ore grades, lack of new discoveries, and an onerous permitting environment. This supply/demand imbalance is likely to support robust copper prices and drive strong interest in new copper discoveries.

As Chakana CEO David Kelley sums it up, "Copper is going to be incredibly important. It's a big part of the electrification process, renewable energy, electric vehicles. The copper market is very tight...the incentive price for a new pound of copper is estimated at around $9 a pound. If we are fortunate enough to make additional discoveries here, then this could be a very valuable asset."

The copper market backdrop is highly favorable for junior copper explorers like Chakana. The ongoing supply challenges are likely to drive a re-rating of copper exploration assets and put a strong bid under any juniors that can demonstrate the potential for new, scalable, and economically viable discoveries.