Marimaca Copper - New Chilean Copper District Being Created

• Marimaca Copper made an exciting new high-grade copper discovery at its Pampa Medina project in Chile, with grades up to 5% copper over 18 meters.
• The discovery suggests Pampa Medina could be part of a new copper belt similar to Antofagasta's major Cachorro discovery 20 km away. Marimaca has consolidated a dominant land position in the area.
• In 2025, Marimaca will focus on parallel development - advancing the Marimaca oxide project while aggressively exploring Pampa Medina and the surrounding area. It will also test the sulfide potential below Marimaca.
• President and CEO Hayden Locke remains very bullish on copper in the medium-long term, driven by growing electricity demand and grid infrastructure upgrades needed globally, despite near-term economic uncertainty.

Marimaca Copper is developing the Marimaca oxide copper project in northern Chile. The company recently made an exciting new high-grade copper discovery at its Pampa Medina project, located northeast of Marimaca. 

Pampa Medina Discovery Highlights 

The discovery hole at Pampa Medina, a 400-meter step-out to the north of the historical resource, intersected a broad zone of copper mineralization. The entire intersection averaged 0.5% copper over 400 meters, with a higher-grade zone of over 1% copper for 100 meters. Within that, there was a 56-meter interval grading 2% copper and an 18-meter interval of over 5% copper. Whilst it is too early to make assumptions, Pampa Medina already suggest s it will be economic so whether it's a bigger pit or they drive underground from the base of the main pit, these grades and thicknesses should be more than enough to carry an underground operation if the if the grade is continuous.

President and CEO Hayden Locke believes the discovery has opened up a new belt of copper mineralization. He pointed to Antofagasta Minerals' major Cachorro discovery, a tier-one deposit located about 20 kilometers northeast of Pampa Medina, which really changed the mentality of what was possible in this belt for Marimaca.

While Cachorro hasn't reported grades as high as the 5% zone at Pampa Medina, Locke said most of Cachorro's drilling is in the range of 100 meters at over 1% copper, similar to the broader mineralized halo seen at Pampa Medina.

"Overall, we're pretty excited about the potential to continue to extend this. We're going to be focusing a lot on it in 2025."

Strategic Land Position 

Marimaca has been consolidating land around Pampa Medina, which Locke believes is highly prospective for this style of mineralization. The company now controls a dominant land position in the area.

"We're surrounded by Antofagasta, SQM, and then us. We've sort of negotiated with the groups that we think are the best land packages for us."

Marimaca recently optioned the Madrugador land package south of Pampa Medina for $12 million over five years. Locke sees this as a great deal that could add significant leachable copper resources to feed a central processing facility at Marimaca.

Exploration Approach 

Pampa Medina is located in a flat, barren plain with no rock outcrops, making exploration challenging. Marimaca used several techniques to generate targets, including:

• Relogging historical core and cuttings to understand the controls on mineralization
• Geophysical surveys (magnetics, resistivity) to identify similar signatures to known mineralization
• Reinterpreting the geological model and identifying a prospective sedimentary host unit

"Our geologists worked it out quickly. We have spent the last six to eight months pegging all of this ground and making sure that we control the best of it."

Next Steps 

In 2025, Marimaca plans to spend a couple of million dollars on 10,000-12,000 meters of additional drilling at Pampa Medina, starting in January. The program will follow up on the discovery hole and test extensions in all directions. Locke said the discovery "completely changes the complexion" of the opportunity.

"With this and the Madrugador deposit, there is quite a significant leachable copper resource, and we haven't really explored the edges of it yet...It really is a game-changing discovery."

Marimaca aims to bring the Marimaca oxide deposit into production first, then use it as a centralized processing hub for nearby deposits like Pampa Medina.

"Our objective is to try to move everything further forward so that we can bring additional value and additional cash flow forward for our investors. [There’s potential to] unlock much lower grade deposits in the broader area [by leveraging shared infrastructure]...It makes it a whole lot more economic to then mine and truck to a much closer crushing and leaching facility."

Interview with President & CEO, Hayden Locke

2024 Achievements & 2025 Plans 

Marimaca had a busy year in 2024, despite some COVID-19 related delays. Key milestones included:

• Confirmed Pampa Medina discovery and consolidated regional land position
• Brought in a new strategic investor and strengthened the balance sheet
• Expanded the owner's team with experienced professionals, mostly from Capstone Copper
• Submitted the environmental permit application for the Marimaca oxide project
• Advanced the Marimaca definitive feasibility study (DFS) and metallurgical test work

"There have been some frustrations certainly on our timelines. But really the critical path is the permitting, and now that application is in, we would hope to have visibility for 2025 on our timelines by sort of February."

Looking ahead to 2025, Marimaca will focus on a two-pronged strategy:

• Parallel development of the Marimaca oxide project, including permitting, detailed engineering, financing, and team building.
• Aggressive exploration at Pampa Medina and regionally, as well as testing the sulfide potential below the Marimaca oxide deposit.

The Copper Market Outlook 

Locke remains "exceptionally excited" about the outlook for copper, despite a challenging year in 2024. 

"It's still a commodity which is driven by economic growth...The long-term value drivers for copper have not changed at all."

He believes copper performed remarkably well in 2024 in the face of stubborn inflation, lagging Chinese growth, and macroeconomic uncertainty.

"When we get to a period where there is an uptick in economic growth, and there is the potential that occurs in 2025-2026... I'm exceptionally excited about what's going to happen."

Locke sees copper demand being driven by global growth in electricity consumption and the need to upgrade aging power grids, more so than the energy transition.

"Our grids as they currently stand are not capable of taking the amount of electricity demanded, wherever it comes from, whether it comes from coal, from nuclear, from whatever. That's going to have to happen regardless of what you believe about this energy transition."

The Investment Thesis for Marimaca Copper

• 5 year binding option on Madrugador potentially adds 50%+ to Marimaca's production profile for at least 10 years.
• Dominant regional land position in an emerging copper district that could host multiple deposits; Marimaca consolidating the region around a central processing hub at the Marimaca project
• Marimaca oxide project advancing steadily towards production, with the environmental permit application submitted and the DFS nearing completion; provides a foundation to build around
• New strategic investor on board and balance sheet strengthened to support aggressive exploration in 2025 while moving Marimaca oxide forward in parallel with Pampa Medina.
• Experienced owner's team being built out; CEO and geologists have a strong track record of discovery and development in the region
• Copper market fundamentals remain compelling despite near-term uncertainty; electrification and infrastructure upgrades to drive strong demand growth as supply struggles to keep pace