Andina Copper Reports Significant Mineralization Expansion at Piuquenes East Project

Andina Copper Corp. reported a wide intercept of copper-gold-silver mineralization at Piuquenes East that significantly expands the vertical extent of the mineralized envelope and confirms increasing gold grades and intensity of porphyry stockwork veining laterally and to depth. Drill hole PIU09, only the third drilled at Piuquenes East, intersected a broad, continuous interval of copper–gold mineralization hosted within strongly veined, dioritic porphyry with intense sericitic alteration overprinting potassic, confirming the presence of a new vertically extensive gold-rich porphyry Cu–Au–Ag system within the Piuquenes-Altar cluster.

The hole 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 interval of 402 meters at 0.25% copper, 0.21 grams per tonne gold, and 1.19 grams per tonne silver from 253 meters. Well-developed A-type veins were observed coincident with chalcopyrite ± bornite mineralization. Higher gold grades and increasing intensity of A and B-type veining were observed at depth, consistent with proximity to the porphyry core. Bornite-rich potassic alteration with higher gold grades may be preserved beneath the sericitic overprint.

Follow-up drilling is underway to evaluate the northern continuity of the Cu–Au mineralized porphyry system at Piuquenes East. A second rig has commenced drill testing of a strong, discrete geophysical anomaly (MT) at Piuquenes North, immediately adjacent to the Piuquenes Central deposit as detailed in the 10 February 2026 News Release. Follow-up drilling at Piuquenes East continues to expand porphyry copper-gold mineralization first intersected in hole PIU06, which returned 208 meters at 0.31% copper, 0.13 grams per tonne gold, and 1.24 grams per tonne silver from 292 meters as reported in the 30 April 2025 News Release.

Drill hole PIU09 further extends the mineralized system, with mineralization commencing at approximately 517 meters downhole and higher-grade Cu-Au-Ag mineralization beginning at 529 meters. The deeper mineralized interval is hosted within crowded dioritic porphyry exhibiting well-developed sericitic alteration overprinting potassic represented by intense chalcopyrite-bearing A > B veins. Veining intensity increases downhole, with moderate to strong quartz–sulphide stockwork development locally reaching 40–60 veinlets per meter. Hydrothermal magmatic breccias are developed along intrusive contacts laterally to the mineralized zone.

Intense sericitic alteration overprinting potassic assemblages indicates the system underwent substantial telescoping, suggesting potential for a potassic gold-rich core at deeper levels. Follow-up hole PIU11 is designed to test the northern continuity of the Cu–Au-Ag mineralized porphyry system and evaluate the lateral and vertical extent of the mineralized corridor identified to date. The hole has been positioned to intersect a geophysical chargeability anomaly defined by Induced Polarization surveying and a coincident conductive feature identified in Magnetotelluric data.

The spatial relationship between these geophysical features and the mineralized dioritic porphyry intersected in PIU06 and PIU09 represents a priority target within the evolving geological model at Piuquenes East. Importantly, PIU11 is oriented to test both hypothetical geometries of the mineralized dioritic porphyry body, allowing the Company to evaluate competing structural interpretations while maximizing the probability of intersecting the mineralized porphyry system at depth. Recent results from PIU09 demonstrate increasing gold grades and intensifying porphyry-style veining at depth within potassic-altered diorite porphyry.

The deeper mineralized interval remains open and is chalcopyrite-dominant with minor bornite, suggesting the potential for continued strengthening of the system at depth. PIU11 represents a key step in assessing the scale potential of the Piuquenes East porphyry centre. A second drill rig has commenced testing a strong, coherent, deep-seated, low-resistivity anomaly at Piuquenes North identified by the recently completed MT geophysical Survey. The anomaly is characterized by its low-resistivity contrast, significant vertical extent commencing approximately 600 meters below surface and extending well below the limits of current drilling beneath the known mineralized centres at Piuquenes East and Piuquenes Central.

In the context of Miocene-aged porphyry systems of the southern Andes, conductive features of this scale and depth are commonly associated with deep intrusive activity or magmatic-hydrothermal sources, rather than shallow alteration effects. Integration of the MT data with existing Induced Polarization datasets, drilling results, alteration mapping and structural interpretation has improved understanding of the spatial relationship between deeper conductive features and overlying porphyry-style mineralization. This relationship suggests that the currently defined Piuquenes East and Central mineralization may represent upper-level expressions related to a deeper source at Piuquenes North.