Precore Gold Granted Option to Acquire Arikepay Porphyry Gold-Copper Property in Peru

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Precore Gold Corp. (CSE: PRCG) (the "Company" or "Precore Gold") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a Definitive Option Agreement (the "Option Agreement") with Alta Copper Corp. (the "Vendor") to acquire up to a 100% interest in the Arikepay gold-copper property (the "Arikepay Property") located in the province of Arequipa, Peru (the "Transaction"). The Arikepay Property is located about 110 km south of the city of Arequipa in southern Peru and about 45 km south of the important Cerro Verde Cu-Mo porphyry deposit, one of Peru's largest mines with over 3 billion tonnes of ore, owned by Freeport-McMoran, SMM Cerro Verde Netherlands and Buenaventura.

Figure 1. Map of Arikepay location among major deposits in Southern Peru

The Arikepay Property is located 40 km from the Pacific Ocean in the coastal region of the Arequipa department in southern Peru. It covers an area of 1,800 ha at an average elevation of 1,200 m above sea level. The property is located within one of the most active mining regions of Peru.

Geologically, the Arikepay Property hosts a multiphased mineralized intrusive complex controlled by NW-SE faults parallel to the Incapuquio fault system and pertaining to the Cretaceous porphyry belt of southern Peru. A Cu-Au-Ag stockwork system was emplaced in a quartz feldspar porphyry and a Au-Ag-Cu event is hosted in a diorite porphyry. The multiphased complex has been recognized over an area of 2 km x 2 km and remains open laterally in all directions and at depth. A total of 13,738 meters of drilling in 32 drill holes have been completed between 2002 and 2017. Phelps Dodge drilled 4 diamond drill holes totaling 1,200 m in 2002. Cobriza Metals Peru drilled 14 reverse circulation drill holes totaling 3,630 m in 2012 and Compania Minera Zahena ("Zahena") drilled 14 diamond drill holes totaling 8,908 m in 2016-17.

Best historical drill intercepts in the Cu-Au-Ag quartz-feldspar porphyry include*:

   -- 142 m @ 0.37% Cu, 0.17 g/t Au, 2.02 g/t Ag (0.65% CuEq1) from 66 m in 
      hole RC-012-ARI-006 
 
   -- 357 m @ 0.29% Cu, 0.11 g/t Au, 1.16 g/t Ag (0.47% CuEq1) from 78 m in 
      hole AK-DDH-10-17 
 
   -- 111 m @ 0.24% Cu, 0.03 g/t Au, 0.58 g/t Ag (0.29% CuEq1) from 54 m in 
      hole AK-DDH-09-16 

Best historical drill intercepts in the Au-Ag-Cu diorite porphyry include*:

   -- 420 m @0.91 g/t Au, 1.16 g/t Ag, 0.04% Cu (0.96 g/t AuEq2) from 30 m in 
      hole AK-DDH-02-17 
 
          -- including 81 m @ 3.17 g/t Au, 2.12 g/t Ag, 0.07% Cu (3.26 g/t 
             AuEq2) from 342 m 
 
   -- 66 m @ 1.23 g/t Au, 0.36 g/t Ag, 0.03% Cu (1.26 g/t AuEq2) from 27 m in 
      hole AK-DDH-02A-17 
 
   -- 60 m @ 0.77 g/t Au, 3.28 g/t Ag, 0.14% Cu (0.93 g/t AuEq2) from 10 m in 
      hole RC-012-ARI-002 
 
          -- including 26 m @ 1.29 g/t Au, 4.48 g/t Ag, 0.12% Cu (1.45 g/t 
             AuEq2) from 44 m 

To date there has been no follow up on the significant gold intercept in hole AK-DDH-02-17 and it constitutes the priority target for the inaugural drilling program that Precore Gold is currently planning.

*CuEq and AuEq were calculated using the following metal prices: Au = US$3,000/oz, Cu = US$4/lb, Ag = US$32/oz

Copper equivalent formula:

(1) CuEq = Cu + 1.458379*Au + 0.015556*Ag (no use of Pb, Zn or Mo and recoveries were assumed to be 100%).

(2) Gold equivalent formula: AuEq = Au + 0.914257*Cu + 0.010666*Ag (no use of Pb, Zn or Mo and recoveries were assumed to be 100%)

Figure 2. Regional geology and major deposits in southern Peru

Figure 3. Map including best historical drill intercepts at Arikepay (Source: Enrique Bernuy 2020)

Paul Dumas, Executive Chairman of Precore Gold, comments, "We are extremely pleased for this opportunity to option the Arikepay Project, which we believe contains exciting discovery potential. Its location in Peru, one of the most prolific mining jurisdictions and one of the world's top mineral producing countries, makes it an attractive hub for global stakeholders. Alta Copper has been laser focused on advancing their flagship project, Cañariaco, that has an initial CapEx of US$2.1B and an NPV of approximately US$2.4B as per their 2024 PEA. As a result, no exploration work has been conducted at Arikepay since 2017. We noticed, after having evaluated the project's historical data, that the gold and copper equivalents constitute what would be fantastic grades in an open-pit scenario. We plan to initiate an exploration program in the near-future, which would follow-up on the impressive results mentioned above, obtained from the last exploration campaign in 2017."

Mining and Mineral Exploration in Peru

Peru, long considered an important producing country in the global mining sector, is noted especially for its copper, gold, zinc and silver resources. The country has 10.2% of the world's copper reserves, 3.9% of the world's gold reserves and 21.8% of the world's silver reserves, as well as reserves of other significant metals, according to the most recent data published by the US Geological Survey. According to estimates, Peru's metals and mining sector accounts for 8.5% of Peru's GDP, while mineral exports from the country represent about 63.9% of its total exports. In 2024, Peru's mining exports reached a record US$47.7 billion, representing a 11.5% increase compared to 2023 (America Economica, February 2025). Over the last several decades, many global mining companies, such as Newmont, Barrick and Free-McMoRan, have operated Tier-1 projects in Peru. The country enjoys political stability, an investor-friendly regulatory framework, and a commitment to sustainable mining practices. With 51 projects in different stages of development, this represents a US$54.6 billion investment pipeline with a US$644 million exploration budget for 2025 (US Geological Survey 2025, Reuters).

Transaction details:

The Company has entered into the Option Agreement to acquire up to a 100% interest in the Arikepay Property. Pursuant to the Option Agreement, the Company may earn an initial 51% interest in the Arikepay Property (the "First Interest") by:

   1. Issuing to the Vendor 1,500,000 common shares in the authorized share 
      structure of the Company (the "Initial Shares") upon receiving Canadian 
      Securities Exchange approval to the Option Agreement; 
 
   2. Issuing to the Vendor an additional 1,000,000 common shares within 4 
      months after the date of issuance of the initial shares; and 
 
   3. Incurring a minimum of Cdn$5,500,000 in expenditures in relation to the 
      Property within the next 5-year period, with Cdn$1,500,000 to be incurred 
      within the first three years; and 

The Company can earn an additional 24% interest in the Arikepay Property (the "Second Interest") (for an aggregate 75% interest) by:

   1. Issuing to the Vendor an additional 1,000,000 common shares; 
 
   2. Incurring additional minimum expenditures of Cdn$3,500,000 in relation to 
      the Property; and 
 
   3. Making annual cash payments to the Vendor of Cdn$75,000 during each of 
      the five years following the fifth anniversary date of the Option 
      Agreement, for total cash payments of Cdn$375,000. 

The Company may acquire an additional 5% interest in the Arikepay Property (the "Third Interest") (for an aggregate 80% interest) by having identified an inferred mineral resource estimate on the Arikepay Property and caused to be prepared a technical report in respect of such resource estimate.

Finally, the Company may acquire the remaining 20% interest in the Arikepay Property (for an aggregate 100% interest) by paying to the Vendor an additional Cdn$1,000,000 (or issuing the equivalent value in common shares of the Company) and granting a 1.5% net smelter return royalty in respect of the Arikepay Property.

Milestone Payments:

Under the Option Agreement, Precore Gold is obliged to make the following milestone payments to the Vendor:

   -- Upon Precore Gold having identified an inferred mineral resource estimate 
      of 1M oz AuEq on the Arikepay Property - Cdn$1,000,000 in cash or the 
      equivalent value in common shares of Precore Gold; 
 
   -- Upon Precore Gold having identified an inferred mineral resource estimate 
      of 2M oz AuEq on the Arikepay Property - an additional Cdn$1,000,000 in 
      cash or the equivalent value in common shares of Precore Gold; 
 
   -- Upon Precore Gold having prepared or caused to be prepared a preliminary 
      economic assessment in relation to the Arikepay Property - an additional 
      Cdn$2,000,000 in cash or the equivalent value in common shares of Precore 
      Gold; and 
   -- Upon Precore Gold having prepared or caused to be prepared a feasibility 
      study in relation to the Arikepay Property - an additional Cdn$3,000,000 
      in cash or the equivalent value in common shares of Precore Gold. 

Operator and Joint Venture Agreement:

If after Precore Gold has earned the First Interest, Second Interest or Third interest and Precore Gold has waived or abandoned its right to acquire any future interest in the Arikepay Property, the parties shall enter into a joint venture agreement (the "JV Agreement") for the Arikepay Property that would contain market standard joint venture terms.

During the term of the Option Agreement, Precore Gold shall be the operator of the Arikepay Property and shall have the final approval authority for exploration and development programs and expenditure budgets.

The Transaction remains subject to the approval of the CSE Exchange. Any common shares of the Company issued to the Vendor pursuant to the Option Agreement will be subject to a statutory four month and one day hold period commencing on the date of issuance of such shares.

A finder's fee of 500,000 common shares of the Company is to be paid to an arm's length finder.

Information on historical assay results

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April 23, 2025 06:00 ET (10:00 GMT)