ATEX Extends Strike Length of High-Grade B2B Breccia to 600m and Expands the Broader B2B Mineralized Corridor by 200m East
ATEX Stretches High-Grade B2B Breccia to 600m as Valeriano’s Looming Giant Keeps Growing, But Market Doubts Persist
On May 26 2026 ATEX released Phase VI drill results from the Valeriano Cu-Au project in Chile. Hole ATXD19A extended the B2B high‑grade breccia 180 m south, bringing total strike length to approximately 600 m. It delivered 70 m @ 0.99% CuEq within 228 m @ 0.82% CuEq, with another 940 m of assays pending. Additional holes highlighted new high‑grade conduits (e.g., ATXD35: 10 m @ 2.34% CuEq from 48 m depth) and wide porphyry‑style intersections (ATXD26C: 306 m @ 0.82% CuEq within 792 m @ 0.71% CuEq). The Phase VI program wrapped up at 28,400 m, exceeding the 25,000 m target, yet only ~44% of assays have been released. Importantly, the B2B mineralized corridor was expanded 200 m eastward, and the geology suggests a possible additional porphyry source.
Today’s announcement reinforces the scale and grade of the Valeriano system. Extending B2B to a 600 m strike length – a 50% jump from the previous 400 m dimension – materially enlarges the high‑grade core that underpins a future mine plan. The discovery of new high‑grade conduits and the eastward corridor expansion point to a system that could be much larger than the already immense 2‑Bt CuEq resource base. However, the market has largely priced‑in exploration success; the stock remains 28% below its February highs, reflecting broader copper‑price caution and the inherent risk of pre‑development assets. While not a game‑changer relative to the project’s giant scale, the news is unequivocally positive and keeps the story of a growing, high‑grade deposit intact. The pending 56% of assays could deliver further upside, but for now the release is a solid, material positive that confirms the exploration thesis.
ATEX Resources is a Canadian exploration company focused on the Valeriano Copper‑Gold Project in the Atacama Region of northern Chile. The deposit is a large, high‑grade porphyry system containing an Indicated Resource of 475 Mt @ 0.88% CuEq and an Inferred Resource of 1,511 Mt @ 0.75% CuEq (Sept 2025 MRE), for a total of ~2 Bt of CuEq (≈34 B lbs CuEq). Within that, a high‑grade B2B breccia zone (28.4 Mt Indicated @ 1.36% CuEq) offers exceptional grades that could significantly enhance early‑stage project economics. ATEX has been aggressively drilling to expand the B2B zone and the surrounding porphyry system, building one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper deposits with favorable metallurgy (92‑95% copper recoveries) and low discovery costs.