Fitzroy Minerals Provides Exploration Update on Copper Projects
Vancouver, British Columbia — February 9, 2026 — Leads & Copy — Fitzroy Minerals Inc. (TSXV: FTZ, OTCQB: FTZFF) has provided an update on exploration progress at its Buen Retiro and Caballos copper projects in northern Chile.
Drill hole BRT-DDH041 at Buen Retiro intersected 108 meters at 0.41% Cu (mainly chalcopyrite) and 156 ppm Co, from 30 meters, including 48 meters at 0.77% Cu and 241 ppm Co, from 60 meters. Reverse Circulation drill hole BRT-RCD008, designed as a condemnation hole, intersected 213 meters at 0.19% Cu and 199 ppm Co from 3 meters to 216 meters, including 85 meters at 0.33% Cu from 17 meters, extending the Southwest oxide target to 1.7 km at Buen Retiro.
At Caballos, drill hole CAB-DDH009 intersected 70 meters at 0.41% CuEq from 85 meters in the Estero Chincolco hydrothermal breccia.
According to Merlin Marr-Johnson, President and CEO of Fitzroy Minerals, drill holes 41 to 45 are defining a new exploration target of Candelaria-style mineralization at Buen Retiro. These sulphide intersections are relatively shallow and with some results that are similar to the Candelaria open pit grades as reported by Lundin Mining. Marr-Johnson added that another indication of the strength of the mineralizing system at Buen Retiro is that even their sterilization drill holes in the Southwest area intersected copper and have extended the oxide trend by another 300 metres to 1.7 kilometres in length.
Fitzroy has signed new drilling contracts for a twin exploration and infill program that will be underway shortly. The company is planning passive ground magneto-telluric (“MT”) geophysics to improve resolution on deeper targets.
The company has final drilling results from the 2025 drilling program that extend the strike length of the mineralized breccias at Caballos. The Caballos drill core exhibits porphyry textures, alteration, and mineralization. Part of the 2026 exploration plan will be trying to find the source of the mineralized clasts that are in the breccias which the company currently infers have been transported from deeper parts of the system. The company is looking forward to the imminent airborne MobileMT geophysical survey to learn more about the architecture of this porphyry system, allowing the company to continue its discovery journey with more drilling.
At Buen Retiro, Phase 2 drilling is complete, with 8,300 metres of diamond drill (“DD”) core across 29 drill holes. Results for drill holes 40 to 43 are reported, and assays are pending for drill holes 44 and 45. The reverse circulation (“RC”) campaign was completed with 910,112 m drilled, of which 2,050 m were condemnation drill holes aimed at testing areas for future infrastructure. New drilling contracts have been signed for a minimum of 10,400 m of diamond drilling and 3,000 m of reverse circulation drilling planned for 2026. A ground geophysical survey (passive seismic) is planned to assist with sulphide drill-targeting at depth.
As previously reported, the northern area of the Buen Retiro Project, drilling has identified a copper-mineralized trend extending for approximately 1 km north of the historical Manto Negro open pit, hosted within a volcanic sequence dominated by andesitic rocks, interbedded with volcanic breccias and tuffs.
Drill holes 41 and 43 are encouraging as they validate the potential of the Candelaria-style sulphide exploration target in the North area at Buen Retiro. These recent sulphide intersections are relatively shallow and some results are similar to the Candelaria open pit grades as shown in the 2024 Lundin Mining annual report (Open Pit M&I: 591.6 Mt @ 0.37% Cu, 0.09 g/t Au).
Drill hole BRT-DDH041 intersected 108 m @ 0.41% Cu from 30 m, including 48 m @ 0.77% Cu from 60 m, and drill hole BRT-DDH043 intersected 77 m @ 0.46% Cu from 196 m, including 20 m @ 0.97% Cu and 139 ppm Co from 201 metres. As previously noted, the copper mineralization shows a stratigraphic control and is preferentially developed within the more permeable volcanic breccias and tuffs, which act as favourable host horizons.
RC sterilization drilling identified that oxide mineralization in the Southwest area continues to the northwest further than anticipated. The area of flat land to the west of the historical open pit, just south of the waste dump, was initially chosen to be a good location for potential crushing and agglomeration facilities. This is no longer the case, as drill holes BRT-RCD007, BRT-RCD008 and BRT-RCD011 intersected copper mineralization.
RC drill hole 8 was particularly impressive, including a shallow interval of 85 metres from a downhole length of 3 metres averaging 0.33% Cu and containing 111 ppm Co. RC drill holes 9, 10, and 12-18 were sterilization holes over potential leach pad and waste dump areas and did not intersect significant copper mineralization.
Given that RC drill holes 7, 8, and 11 intersected copper and extended the oxide mineralization trend, this area will be explored further. With these results, Fitzroy has extended the strike-length of the Southwest area by 300 m from 1,400 m to 1,700 metres.
Drill hole BRT-RCD008 intersected 213 m @ 0.19% Cu and 199 ppm Co from 3 m to 216 m, including 85 m @ 0.33% Cu and 111 ppm Co from 3 m, which included 46 metres @ 0.47% Cu and 159 ppm Co from 17 m, and a higher-grade interval of 17 metres @ 0.70% Cu and 100 ppm Co from 17 metres.
Drill hole BRT-RCD011 intersected 19 metres @ 0.21% Cu and 282 ppm Co from 11 m to 30 metres. The area has unusually high cobalt.
Drill hole BRT-RCD007 intersected a shallow zone of low grade, near-surface mineralization (35 m @ 0.13 Cu from 3 m to 38 m), and a second, deeper zone of 59 m @ 0.21% Cu from 210 m, including 12 m @ 0.37% Cu from 214 metres. Both zones are in a parallel, previously unknown mineralized trend.
Drill hole BRT-RCD006 was drilled in the northern sulphide zone and intersected three zones of mineralization, the best being 34 m @ 0.35% Cu from 36 metres.
Assays are pending for drill holes 44 and 45. Drill hole 45 was planned to be 250 m long, but it continued to intersect disseminated chalcopyrite to a downhole length of 435 m before the drill hole was terminated at a downhole length of 452 metres.
New DD and RC drilling plans for 2026 are being finalised. The diamond holes will be split between exploration drilling for infill and larger diameter HQ (63.5 mm diameter) core for metallurgical sampling drill holes. Existing geophysical data is being re-interpreted, and a deep-penetrating ground survey (seismic) is being designed.
Discussions regarding a Heap Leach Joint Venture Copper Project with Sociedad Punta del Cobre S.A. (“Pucobre”) continue, and a decision has been made that the associated Technical Report to be completed by Fitzroy will be a Pre-Feasibility Study (“PFS”), meeting the requirements of National Instrument 43-101 (“NI 43-101”) disclosure requirements.
At Caballos, Phase 1 drilling was completed with a total of 3,154 metres of diamond drill core across nine holes. An airborne geophysical survey (Mobile MagnetoTellurics or Mobile MT) has been commissioned and is scheduled for completion in Q1 2026. Mapping is continuing ahead of the airborne geophysical survey. Phase 2 drilling is scheduled for later in the year once the geophysical data is integrated into the Company’s geological model.
Drill hole CAB-DDH009 is located 180 m north of CAB-DDH001 and drilled to the west, with a dip of 80. The drill hole intersected volcanic and intrusive rocks that have been overprinted by multiple tectonic, hydrothermal, and mineralizing events. The core exhibits pervasive alteration and disseminated chalcopyrite with lesser molybdenite, occasionally higher molybdenite and lower chalcopyrite content, and later cross-cutting veining. The central zone of mineralization returned 70 m @ 0.41% CuEq1 (0.18% Cu, 374 ppm Mo, 0.04 g/t Au) from 85 metres. The geology is consistent with a long-lived, structurally complex copper system. Certain areas display potassic alteration, veining, stockworks, and brecciation, which are hallmarks of economic porphyry copper deposits. Drill hole CAB-DDH006 was located 164 m north of drill hole CAB-DDH009 and drilled to the west, with a dip of 70. The drill hole intersected a similar sequence of brecciated volcanic rocks, with the best results being 22 metres at 0.27% CuEq1 from a downhole length of 45 metres.
Expert Geophysics is scheduled to start an airborne MobileMT geophysical survey imminently. Once information from the survey is integrated into the Company’s geological model, Phase 2 drilling will be planned. The geophysical survey should help to map subsurface geology, especially conductive features like faults, fractures, and concentrations of sulphide mineralization.
Dr. Scott Jobin-Bevans (P.Geo., Ph.D., PMP), a QP as defined by NI 43-101 and independent geological consultant to the Company, has reviewed and approved the technical information provided in this news release and verified the data disclosed, including the sampling, analytical and test data underlying the technical information contained in this news release.
Fitzroy Minerals is focused on exploring and developing copper-focused mineral assets with substantial upside potential in the Americas. The Company’s current property portfolio includes the Buen Retiro Copper Project located near Copiapó, Chile, the Caballos Copper and Polimet Gold-Copper-Silver projects located in Valparaiso, Chile, the Taquetren Gold Project located in Rio Negro, Argentina, and the Cariboo Project in British Columbia, Canada. Fitzroy Minerals’ shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol FTZ and on the OTCQB under the symbol FTZFF.
Source: Fitzroy Minerals
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