Salazar Resources Maps Copper-Gold Porphyry Target on Cornerstone Project in Southern Ecuador

News provided by USA News Group May 26, 2026, 09:46 ET Share this article Share to X Share this article Share to X Issued on behalf of Salazar Resources Limited Surface mapping at the 100% owned Monja Project defines a 2 km × 1 km mineralized core within a Paleocene-Miocene metallogenic belt — best rock chip sample returns 4.77% Cu, 1.12 g/t Au, 19.5 g/t Ag VANCOUVER, BC , May 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- USA News Group News Commentary — Copper has spent the better part of 2026 grinding against the structural reality that the world's appetite for the metal is outrunning what the global mining industry can deliver. Copper realizations climbed above $6.00 per pound in the first quarter of 2026 for the first time on record, with ICSG-modeled deficits projected for the year and concentrate-market tightness adding additional structural pressure.[1] Against that backdrop, the small group of exploration-stage juniors with credible new copper-gold targets in productive jurisdictions has become one of the more closely watched corners of the resource sector. Salazar Resources Limited (TSXV: SRL) (OTCQB: SRLZF ) (FSE: CCG) on April 8, 2026 announced that it has identified its 100% owned Monja Project as a cornerstone asset on which the Company will focus its exploration programs, while continuing to advance and assess its remaining properties.[2] The decision follows a comprehensive evaluation of the Company's wholly owned Ecuadorian portfolio and the completion of baseline geological work to define appropriate development strategies for each project.[2] Monja: A Defined Copper-Gold Porphyry System The Monja Project sits in Loja Province in southern Ecuador, covering 9,088 hectares across two licenses on the northeast margin of the Lancones Basin — a region that hosts recognized volcanogenic massive sulphide and porphyry deposits including the giant volcanic-hosted Tambo Grande massive sulphide deposit and the Río Blanco porphyry in Peru.[2] Surface mapping at Monja has defined a copper-gold porphyry system containing a two-kilometre-by-one-kilometre central core, within a Paleocene-Miocene metallogenic belt known to host multiple significant copper deposits in southern Ecuador.[2] A total of nine rock chip samples were collected from mineralized outcrops in the initial program.

Three of those samples returned encouraging results, with the best — sample 51584 — returning 4.77% Cu, 1.12 g/t Au, 19.5 g/t Ag, and 74 ppm Mo.[2] The samples were taken from outcropping granodiorite and hydrothermal breccias hosting copper-porphyry-style mineralization characterized by hydrothermal breccias with pyrite-chalcopyrite matrix, quartz-sulphide stockwork veining, and traces of bornite.[2] The Company has noted that rock chip samples are selective by nature and that the result is preliminary, with additional work required to determine the extent, continuity, and significance of the mineralization.[2] In commentary attributed to management, the Company described the program as identifying a complete copper-gold porphyry system through Salazar's own fieldwork, with clear fertility indicators including bornite and tourmaline breccias, and a sizeable alteration footprint already mapped — framing Monja as "an exciting new greenfields discovery with strong discovery potential."[2] El Domo Carried Interest and Portfolio Consolidation Beyond Monja, Salazar Resources retains a 25% carried-through-to-production interest in the El Domo deposit at the Curipamba Project — its maiden discovery. El Domo is being advanced by partner Silvercorp Metals (which acquired the project through its 2024 acquisition of Adventus Mining), with a 2021 Feasibility Study having indicated an IRR of 32% and NPV8% of US$259 million for initial open-pit development based on Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves of 6.5 million tonnes at 1.93% Cu, 2.49% Zn, 2.52 g/t Au, 45.7 g/t Ag, 0.25% Pb.[3] All-In Sustaining Costs were estimated at US$1.26/lb copper equivalent.[3] El Domo's start-up capital expenditure has been met with funding from Wheaton Precious Metals, Trafigura, and Adventus, with the average annual production targeted at 10,463 tpa copper and 21,390 tpa copper equivalent over the life of mine.[3] On March 18, 2026, Salazar announced the successful closing of its previously announced acquisition of Ecuadorian exploration assets from Silvercorp Metals, consolidating the Company's copper-gold exploration portfolio in Ecuador.[4] Salazar Resources now holds 100% ownership of the Santiago, Pijilí, and Tarqui-Quimi exploration projects (acquired from Silvercorp in exchange for a 1.5% net smelter return royalty on each), alongside the 100%-owned Monja Project and the 25% carried interest in El Domo.[4] A Discovery-Tilted Exploration Strategy in a Tight Copper Market The Salazar team has played an integral role in the discovery of many of the major projects in Ecuador, including the two newest operating gold and copper mines in the country.[2] The Company has consistently described its strategy as making another commercial discovery and farming out non-core assets — a discipline that has positioned its wholly owned exploration pipeline at the upstream end of a value chain where major producers continue to struggle to replace reserves. Sector Context: The Copper Margin Story Continues Across the broader copper sector, producers have continued to deliver results that frame the demand and pricing environment exploration-stage juniors like Salazar are operating in.