Ivanhoe Mines Congratulates Robert Friedland for His Induction into The American Mining Hall of Fame

Overview

When it comes to mining deposits, there’s no denying the potential output Peru has to offer. In 2021, Peru’s copper production reached 1.89 million tonnes from January to October with a strong 10 percent year-on-year. The country was also the second-largest producer of copper in the world in 2020. Peru was also one of the largest gold producers in 2021, ranking 12th in the world.

The mining-friendly country’s appeal has attracted the likes of several major mining companies, including Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO), Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX), Hudbay Minerals (NYSE:HBM,TSX:HBM), Barrick Gold (TSX:ABX,NYSE:GOLD) and many more. As a result, mineral exploration companies with projects in Peru may provide investors with an exciting opportunity for investments into a resource-rich country.

Forte Minerals (CSE:CUAU), formerly Forte Copper Corp., combines assets from GlobeTrotters Resources Peru SAC to build an attractive portfolio of high-quality copper and gold assets in Peru. The company’s portfolio combines early-stage and drill-ready targets with a historically discovered and drilled porphyry system that is strategically positioned for target resolution and mineral inventory development.

Forte Minerals has a strong land position of 23,000 hectares in Peru, including the Pucarini, Don Gregorio and Esperanza projects. The Don Gregorio project is a 900-hectare copper and gold porphyry project with gold and copper mineralization occurring on the subsurface. This project is under option by Forte Minerals from Candente Copper (TSX:DNT) whereby Forte Minerals can acquire a 60 percent interest in Don Gregorio by cash payments of US$500,000 over 3 years, and 10,000 m diamond drilling over 3 years upon receipt of drill permits.

The company’s Pucarini project is a gold project with a high sulfidation epithermal gold target located in Puno, Peru. The Pucarini project consists of 1,000 hectares of claims and 16,100 hectares of regional concessions. The project also has an NI 43-101 Technical Report from February 2021.

The company’s fully-owned Esperanza project is a 5,000-hectare copper and molybdenum porphyry project located in the prolific and mining-friendly Paleocene belt of Southern Peru. The Paleocene belt hosts existing porphyry copper mines and recent discoveries. The Esperanza project has not yet been tested by drilling but holds exciting exploration potential.

Forte Minerals has a strong history of engagement with local communities and successful exploration outcomes. The company’s team is composed of dedicated and qualified professionals who have a combined 215 years of experience in exploration and mining in the Americas and a combined 60 years of successfully managing public companies.

The company hopes to take advantage of near-surface and underexplored metal endowments that are rich in copper and gold in Peru. Forte Minerals also plans to leverage unique targeting methods and an effective alteration identification process. The company is fully financed to support the execution of its 2022 goals with an attractive corporate structure consisting of a long-term and loyal shareholder base. The company plans to advance its projects with additional exploration and thousands of meters of drilling on its properties.

Company Highlights

• Forte Minerals has a strong land position of 23,000 hectares in Peru, including the Pucarini, Don Gregorio and Esperanza projects.
  • The company’s Pucarini project high-sulfidation epithermal gold project in Puno, Peru with an NI 43-101 Technical Report from February 2021.
  • The Don Gregorio project is a copper and gold porphyry project with a historically discovered and drilled porphyry system.
  • The 100 percent owned Esperanza project is a copper and molybdenum porphyry project located in the prolific and mining-friendly Paleocene belt of Southern Peru.
• Forte Minerals has a strong history of engagement with local communities. The company’s team has a combined 215 years of experience in exploration and mining in the Americas and a combined 60 years of successfully managing public companies.
• The company is fully-financed to support drilling programs on its projects in 2022.

Key Projects

Don Gregorio

The Don Gregorio project is a 900-hectare copper and gold porphyry project located in Peru.

The property features the historic exploration of 12 relatively shallow diamond drill holes completed on one section corridor since 1977. Both copper and gold mineralization was found in all 12 historical holes. The Don Gregorio project features enrichment grades of up to 0.79 percent copper and primary grades of up to 0.321 percent copper and 0.15 g/t of gold.

The property is under option by Forte Minerals from Candente Copper Corp. Forte can acquire a 60 percent interest in Don Gregorio subject to cash payments of $US500,000 over three years and a total of 10,000 meters of diamond drilling over three years upon receipt of drill permits.

In 2021, the company began permitting and community engagement on the property which is expected to be completed in 2022. Going forward, Forte Minerals plans to begin phase 1 of a target evaluation drilling program consisting of 5,000 meters as well as preliminary metallurgical studies. The company believes the Don Gregorio project hosts excellent exploration potential.

Esperanza

The Esperanza project is a 5,000-hectare copper and molybdenum porphyry project located in the prolific and mining-friendly Paleocene belt of Southern Peru. The Paleocene belt hosts existing porphyry copper mines and recent discoveries.

The project is fully owned by Forte Minerals. The project remains untested by drilling but remains prospective for copper sulfide mineralization. In 2021, the company conducted permitting and target development including geophysics. Going forward, the company plans to begin phase 1 of its drilling program consisting of 2,000 meters in 2022.

Pucarini

The Pucarini project is a gold project located in Puno, Peru. The property consists of 1,000 hectares of claim and 16,100 hectares of regional concessions. The Pucarini project is accessible by airport and road with proximity to a highway network and electricity. The project features multiple gold-bearing advanced argillic alteration zones within a 3.6 by 1.8-kilometer argillic alteration footprint. The project also contains a Miocene high sulfidation epithermal gold target.

The project has an NI 43-101 Technical Report from February 2021. To date, the targets on the property have not been tested by drilling. In 2021, Forte Mineral conducted permitting, community engagement and began the first phase of its drilling program. The drilling program consisted of 1000 meters. The company has also begun regional target evaluation on the property set to be completed in 2022.

The company has identified exploration targets based on the integration of rock and soil geochemistry, chargeability, resistivity and geology. Going forward, the company plans to continue exploration with geological and geochemical ground follow-up until the end of 2021. Forte Minerals also plans to begin phase 2 of its drilling program focused on target evaluation in 2022.

Board of Directors and Management Team

Patrick Elliott, MSc, MBA - President, CEO and Director

Patrick Elliott has more than 18 years of experience in the mining industry. Elliott has a Master of Science in Mineral Economics and an MBA in Mining Finance from the Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Australia. He is currently the President & CEO of Lexore Capital Corp., the vice president of strategy for GlobeTotters Resource Group and a Director of E29 Resources and MLK Gold. Elliott completed his undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Geology at the University of Western Ontario. Elliott has spent over 10 years in copper and gold exploration in South America and the United States of America.

Richard Osmond - P.Geo and Chairman

Richard Osmond has over 25 years of experience in the mining sector, including experience with INCO (VBNC), Falconbridge and Anglo American. He was involved in exploration discoveries at Vale's Voisey's Bay deposit and Glencore's Raglan mine. He was later hired as a senior technical leader with Anglo American. At Anglo American, Osmond was responsible for nickel exploration in Northern Canada, Alaska and Scandinavia as well as IOCG and porphyry Cu-Mo exploration in Mexico and Alaska. Osmond is currently the president and CEO of GlobeTrotters. Osmond holds an Honors Bachelor of Science from Memorial University.

Stephanie Ashton, MSc - Director

Stephanie Ashton has more than 25 years of experience in the mining industry and natural resources sector. Specifically, Ashton’s experience is in the exploration and development of mining projects. In Latin America, she served on the boards of junior mining companies and as an officer in the capacity of CFO and the vice president of corporate development. Ashton holds a Bachelor of Science in International Business from California Polytechnic State University, a Master’s in Business from the HEC School of Management and a Masters in Mineral Economics from the Universidad de Chile.

Douglas Turnbull, P.Geo, HBSc - Director

Douglas Turnbull is a consulting geologist with over 30 years of experience in diamond, precious and base metal exploration. He holds an Honors Bachelor of Science degree in Geology and is a Qualified Professional Geoscientist recognized by the Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia. Turnbull has managed or served on the boards of a number of junior exploration and mining companies with assets ranging from early- to advanced-stage projects worldwide. Turnbull holds an Honors Bachelor of Science in Geology from Lakehead University.

Samantha Shorter CPA, CA - CFO

Samantha Shorter has more than 10 years of experience in accounting and finance. Shorter has over a decade of experience in providing reporting, assurance and accounting services to publicly traded companies, including technology and mineral resource companies. She left public practice in 2011, where she acted in the capacity of audit manager with a major Canadian accounting firm. She completed a Bachelor of Commerce with Honours at the University of British Columbia. She is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) and Certified Internal Auditor.

Manuel Montoya, MSc - Exploration Manager and General Manager of Peru

Manuel Montoya is a founder and general manager of GlobeTrotters, Element 29 and Forte Minerals. Montoya is a highly respected exploration professional with more than 43 years of experience in the mining and petroleum industries of Peru. Montoya discovered the Zafranal Cu-Mo porphyry deposit in Peru for Teck. He has also successfully built and led teams exploring for copper, gold and zinc in a wide variety of deposit types throughout the Andes of South America for Teck.

Anna Dalaire -– VP of Corporate Development and Corporate Secretary

Anna Dalaire has 15 years of capital markets experience specializing in compliance and corporate communications. She has worked extensively with junior exploration companies in various corporate capacities. Dalaire’s background is in marketing with a focus on digital communications. Dalaire obtained her executive assistant and paralegal certificates.

Paul Johnstonm, P.Geo, Ph.D. - Technical Advisor

Paul Johnston has more than 33 years of experience in the mining industry. Johnston is the former senior technical leader with Anglo American. At Anglo American, he was responsible for nickel exploration in Northern Canada, Alaska and Scandinavia as well as IOCG and porphyry Cu-Mo exploration in Mexico and Alaska. Since 2007, Johnston has focused on porphyry Cu-Mo (Au) and epithermal Au systems in Latin America. Currently, Johnston serves as the VP of exploration for E29 Resources in Peru.

Tom Henricksen, P.Geo, Ph.D. - Technical Advisor

Tom Henricksen has more than 35 years of experience in the mining industry. Henricksen is an exploration geologist with many discoveries, including Constancia, Corani and Ollachea while consulting for Rio Tinto. He was instrumental in the resource development of Zafranal for AQM Copper and the discovery of Franke in Chile for Centenario Copper (Quadra) and Hot Maden in Turkey. Henricksen is a recipient of the 2018 Colin Spence Award.

David Elliott - Financial Advisor

David Elliott has more than 50 years of experience in the financial industry. Elliott is a co-founder and director of Haywood Securities. Haywood Securities has funded more than 400 exploration and development companies, including Alamos Gold, Midas Gold, Reservoir Minerals, Ventana Resources, Pioneer Metals and now Forte Minerals. Elliott was a recipient of the Murray Pezim Award in 2014. Elliott was also inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame class of 2021.