FMR Resources Confirms High-Grade Copper and Gold at La Lorena Project

High-Grade Copper and Gold Results Signal a Large-Scale Discovery in the Making at FMR Resources' La Lorena Project

FMR Resources Limited (ASX: FMR) has released follow-up rock chip sampling results from its La Lorena Project in central Chile, confirming high-grade copper and gold mineralisation across two distinct prospects separated by approximately 4 kilometres. The results build on initial reconnaissance work announced in May 2026 and point toward what the company interprets as a substantially larger hydrothermal mineralising system sitting beneath a project area that has never been drilled.

The headline assay — 5.32% copper from an underground rock chip at the La Martuca Prospect — is among the highest-grade surface samples reported from an early-stage Chilean copper-gold project in recent memory. Combined with strong gold values at the Esperanza Prospect, including 1.91 g/t gold, these results are generating genuine exploration excitement.

What the Results Actually Show

Follow-up sampling was conducted across both the La Martuca and Esperanza Prospects, targeting underground workings, historical mine development, and surface exposures. The results confirm not just grade, but multiple styles of mineralisation operating across the project — a hallmark indicator of a large, evolving hydrothermal system rather than a small, isolated occurrence.

La Martuca Prospect — Key Results

Esperanza Prospect — Key Results

Two additional samples from La Martuca (26LMR00008 and 26LMR00009) are awaiting results, and multi-element data including silver and molybdenite is pending across the broader sample suite, with full results expected by the end of Q2 2026.

The 4-Kilometre Separation Is the Real Story

Individual high-grade rock chip samples are encouraging on their own. However, what elevates this announcement to a genuinely material exploration update is the spatial context behind the numbers.

La Martuca and Esperanza are located approximately 4 kilometres apart within the La Lorena Project. Both prospects share similar structural controls and alteration styles, yet each displays subtly different mineralisation signatures. La Martuca is dominated by high-grade copper sulphide mineralisation in structurally controlled quartz-sulphide veins and breccias, while Esperanza exhibits epithermal-style gold mineralisation with associated copper oxide development.

This divergence in mineralisation style across a 4km corridor is geologically significant. In well-understood porphyry copper-gold systems globally, this type of zoning — with copper-dominated core expressions transitioning outward to epithermal gold at the margins — is a recognised indicator of a large, vertically extensive mineralising system.

The two prospects are therefore interpreted as representing different levels or surface expressions of the same broader porphyry system, connected by a corridor of favourable geology, alteration, and structural architecture.

Managing Director Oliver Kiddie commented: "The combination of high-grade copper sulphide mineralisation together with elevated gold values associated with structurally controlled quartz-sulphide veining and breccias is highly encouraging and consistent with an extensive hydrothermal system. Importantly, the La Martuca and Esperanza Prospects are located approximately 4km apart, interpreted to represent surface expressions of a much larger mineralising system at La Lorena."

Understanding the Geology: What Is a Porphyry Copper-Gold System?

For investors less familiar with hard-rock exploration, the geological language in this announcement carries significant weight. Here is what it means in practical terms.

What Is a Porphyry System?

A porphyry copper-gold system is a large-scale, magmatically driven mineral deposit type where copper, gold, and sometimes molybdenum are introduced into surrounding rock by hot fluids expelled from a cooling igneous intrusion. Porphyry deposits are the world's largest source of copper and include world-class mines such as Escondida in Chile — the world's largest copper mine — as well as Los Pelambres and Antamina.

Epithermal gold is a shallower style of gold mineralisation that often forms in the upper reaches of a porphyry system. The presence of epithermal gold at Esperanza, sitting above and laterally adjacent to copper-dominant La Martuca, is entirely consistent with what geologists expect to see at the top of a porphyry system.

Why Does This Matter to Investors?

The coexistence of both mineralisation styles across a 4km corridor on a completely undrilled project is a compelling early-stage setup. Rock chip samples like these represent only the very surface of a system that could extend hundreds of metres downward — meaning the true scale of the opportunity remains largely untested.

Glossary of Key Terms

• Rock chip sample: A grab sample of rock collected from surface or underground exposures to assess grade. Indicative but not definitive of continuity or resource size.
• Quartz-sulphide vein: A vein composed of quartz and sulphide minerals that carries metal values.
• Breccia: A rock made up of angular fragments cemented together, often formed during explosive hydrothermal events and commonly associated with high-grade mineralisation.
• Chalcopyrite / Bornite: Primary copper-bearing sulphide minerals. Chalcopyrite is the most common ore mineral for copper globally.
• Trans-Lithospheric Fault (TLF): A deep crustal fault zone that acts as a conduit for magma and mineralising fluids. La Lorena lies along such a structure, regionally associated with major deposits including Los Pelambres.

A Project in a World-Class Address

Location matters enormously in mining, and La Lorena's coordinates deserve careful attention. The project sits in the Coquimbo Region of central Chile, approximately 380 kilometres north of Santiago, at elevations between roughly 1,600 and 2,500 metres above sea level.

Furthermore, the broader geological setting places La Lorena within the Eocene-Oligocene metallogenic belt — the same belt that hosts some of the world's most significant copper-gold porphyry deposits. Regionally, the project lies along a Trans-Lithospheric Fault corridor linking mineralised districts including Los Pelambres and Punitaqui.

From an infrastructure perspective, the project scores well for an early-stage asset:

• Access roads serve the project area
• Proximity to electricity grid
• 20 kilometres from the nearest sealed airstrip
• Nearest port at Los Vilos is 170 kilometres by road
• Port of Coquimbo is 200 kilometres by road to the northwest
• The area is not in a critical water-vulnerable zone
• No community impediments have been identified across the project

The La Lorena Project: Scale and Structure

La Lorena covers an extensive area of approximately 9 kilometres by 6 kilometres and encompasses multiple prospects. In addition, the entire project remains undrilled with no modern systematic exploration — a critical point that underscores the breadth of the opportunity.

Mineralisation at all prospects remains open along strike and at depth, meaning every result reported to date comes from surface exposures and historical artisanal workings that barely scratch the surface of what lies beneath.

What Happens Next: The Path to Drill Targets

The FMR Resources La Lorena Project high grade copper and gold results in Chile have prompted the company to move swiftly toward a systematic, multi-technique exploration campaign. The next steps are well-defined:

1. Detailed geological and structural mapping across the La Lorena Project area
2. Expanded rock chip sampling at both La Martuca and Esperanza
3. Channel sampling within accessible underground workings at La Martuca
4. Drone-based photogrammetry to build high-resolution 3D models of the project area
5. Magnetic surveys to map structural architecture and potential intrusive bodies at depth
6. Geophysical target generation to define priority areas for drilling
7. Integration of geochemistry, alteration mapping, geophysics, and structural data to prioritise initial drill targets

Pending multi-element results — including silver and molybdenite data — are expected by the end of Q2 2026 and could add further dimension to the mineralisation picture.

The Investment Thesis: An Undrilled Greenfields Project in a Proven Belt

The investment case for FMR Resources at La Lorena rests on a combination of factors that, taken together, are relatively rare at this stage of exploration:

• High-grade surface results in a proven copper-gold belt. Grades of 5.32% copper and 1.91 g/t gold, in a geological setting that hosts world-class porphyry deposits, establish genuine prospectivity.
• System-scale thinking supported by geology. The 4km separation between La Martuca and Esperanza, with complementary mineralisation styles consistent with a single porphyry system, suggests a substantially larger footprint than either prospect in isolation.
• Completely undrilled — maximum upside. The absence of any modern drilling means the entire vertical extent of the system remains untested.
• Multiple prospects within a single project. With La Martuca, Esperanza, and Los Morados all showing mineralisation within a 54-square-kilometre project footprint, the company has multiple targets to pursue, reducing single-point exploration risk.
• Regional structural context adds scale. The project's position along a Trans-Lithospheric Fault corridor adds geological credibility to the large-system interpretation.

Why Investors Should Keep a Close Eye on FMR Resources

FMR Resources is at an inflection point that experienced resource investors recognise well: a genuinely prospective, undrilled greenfields project in a world-class jurisdiction, with high-grade surface results confirming the system is real, and a systematic drill-targeting campaign now underway.

The FMR Resources La Lorena Project high grade copper and gold results in Chile represent what could be a defining moment for this early-stage explorer. The company's broader portfolio adds further context, including the Llahuin Joint Venture Project in Chile's Coastal Cordillera and the Fairfield Project in Canada. However, La Lorena represents the company's highest-impact near-term catalyst.

The key milestones investors should be tracking include:

• Completion of multi-element assay results (expected end of Q2 2026), including silver and molybdenite data
• Geophysical survey results from magnetic and drone-based surveys currently in progress
• Channel sampling results from La Martuca underground workings
• Drill target announcement as geological and geophysical integration advances
• Initial drilling programme — the first drill holes at La Lorena will be a defining moment for the company

The FMR Resources La Lorena Project high grade copper and gold results in Chile have confirmed high-grade copper and gold mineralisation across a 4-kilometre structural corridor — a completely undrilled greenfields opportunity sitting in one of the world's most productive copper-gold belts. With systematic exploration programmes underway and drill targeting advancing, the first drill holes at La Lorena represent a potentially transformational catalyst for this early-stage explorer.

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