Centauri Minerals Set to Launch First Drilling Program at Rio Grande Project

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 13, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- Centauri Minerals Inc. is set to kick off its first drilling program at the Rio Grande gold-copper project in Northern Argentina since 2013. The company is mobilizing resources to support this initiative, which is expected to run for approximately six months into the second quarter of 2027.

The Phase 1 program aims to target 12,000 meters of diamond drilling, utilizing two drill rigs from a local provider. The first rig will focus on near-surface exploration to expand the understanding of known resources and collect new samples for future engineering and metallurgical test work. The second rig will target deeper geophysical anomalies, which were identified through the integration of historical and recently acquired geophysical data.

In the third quarter of 2026, Centauri completed a 3D Magneto-Telluric (MT) survey covering an area of approximately 56 square kilometers. This survey, combined with a reprocessing review of historical geophysics, geochemistry, and geological mapping, has generated promising targets for both shallow and deep exploration. A significant target area measuring over 1.3 by 2.0 kilometers has been identified beneath the known ring-shaped mineralization at Rio Grande. This area is characterized by a central domain of moderate-high resistivity (nominally >100 Ωm) open to the east, partially ringed by moderate-low resistivity (nominally <50 Ωm) zones. Within the central zone, an anomalous body of low resistivity (<30 Ωm) is buried, compatible with a mineralized nucleus of a porphyry-type system.

The Phase 1 drill targets include: - Ring-shaped deposit (shallow drilling): Drilling within and around the known ring-shaped mineralization to confirm and expand the existing Mineral Resource Estimate, including testing the shallow resistive zones to the southwest and northeast. - Area A (deep targets beneath the ring): Located beneath the ring-shaped resources, where a magnetic low coincides with low resistivity-high conductivity (<50 ohm·m). The geophysics indicate that the higher conductivity begins at relatively shallow depths beneath the ring and continues down to the limits of the MT model. - Area B (northeast, shallow and deep targets): Shallow target: The Cerro Cori area contains a different style of gold mineralization near surface related to fine stringers of sulphides and magnetite. In 2012 to 2013, Regulus Resources Inc. completed a small four-hole, 1,200-meter drill program at the Cerro Cori target, approximately 1,000 meters east-northeast of the Sofia zone of the Rio Grande deposit. The best intercepts included 297 meters at 0.36 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from surface (hole RGR-12-118) and 19.0 meters at 0.59 g/t Au (hole RGR-13-126). The deep target (northeast) is untested and may be contiguous with the deep conductive zone in Area A, suggesting the Rio Grande system may remain open to the northeast.

Centauri is completing and upgrading its existing camp at Arita, on the southern margin of the Salar de Arizaro, Salta, approximately 9 kilometers east of the Rio Grande deposit. The site is located in an established mining district neighboring the Lindero gold mine (Fortuna Mining Corp.), with year-round road access and an airstrip owned by Centauri. Work is underway to construct a new accommodation block for work crews, a new core logging facility, a power generation system, a fuel and waste storage system, a wastewater treatment system, and health and safety services to support the Phase 1 and 2 drilling programs. The camp is expected to receive the first drill rigs at site later this month.

The Rio Grande project is part of Centauri's exploration portfolio, which spans approximately 40,000 hectares in the provinces of Salta, Jujuy, and Catamarca. The company holds a 100% interest in these projects, which were spun out from Aldebaran Resources Inc. The Rio Grande project has an independent National Instrument 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate that highlights significant gold, copper, and silver quantities.