615 million tonnes at 0.34% CuEq (0.21% Cu, 0.15 g/t Au) in a pit-constrained resource, reported at US$5.00/lb copper and US$3,750/oz gold
Higher-grade envelope of 338 Mt at 0.41% CuEq (0.26% Cu, 0.17 g/t Au), containing 1.92 Blb copper and 1.86 Moz gold.
Resource sits in exposed mineralization from surface to 200 m depth within a natural amphitheatre, open laterally and at depth
The potassic core beneath the resource has never been drill-tested; 3D ground magnetic geophysics reprocessing has assessed a >1.2 billion tonne target at depth
Access via 220 km of paved national and provincial roads leading to the Project area. Zonda altitude ranges between 3,400 and 3,700 masl.
SAN JUAN, Argentina, Nov. 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via IBN -- Torino Metals Pty Ltd ("Torino" or the "Company") today announced a maiden Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") for its 100%-owned Zonda copper-gold porphyry project ("Zonda" or the "Project") in San Juan Province, Argentina. Zonda is held free of any outstanding option payments or work commitments. The MRE was prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") by independent Qualified Person Marcelo Zangrandi of AMBA Consultoria Ltda. and has an effective date of October 13, 2026.
"Zonda now has a maiden resource of more than 4.5 billion pounds of copper equivalent, and it starts at surface," said Peter Love, Executive Chairman of Torino.
"Drilling to date has averaged only about 157 metres vertical depth, and the deposit remains open at depth and laterally."
A Maiden Resource from Surface
The MRE totals 615 million tonnes ("Mt") at 0.34% CuEq (0.21% Cu, 0.15 g/t Au), containing 2.824 billion pounds of copper and 2.88 million ounces of gold (4.53 billion pounds CuEq). It is constrained within an optimized open-pit shell and reported at a US$14.50/t NSR cut-off, using metal prices of US$5.00/lb copper and US$3,750/oz gold (Table 1).
Table 1. Zonda Mineral Resource Statement (effective October 13, 2026)
| Category | Tonnes (Mt) | NSR (US$/t) | Cu (%) | Au (g/t) | CuEq (%) | Cu (Mlb) | Au (Moz) | CuEq (Mlb) |
| Inferred | 615 | 28.9 | 0.21 | 0.15 | 0.34 | 2,824 | 2.88 | 4,552 |
Notes
Within the resource, a higher-grade envelope of 338 Mt at 0.41% CuEq (0.26% Cu, 0.17 g/t Au), containing 1.92 billion pounds of copper and 1.86 million ounces of gold, is defined at a US$26.5/t NSR cut-off.
The Company has reported the resource conservatively: the US$15/t reporting cut-off is two and a half times the US$6/t marginal cut-off used to define the pit shell.
Exposed by Nature: The Amphitheatre Setting
Zonda sits within a bowl-shaped natural amphitheatre about two kilometres wide. The amphitheatre is interpreted to reflect erosion of altered rocks that once overlay the porphyry, which has brought the mineralized system to the present surface and exposed a broad area for mapping and sampling. At drilled locations, overburden mostly ranges between 0–6 m thick in the topographically lower zones of the project, and copper-gold mineralization begins at or near surface. There is no thick barren leached cap or post-mineral cover to remove. Across the principal mineralized area, the terrain is undulating, providing a practical setting for evaluating open-pit access and initial stripping requirements.
Initial work indicates an extremely low strip ratio. The amphitheatre opens toward lower surrounding terrain to the east, giving natural access to the mineralized floor and a potential corridor for future haulage and infrastructure. The surrounding ridges are fully included in the pit shell that constrains the resource; with them included, the shell's strip ratio is approximately 0.5:1. The Company believes that an exposed mineralized system, very thin cover and natural access from lower ground together create opportunities to reduce initial excavation and simplify parts of a future mine layout. Future studies will evaluate these opportunities.
Geology and Mineralization
Copper-gold mineralization is hosted within a Miocene multiphase porphyritic diorite intrusive complex. It comprises an oxide zone at surface, with a variable thickness of up to approximately 40 metres, overlying primary sulphide mineralization. No advanced argillic overprint has been identified and it is limited to remnants of a lithocap along the upper margins of the erosional amphitheatre that hosts the Zonda Project.
Copper and gold mineralization is principally concentrated in quartz stockwork veining associated with magnetite-biotite-K-feldspar potassic alteration developed within the central portion of the intrusive complex. Higher-grade copper mineralization is also related to zones characterized by reduced magnetite abundance and increased quartz stockwork development, overprinted by phyllic alteration containing sheeted quartz-copper oxide-sulphide veins transitioning to higher concentrations of copper sulphides at depth. Sulphide mineralization also occurs as disseminations within the porphyry groundmass.
Multi-element analyses from the 2026 drilling showed no significant arsenic, mercury or other potentially deleterious elements.
Figure 2. Phyllic alteration zone, with sheeted “B” quartz-chalcopyrite-copper oxide mineralisation in conjugate sheeted and stockwork arrays.
Figure 3. Detail of sheeted “B” quartz-chalcopyrite-chalcocite-copper oxide mineralisation, N-S trending.
Historical Data Validated by 2026 Twin Drilling
Between June and August 2026, the Company drilled five diamond twin holes totalling 908 m, about 17.5% of historical metres, to validate the 1995–96 drilling.
Figure 4. Plan view of 2026 twin hole locations (red collars) vs. historical drilling (grey collars).
Figure 5. Hole ZOD-001 diamond core interval: assaying of the zone returned 6 m at 0.58% Cu and 0.30 g/t Au from 0 m.
Figure 6. Hole ZOD-001, detail of native copper on the border of a quartz veinlet at 95.7 m, sample 4576: 1 m at 0.72% Cu and 0.39 g/t Au from 95 m.
Figure 7. Massive “S” chalcopyrite-pyrite mineralisation vein, ZOD-004, 123.8 m. The sample returned 1 m at 0.35% Cu and 0.22 g/t Au from 123 m.
Growth Potential
Historical drilling was deliberately kept shallow, averaging about 173 m downhole, and the deeper core of the porphyry system has never been drill tested. Historical drilling outlined mineralization across approximately 1,000 by 800 metres. The Qualified Person notes that 21 of the 30 historical holes ends in mineralization and that the deposit remains open at depth and laterally. A 1995 induced polarization survey defined a broad chargeability anomaly. Three-dimensional Magnetic vector inversion (MVI) modelling from reprocessed ground magnetic data outlines a magnetic body that extends beneath the resource, interpreted as the potassic core of the system.
Location, Access and Ownership
Zonda comprises three mining concessions covering about 5,153.71 ha in the Iglesia Department, San Juan Province, roughly 70 km north-west of Rodeo by road. The Project is located approximately 265 km from the City of San Juan. Access is provided via approximately 220 km of paved national and provincial roads to the town of Angualasto, from which the route continues along 20 km of maintained gravel road, followed by 25 km of mining tracks leading directly to the Project area. The altitude ranges between 3,400 and 3,700 masl. During the 2026 drilling campaign, Torino personnel and drilling contractors commuted daily from Angualasto, approximately one hour from the Project, without a permanent exploration camp. Rodeo provides accommodation, food services, fuel, communications and medical facilities, including a hospital. The technical report identifies conditions suitable for year-round exploration, subject to seasonal weather and road conditions.
The properties are held 100% by Torino Metals Argentina SAS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Torino, with no outstanding payments or work commitments. The Project is subject to a 2% NSR royalty in favor of the vendor, which the Company may buy back for US$5 million in total (US$2 million for the first 1% and US$3 million for the second).
San Juan is one of Argentina's most active mining provinces. It is home to the Veladero mine and to large copper projects, including Vicuña, El Pachón and Los Azules, that have been approved under Argentina's Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI).
Corporate Presentation
Industry participants are welcome to download the Company’s Corporate Presentation at www.torinometals.com.
Technical Information
The MRE was estimated in Maptek Vulcan by ordinary kriging into 20 × 20 × 15 m blocks from 1.5 m composites. Copper was estimated in separate oxide and sulphide domains with a hard boundary, and gold in a single domain; high-yield limits were applied instead of top-cuts. Inferred blocks were estimated in the first or second search pass (maximum 300 m), with at least four samples from at least two holes. Diamond core samples from the 2026 drilling campaign were analyzed by Alex Stewart International, Mendoza, Argentina, which is an accredited laboratory under ISO/IEC 17025 standards, The analytical protocol used at Alex Stewart International was method Au4-30 FA, Gold analysis by fire assay and determination by AAS. Based on a 30 g sample, with lower limit: 0.01 mg/kg and Upper limit: 100.00 mg/kg; and Copper using ICPMA39, analysis of 39 elements – four acid digestion involving the dissolution of 0.2 g in 4 acids and determination by ICP-OES. Torino conducted an internal QA/QC program of certified reference materials, blanks and duplicates.
Dr. Gustavo Delendatti, MAIG, a Qualified Person under NI 43-101 and VP Exploration of Torino, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this news release.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. They include statements about:
These statements reflect the Company’s current expectations and assumptions, including assumptions about metal prices, recoveries, costs, financing and permitting. They are subject to risks that may cause actual results to differ materially, including:
Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update them except as required by law.
Cautionary Note Regarding Mineral Resources
Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. Inferred Mineral Resources have a lower level of confidence than Indicated Mineral Resources, must not be converted to Mineral Reserves, and possibly may never be upgraded to a higher category. The estimate relies substantially on 1995–96 drilling by previous operators, which the Company’s 2026 twin holes have validated. Copper-equivalent grades are for comparison only; no metallurgical testwork has been completed.
Torino is not a reporting issuer in any jurisdiction. The estimate was prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 and the CIM Definition Standards (2014), and a supporting technical report [will be available on the Company’s website by (date)]. The estimate was not prepared under subpart 1300 of Regulation S-K of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and may not be comparable to resources reported under it.
Information about other projects in San Juan Province comes from public sources. It has not been verified by the Qualified Person and is not necessarily indicative of mineralization at Zonda.
No Offer of Securities
This news release is for information only. It is not an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, securities in any jurisdiction. It is not a prospectus or disclosure document under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) or any other securities law, and it is not financial product advice.
Torino is a private company. Its securities are not listed on any stock exchange or registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, and may not be offered or sold in the United States without registration or an applicable exemption. No securities regulator or stock exchange has reviewed this news release.
About Torino Metals
Torino Metals Pty Ltd is a privately held Australian company focused on the Zonda copper-gold porphyry project in San Juan Province, Argentina, held through its wholly owned subsidiary Torino Metals Argentina SAS.
Contact
Peter Love, Executive ChairmanPhone: +1 786 789 3100Email: info@torinometals.comWeb: www.torinometals.com
NEWS RELEASE TRANSMITTED BY Globe Newswire
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