NGEx Minerals Ltd. (TSX: NGEX) (OTCQX: NGXXF) is pleased to announce drill results from DPDH048 which is the first hole of the Phase 4 program at its 100% owned Lunahuasi high-grade copper-gold-silver project in San Juan, Argentina. This hole successfully extends the Saturn Zone one hundred metres vertically below DPDH046.

Highlights:

• Drillhole DPDH048 intersected 649.00m at 1.64% CuEq, including;
  • 126.55m at 5.09% CuEq from 497.15m, including;
    • 22.85m at 14.26% CuEq from 497.15m, including;
      • 9.10m at 26.99 g/t Au from 508.90m, plus;
    • 49.20m at 5.71% CuEq from 574.50m, including;
      • 2.15m at 46.22 g/t Au from 583.00m.

Wojtek Wodzicki, President and CEO, commented, “Hole 48 is an excellent start to the Phase 4 program and picks up where we left off at the conclusion of the Phase 3 program by continuing to define high-grade copper-gold-silver zones as we successfully expand the deposit. Intersecting the Saturn Zone about 100m below last season’s hole 46, this new hole confirms our expectations of the size and continuity of the Saturn Zone including its important high-grade gold and silver component. To date we have drilled over 10,000m during Phase 4 with ten holes completed and eight underway and we look forward to providing regular updates on assay results as we start the new year.”

Phase 4 Progress

Following an early start and good drilling productivity, the Phase 4 program is well ahead of schedule. To date, over 10,000m have been drilled with ten holes completed and eight underway. Initial holes have focused on defining and expanding the three named zones and drills will begin to do larger step-outs and test new exploration targets early in the new year.

To date, two holes have been drilled into the Jupiter Zone, three into Mars and twelve into Saturn. In addition to the exploration holes, a geotechnical hole is currently being drilled down the centerline of the proposed exploration adit as planning for that project progresses.

Additional assay results will be released once assays are received, analyzed, and confirmed by the Company.

Table 1: Significant Intersections

Copper equivalent (CuEq) for drill intersections is calculated based on US$3.00/lb Cu, US$1,500/oz Au and US$18/oz Ag, with 80% metallurgical recoveries assumed for all metals. The formula is: CuEq % = Cu % + (0.7292 * Au g/t) + (0.0088 * Ag g/t). A * indicates that no CuEq was calculated as samples within the interval and/or the entire interval returned >100% CuEq.

Estimated true widths are rounded to the nearest metre for widths over 10m and to the nearest 0.1m for widths less than 10m, as this better reflects the precision of the estimates. True widths should be regarded as approximate as these are derived from an estimation that uses a preliminary interpretation of the geological model and are subject to change as more information becomes available.

DPDH048 was collared on the same platform as DPDH046 and drilled at 277^o with a dip of -55^o to intersect the Saturn Zone down dip from that hole. It intersected the zone between 497.15m and 623.70m, with two strong zones from 497.15m to 520.00m and 574.50m and 623.70m separated by lower grade mineralization. Each of these two sub-zones contains an interval of high-grade gold mineralization which appears to correlate well with the two distinct zones drilled in DPDH046 which are 77m and 90m away measured along the apparent dip of the structures.

Qualified Persons and Technical Notes

The scientific and technical disclosure included in this news release have been reviewed and approved by Bob Carmichael, B.A.Sc., P.Eng. who is the Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Carmichael is Vice President, Exploration for the Company.

Samples were cut at NGEx’s operations base in San Juan, Argentina by Company personnel. Diamond drill core was sawed and then sampled in maximum 2-meter intervals, stopping at geological boundaries. Core diameter is a mix of PQ, HQ and NQ depending on the depth of the drill hole. Samples were bagged, tagged, and packaged for shipment by truck to the ALS preparation laboratory in Mendoza, Argentina where they were crushed and a 500g split was pulverized to 85% passing 200 mesh. The prepared sample splits were sent to the ALS assay laboratory in Lima, Peru for copper, gold and silver assays, and multi-element ICP. ALS is an accredited laboratory which is independent of the Company. Gold assays were by fire assay fusion with AAS finish on a 30g sample (Au-AA23). Any samples returning > 10 g/t were then reanalyzed by fire assay with gravimetric finish on a 30g sample (Au-GRA21). Copper and silver were assayed by atomic absorption following a 4-acid digestion. Samples were also analyzed for a suite of 48 elements with ME-MS61 plus mercury and a sequential copper leach analysis was completed on each sample with copper greater than 500ppm (0.05%). Sequential copper analysis involves the sequential leaching of the sample by acid, followed by a cyanide solution. It can be used to differentiate copper speciation, with copper oxide minerals leachable with acid and secondary copper minerals (enargite, chalcocite, covellite) leachable by cyanide. The residual copper remaining following the sequential leaches it typically contained in chalcopyrite and bornite. Copper and gold standards as well as blanks and duplicates (field, preparation, and analysis) were randomly inserted into the sampling sequence for Quality Control. On average, 10% of the submitted samples are Quality Control samples. No data quality problems were indicated by the QA/QC program.

About NGEx Minerals

NGEx Minerals is a copper and gold exploration company based in Canada, focused on exploration of the Lunahuasi copper-gold-silver project in San Juan Province, Argentina, and the nearby Los Helados copper-gold project located approximately nine kilometres to the northeast in Chile’s Region III. Both projects are located within the Vicuña District, which includes the Caserones mine, and the Josemaria and Filo del Sol deposits.

NGEx owns 100% of Lunahuasi and is the majority partner and operator for the Los Helados project, subject to a Joint Exploration Agreement with Nippon Caserones Resources LLC, which is the indirect 30% owner of the operating Caserones open pit copper mine located approximately 17 kilometres north of Los Helados. Lundin Mining Corporation holds the remaining 70% stake in Caserones.