VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 16, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Equity-Insider.com News Commentary — Central banks bought 27 tonnes of gold in February alone, matching last year's monthly average as Poland added 20 tonnes and new buyers from Southeast Asia and Africa joined the accumulation^[1]. That institutional hunger for hard assets is now colliding with a bigger shift in mining M&A: producers are chasing polymetallic deposits where copper and gold show up in the same drill holes, because one asset can generate multiple revenue streams without doubling the capital spend^[2]. This structural realignment is creating asymmetric upside for Salazar Resources (TSXV:SRL) (OTCQB:SRLZF), NGEx Minerals (TSX:NGEX) (OTCQX:NGXXF), Aya Gold & Silver (TSX:AYA) (OTCQX:AYASF), Perpetua Resources (NASDAQ:PPTA) (TSX:PPTA), and Nova Minerals (NASDAQ:NVA).

The numbers explain the premium. Mining's commodity preference flipped toward base metals in 2025, with acquirers specifically targeting scalable assets that offer dual-metal optionality from single exploration programs^[2]. Copper-gold porphyry systems sit at the center of this rotation because their bulk-tonnage scale, continuous mineralization profiles, and byproduct credits deliver exactly what institutional capital demands: discovery potential without concentration risk^[3].

Salazar Resources (TSXV:SRL) (OTCQB:SRLZF) has identified a high-priority copper-gold porphyry target at its wholly owned Monja Project in Ecuador, marking the asset as a cornerstone of the company's exploration strategy. Surface mapping has defined a two-kilometer by one-kilometer mineralized core within a metallogenic belt known to host multiple significant copper deposits in southern Ecuador.

Rock chip sampling returned encouraging results, with the best sample grading 4.77% copper, 1.12 g/t gold, 19.5 g/t silver, and 74 ppm molybdenum. Field crews documented hydrothermal breccias with pyrite-chalcopyrite matrix, quartz-sulphide stockwork veining, and traces of bornite, all considered strong indicators of porphyry fertility. The 9,088-hectare concession benefits from year-round exploration access and sits in close proximity to Sunstone Metals' Bramaderos porphyry project.

"We are very pleased to be advancing our 100%-owned Monja concession," said Fredy Salazar, CEO of Salazar Resources. "The identification of a complete copper-gold porphyry system through our own fieldwork highlights the strength of Salazar's exploration team. With clear fertility indicators including bornite and tourmaline breccias, and a sizeable alteration footprint already mapped, Monja represents an exciting new greenfields discovery with strong discovery potential."

The Monja announcement follows Salazar's recent acquisition of four copper-gold exploration properties from Silvercorp Metals (NYSE-A: SVM) (TSX:SVM), giving the company full ownership of the Santiago, Pijilí, Tarqui, and Quimi projects. Silvercorp transferred its subsidiary interests in exchange for a 1.5% net smelter return royalty on each property. At Santiago, historical drilling by Newmont intersected 323 metres grading 0.25% copper and 0.40 g/t gold. Tarqui and Quimi sit within the Zamora Metallogenic Belt alongside the producing Mirador Mine and Fruta del Norte Mine.

On the development side, Salazar retains a 25% carried interest in the El Domo copper-gold mine, where Silvercorp is funding construction on a US$284 million budget with production targeted for July 1, 2027. Over 2.6 million cubic metres of material have been moved, a 600-bed construction camp is commissioned, and an improved flowsheet delivered a 5.4% increase in copper recovery and a 6.2% increase in gold recovery over the original feasibility design.

With Monja now prioritized for mapping and geophysics, drilling planned at Santiago and Tarqui later this year, and El Domo's production date less than sixteen months away, Salazar is running parallel value tracks built on both discovery potential and a mine already taking shape.

Read this and more news for Salazar Resources at: https://equity-insider.com/2026/03/18/a-3-billion-partner-is-building-this-copper-gold-mine-salazar-keeps-25/

Other industry developments and happenings in the market include:

NGEx Minerals (TSX:NGEX) (OTCQX:NGXXF) reported strong drill results from its Phase 4 program at the 100%-owned Lunahuasi copper-gold-silver project in San Juan, Argentina, with drillhole DPDH059 intersecting 335.15 metres at 4.08% CuEq, including 19.50 metres at 18.96% CuEq. Two additional holes returned 294.10 metres at 2.41% CuEq and 109.00 metres at 3.37% CuEq, with multiple high-grade intervals confirming the scale and grade continuity of the Saturn zone.

"Today's news release includes holes 56 and 59, drilled in different directions through the Saturn zone, and hole 58 which is helping to define a new zone at the northern limit of the current drill pattern that was first intersected by hole 43 last season," said Wojtek Wodzicki, President and CEO of NGEx Minerals. "Together they demonstrate the significant size and grade of Saturn, which is our largest defined zone to date, as well as the continued upside potential we have to discover and delineate new zones."

With nearly 23,000 metres drilled across 21 completed holes, NGEx Minerals has expanded its Phase 4 target from 25,000 metres to 30,000 metres, with the program expected to conclude around the first week of May.

Aya Gold & Silver (TSX:AYA) (OTCQX:AYASF) announced the commencement of a feasibility study for its Boumadine gold-silver project in Morocco following receipt of the mining permit, with a target completion by H2-2027. The company is advancing ten drill rigs on an aggressive infill program, with nearly 20% of its 2026 drilling objective already completed, alongside multiple parallel workstreams to accelerate the next phase of development.

"We are accelerating development at Boumadine as it enters the feasibility stage," said Benoit La Salle, President and CEO of Aya Gold & Silver. "With the mining permit in place, we are advancing multiple workstreams in parallel to fast-track the next phase of development while maintaining the highest technical standards, supported by leading engineering firms and specialists. In parallel, ten drill rigs are advancing an aggressive infill program, with nearly 20% of our 2026 drilling objective already completed."

Aya Gold & Silver operates the Zgounder silver mine in Morocco and is advancing the Boumadine polymetallic project, where the feasibility study marks a transition from exploration to development and is expected to form the basis of a future production decision.

Perpetua Resources (NASDAQ:PPTA) (TSX:PPTA) reached a pivotal financing milestone as the Export-Import Bank of the United States board unanimously agreed to notify Congress of a proposed $2.7 billion senior secured loan for the Stibnite Gold Project, triggering a 25-day review period before a final vote. Updated project economics reinforce the asset's scale, with a base case after-tax NPV of $3.5 billion at $3,250/oz gold rising to $6.1 billion at $4,500/oz gold, alongside an after-tax IRR of 32.3% at the higher price assumption.

"Today's decision marks the final phase of EXIM approval," said Jon Cherry, President & CEO of Perpetua Resources. "This puts Perpetua on track for a Final Investment Decision later this year."

If approved, the proposed $2.2 billion direct loan, combined with $714 million in cash on hand, would fully fund the project's estimated $2.576 billion capital cost. With all permits secured, early works construction underway since October 2025, and strategic investors including Agnico Eagle Mines Limited and JPMorganChase on board, Perpetua Resources is targeting construction readiness in the second half of 2026.

Nova Minerals (NASDAQ:NVA) confirmed a gold-copper anomaly at the West Wing area of its Estelle Gold and Critical Minerals Project in Alaska, with 2025 surface sampling delineating a zone measuring approximately 1,500 metres by 800 metres. Results include seven rock samples grading more than 3 g/t gold, with a high of 15.5 g/t gold, and three rock samples grading more than 1% copper, with a high of 6.9% copper, alongside 16 soil samples exceeding 1 g/t gold over a 1-kilometre strike length.

"Field crews covered a lot of ground at Estelle in 2025 focusing on the less developed prospects and exploring for new ones," said Hans Hoffman, General Manager and Geologist of Nova Minerals. "The most outstanding results came from West Wing where geologists were following up on two soil samples >1.0 g/t Au from 2024. Results from 2025 included 16 soil samples greater than 1.0 g/t Au over a 1 km strike length."

Nova Minerals is advancing the Estelle Project as one of the largest undeveloped gold deposits in the Tintina Gold Belt, with detailed mapping and drill targeting at West Wing planned as a top priority in 2026 alongside metallurgical and environmental test work for the broader project.

FURTHER READING: https://equity-insider.com/2026/03/18/a-3-billion-partner-is-building-this-copper-gold-mine-salazar-keeps-25/

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SOURCES:

https://www.gold.org/goldhub/gold-focus/2026/04/central-bank-gold-statistics-central-banks-stay-course-gold-february
https://www.spglobal.com/market-intelligence/en/news-insights/research/2026/03/mining-m-and-a-in-2025-copper-gold-remain-center-stage
https://discoveryalert.com.au/cangallo-discovery-peru-copper-system-2026/

The Discovery Premium Wall Street Pays When Copper Meets Gold