Vancouver, BC – Los Andes Copper Ltd. (“Los Andes”, or the “Company”, TSX Venture Exchange: LA) is pleased to announce the reinforced management team which will be responsible for leading the development phase of the Vizcachitas Project (the “Project”). The Company’s Executive Chairman, Mr. Fernando Porcile, has assembled a highly experienced team to successfully deliver the future milestones required to progress the Project towards construction and, subsequently, production.

The senior management team consists of:

   Fernando Porcile - Executive Chairman

   Manuel Matta – Director of the Vizcachitas Project

   Antony Amberg – Chief Geologist

   Jose Tomas Letelier – Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability

Mr. Antony Amberg will continue to perform functions as CEO.

Fernando Porcile, Executive Chairman, commented:

“With the successful delivery of the updated Preliminary Economic Assessment that has further validated the scale and value of the Project, the management team is focused on progressing Vizcachitas to a PFS level and preparing the permitting packages for the Project. We believe the team that we have in place holds all the aspects required, and the track record, to achieve our goals of advancing the Project into production.

“The extensive knowledge of the industry that Manuel brings, as well as his experience in all phases of design, development, construction and commissioning of large scale mining projects, will be invaluable as we complete the PFS and progress towards construction.

“Jose’s experience in corporate, government and community affairs, will prove key to Los Andes, especially as we bring together the social and environmental aspects of the Project with the technical and economic considerations for successful development. Jose has a track record in securing the social license for other mining operations throughout the region.

“Antony’s years as an accomplished geologist, especially his comprehensive knowledge of Andean porphyry formations will be important throughout the PFS stage as well as in proving up the remainder of the district controlled by Los Andes.

“I look forward to working closely with this highly proficient team and delivering the successful progression of the Vizcachitas Project.”

Mr. Manuel Matta

Mr. Matta is a Mining Engineer from the University of Chile, with over 30 years of varied mining industry experience, in operations, planning and projects.

Mr. Matta joined Rio Algom in the mid 1990s, where he worked with Fernando Porcile through all the development phases of the Spence copper project; from exploration to conceptual engineering, pre-feasibility and feasibility. During this period, he also assisted Mr. Porcile’s team in optimizing the throughput of the recently commissioned Cerro Colorado copper mine.

Later on, during Fernando Porcile’s tenure as President of the Falconbridge Copper Business Unit, Mr. Matta joined Falconbridge as Vice President of Projects and Copper Development, responsible for advancing the company’s portfolio of projects, optimizing operations and supporting the project acquisition teams. In this position, Mr. Matta was responsible for the conceptual design and pre-feasibility of the expansion of the Lomas Bayas copper mine (also known as Lomas II or Fortuna de Cobre). He was also responsible for the Pre-Feasibility and early development work of the El Morro copper-gold project.

He was then appointed General Manager at Altonorte, the smelter owned by Falconbridge in Chile. Here he directed the capacity optimization (stretch) of the smelter to become the fifth largest in the world (at the time). He also led the construction of a molybdenum trioxide roaster, and an upgrade of the environmental restoration program.

From Altonorte, he transferred to the Collahuasi copper mine as COO, during the commissioning of the Rosario deposit (first expansion deposit). He was later responsible for the increase in processing throughput from 95,000 ktpd to 130,000 ktpd. Subsequently he led the development work for the third stage in Collahuasi’s expansion.

From Collahuasi, Mr. Matta was retained by Las Cenizas, a mid-tier copper producer, where he restructured the company’s operations, acquiring new assets, building an SX-EW plant and developing a new mine pit and a paste tailings deposit.

After completing the restructuring of Las Cenizas, Mr. Matta worked for Barrick Gold for a year as Vice President of Project Construction. 

Before joining Los Andes, he had been working in management consultancy, focusing on M&A, asset optimisation, due diligence for major projects worldwide and the development of concentrate treatment technology.

Mr. Antony Amberg

Mr. Amberg joined Los Andes Copper in 2012 as Chief Geologist and in May 2015 he was appointed as President and CEO. Mr. Amberg is a Qualified Person under NI 43-101.

Mr. Amberg is a geologist graduate from the Royal School of Mines, London with an MSc. from University College London and is also a Chartered Geologist with the Geological Society of London. He has over 30 years of diverse experience having worked in Asia, Africa and South America for both multinational and junior companies.

Mr. Amberg began his career working with Anglo American in South Africa before moving on to an exploration position with Severin-Southern Sphere. Mr. Amberg then moved to Chile where he first worked with Bema Gold on the Refugio project before taking up a position in with Rio Tinto. At Rio Tinto he was involved in exploration programmes in the Atacama and Magallanes Regions and managed the Barreal Seco (now part of Las Cenizas) exploration programme.

In 1996 Mr. Amberg joined Kazakhstan Minerals Corporation in Kazakhstan, setting up and managing offices for the drilling and resource estimation for JORC compliant feasibility studies on three large projects that are now operating mines. He became General Director for two joint ventures in KazMinCo where he managed all technical and local issues.

In 2001 he returned to Chile where he started a geological consulting firm specialising in project evaluation and NI 43-101 technical reports. Mr. Amberg’s clients included Rio Tinto, Barrick, Codelco, Anglo American, Pan Pacific Copper and various junior mining companies.

Mr. Jose Tomas Letelier

Mr. Letelier has almost 20 years of experience in the mining industry, primarily working in corporate affairs, sustainability and community relations focused on Latin America.

Mr. Letelier was Vice President of External Affairs for South America for Kinross Gold from 2008 to 2018, Vice President of Government Affairs for South America for Barrick from 2006 to 2008 and Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability for the Americas for Placer Dome from 2002 to 2006. In these roles, Mr. Letelier had responsibilities in countries including Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Peru and USA.

During his tenure at Placer Dome and then Barrick, Mr. Letelier negotiated the agreements with the Government of the Dominican Republic for the Pueblo Viejo gold project. These agreements were later approved by vast majority by the country’s Congress. On the community side, he led a programme to gain the community’s approval, facing several challenges including the relocation of local population from the project site.

At Kinross, Mr. Letelier led the social aspects of the permitting process for the Phase Seven expansion of the La Coipa gold mine in Chile. This process included negotiations with several indigenous communities where a voluntary participation process was conducted ahead of the filing of the permit applications. This process resulted in formal agreements with each of the seven indigenous communities involved, paving the road for an expeditious approval of the environmental permits.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Letelier worked at the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs for almost 30 years, where he served postings in a number of countries around the world. His last diplomatic posting was as Ambassador of Chile to Canada (1997-2000). Mr. Letelier also worked in the Santiago Head Office of the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he worked with various ministers. He represented Chile in several matters including, APEC, the America’s Business Forum, negotiations of the area of free trade of the Americas and Binational Commissions.

Mr. Letelier graduated from Law School, University of Chile and has a Masters in International Public Policy from the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Washington DC. 

For more information please contact:

Antony J. Amberg, CEO – Chief Geologist
Tel:  +56 2 2954-0450

Aurora Davidson, CFO
Tel:  604-697-6207

E-Mail: info@losandescopper.com  or visit our website at: www.losandescopper.com

Los Andes Copper Ltd. is a Canadian company focused on the development of the Vizcachitas Project in Chile. Vizcachitas is one of the largest, advanced copper projects in the Americas held by a major mining company.

Los Andes Copper Ltd. is listed on the TSX-V under the ticker: LA. 

Certain of the information and statements contained herein that are not historical facts, constitute “forward-looking information” within the meaning of the Securities Act (British Columbia), Securities Act (Ontario) and the Securities Act (Alberta) (“Forward-Looking Information”).  Forward-Looking Information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as “seek”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “plan”, “estimate”, “expect” and “intend”; statements that an event or result is “due” on or “may”, “will”, “should”, “could”, or might” occur or be achieved; and, other similar expressions.  More specifically, Forward-Looking Information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such Forward-Looking Information; including, without limitation, the achievement and maintenance of planned production rates, the evolving legal and political policies of Chile, the volatility in the Chilean economy, military unrest or terrorist actions, metal and energy price fluctuations, favourable governmental relations, the availability of financing for activities when required and on acceptable terms, the estimation of mineral resources and reserves, current and future environmental and regulatory requirements, the availability and timely receipt of permits, approvals and licenses, industrial or environmental accidents, equipment breakdowns, availability of and competition for future acquisition opportunities, availability and cost of insurance, labour disputes, land claims, the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates, currency fluctuations, expectations and beliefs of management and other risks and uncertainties, including those described in Management’s Discussion and Analysis in the Company’s financial statements.  Such Forward-Looking Information is based upon the Company’s assumptions regarding global and Chilean economic, political and market conditions and the price of metals and energy, and the Company’s production.  Among the factors that have a direct bearing on the Company’s future results of operations and financial conditions are changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, a change in government policies, competition, currency fluctuations and restrictions and technological changes, among other things.  Should one or more of any of the aforementioned risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from any conclusions, forecasts or projections described in the Forward-Looking Information.  Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on Forward-Looking Information.  Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise Forward-Looking Information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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