Mr. Chris Beer reports
ATEX STRENGTHENS EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAM TO ADVANCE VALERIANO AND ACCELERATE DISTRICT GROWTH
Atex Resources Inc. has made a series of senior leadership appointments that significantly strengthen the company's exploration, project development, operational, financial, sustainability and corporate affairs capabilities as it advances the Valeriano copper-gold project and pursues the broader district opportunity in Chile.
The company is pleased to announce the appointments of Francisco Errazquin as chief operating officer, effective as of Nov. 16, 2026, Marco Galego as chief financial officer, effective as of Jan. 1, 2027, and Simon Houle as vice-president, exploration, effective as of Nov. 16, 2026. Atex is also pleased to announce the promotion of Dr. Felipe Machado to executive vice-president, sustainability and corporate affairs.
Together, these additions and Dr. Machado's expanded role build on the strength of Atex's existing team in Chile and across the organization while adding the leadership experience and organizational capabilities required to support continued exploration, resource growth and increasingly advanced project evaluation at Valeriano.
Chris Beer, interim president and chief executive officer, commented: "We are very pleased to welcome Francisco, Marco and Simon to Atex's leadership team. Each brings extensive experience from leading exploration and mining companies and a strong track record of advancing projects, building teams and supporting strategic growth.
"The team already in place in Chile and across the organization has built a strong foundation at Valeriano, growing its copper-gold resource base to roughly two billion tonnes with substantial exploration upside, a strong pipeline of targets and the financial resources to advance the project and broader district to the next level. These appointments build around that strong foundation by adding experienced Chilean operating and project leadership, greater financial and capital markets capability, and deep global exploration experience.
"Felipe's promotion recognizes the instrumental role he has played in advancing our sustainability strategy, building community support and engaging with government stakeholders in Chile. As Valeriano advances, permitting, sustainability and stakeholder engagement will become increasingly important to the project's success.
"Together, this broader and deeper leadership team gives Atex the experience and capability to continue growing and advancing Valeriano while establishing the organizational foundation required for its longer-term development.
"The company's search for a permanent president and chief executive officer is well advanced, and the board expects the process to be completed shortly."
Chief operating officer -- Mr. Errazquin
Mr. Errazquin is a mining executive and mineral economist with more than 20 years of experience in the Chilean and international mining sector, spanning operations, strategic planning, capital allocation, financing, and mergers and acquisitions. He most recently served as chief executive officer of Sierra Atacama Mining Company, where he led the rehabilitation and restart of an underground copper mine and cathode plant, secured strategic financing, and oversaw the company's eventual sale.
Previously, Mr. Errazquin held senior roles at Antofagasta Minerals, where he led strategic planning and designed and implemented a company-wide capital allocation framework across four operating mining companies and a transport division. He also advised Duluth Metals on its interests in the Twin Metals Minnesota joint venture, conducting technical and economic reviews of mining methods, processing technologies and capital costs. Earlier in his career, he held project and risk management roles at BHP, including work on major copper expansion studies such as BHP's $3.5-billion (U.S.) Escondida OGP1 project and at the Collahuasi mine. Mr. Errazquin holds a master's degree in engineering (mineral economics) and a degree in industrial civil engineering with a diploma in mining engineering, both from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.
At Atex, Mr. Errazquin will provide senior leadership for the company's activities in Chile and the integrated advancement of Valeriano, bringing together project planning, execution and the organizational capabilities required as the project matures.
Chief financial officer -- Mr. Galego
Mr. Galego is a chartered professional accountant with 20 years of progressive finance leadership experience, mainly across publicly listed mining and metals companies. He currently serves as vice-president, special projects, finance, at Equinox Gold, leading various corporate finance initiatives and supporting M&A activities, including the integration of acquired Calibre Mining assets, the divestiture of non-core assets and most recently providing transaction support for the merger of Equinox Gold with Orla Mining.
Previously, Mr. Galego served as vice-president, finance, at Calibre Mining, overseeing finance, treasury and liquidity management and supporting operational readiness at the Valentine gold mine. Prior to that, he served as vice-president, finance, and controller at Marathon Gold, leading the corporate accounting and finance function. Earlier, he served in progressively senior roles at several international mining companies, including Golden Star Resources and Lundin Mining. Mr. Galego began his career in the audit practice of KPMG LLP.
At Atex, Mr. Galego will lead the company's finance function and work closely with the executive team and board on financial strategy, capital planning, governance, and the company's broader corporate and growth objectives. His appointment will be effective as of Jan. 1, 2027. Jacques Steele will continue to serve as interim chief financial officer until Mr. Galego assumes the role, after which Mr. Steele will continue in his role as director of finance and will work closely with Mr. Galego as he assumes leadership of the company's finance function.
Promotion to executive vice-president, sustainability, and corporate affairs -- Dr. Machado
Atex is pleased to announce the promotion of Dr. Machado from country manager and vice-president of sustainability to executive vice-president, sustainability and corporate affairs, effective as of Nov. 16, 2026. Since joining Atex on Aug. 19, 2024, Dr. Machado has led the company's environmental, social and governance strategy and overseen the company's Chilean operations and team.
In this expanded executive role, Dr. Machado will lead Atex's sustainability and corporate affairs strategy in Chile, overseeing environmental assessment and permitting strategy, community relations and social performance, government relations, and public affairs. He will also provide strategic advice to the chief executive officer and board on material environmental, social, regulatory, political and reputational risks and opportunities, supporting the company's and Valeriano's growth and development activities.
The expanded mandate reflects the increasing strategic importance of these functions as Valeriano progresses from exploration and resource growth toward more advanced project evaluation. Dr. Machado will work closely with the chief operating officer and the broader executive leadership team to ensure that permitting, sustainability, stakeholder engagement and corporate affairs are fully integrated into the company's strategic decision making, growth plans and project development and execution.
Vice-president, exploration -- Mr. Houle
Mr. Houle is an economic geologist with more than 20 years of international mining experience spanning grassroots exploration, mineral discovery, advanced project evaluation, feasibility studies and asset acquisition. He brings extensive experience in exploration leadership and geological modelling, supported by a strong commitment to safety and technical excellence.
Mr. Houle most recently served as senior exploration manager at Barrick, where he led a team of 12 geologists and oversaw the company's North American exploration pipeline. During his career with Barrick, Mr. Houle held progressively senior roles across Canada, Chile, Guyana, Nevada and Zambia, managing and contributing to exploration programs at various stages of development. He also served as chief geologist at Azimut Exploration, where he led exploration program design, drilling, quality assurance and quality control, and geological modelling in support of a maiden mineral resource estimate.
His technical experience encompasses a broad range of deposit types, including porphyry copper-gold, high-sulphidation epithermal, Carlin-type, greenstone-hosted gold, intrusion-related gold, sediment-hosted copper, volcanogenic massive sulphide and magmatic nickel/copper/platinum group element systems. Mr. Houle holds a bachelor of science in geology from the Universite du Quebec a Montreal and is a professional geoscientist registered with the Ordre des Geologues du Quebec.
At Atex, Mr. Houle will lead the company's exploration strategy, with a particular focus on continued mineral resource growth at Valeriano, target generation and testing the broader exploration potential of the district.
About Atex Resources Inc.
Atex Resources is a mineral exploration company advancing its flagship Valeriano copper-gold project, located in the Atacama region of Chile, widely recognized as one of the world's most prospective and mining-friendly jurisdictions. The Valeriano project is emerging as one of the leading undeveloped copper assets globally and anchors an expanding, globally significant copper district. As such, it is well positioned to play an important role in meeting future demand amid increasingly constrained global copper supply. Valeriano currently has an indicated mineral resource of 475 million tonnes at 0.88 per cent copper equivalent (0.58 per cent copper, 0.25 gram per tonne gold, 1.39 g/t silver and 70.4 g/t molybdenum) and an inferred mineral resource of 1,511 million tonnes at 0.75 per cent CuEq (0.50 per cent Cu, 0.20 g/t Au, 1.16 g/t Ag and 70.6 g/t Mo), as reported on Sept. 23, 2025.
Qualified person
Brad Ulry, PGeo, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this news release. Mr. Ulry is chief operating officer of Dahrouge Geological Consulting Ltd., which has been retained by Atex to provide geological consulting services. Mr. Ulry is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, and is independent of the company for purposes of Section 1.5 of NI 43-101.
We seek Safe Harbor.
© 2026 Canjex Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.