Aldebaran Resources announces formation of Centauri Minerals

Aldebaran Resources (ADBRF) announced the official launch of Centauri Minerals, the previously announced new Aldebaran spin-out company formed to initially focus on exploration in Northern Argentina. In addition, Aldebaran and Centauri are pleased to report that a private seed financing round of C$5.7M has been completed to execute exploration programs and administrative preparations for an initial public offering or go-public transaction in 2026. Centauri is initially focusing on copper, gold, and silver exploration in Argentina with a portfolio of six exploration projects spanning over 43,000 hectares located in Salta, Jujuy, and Catamarca provinces. Rio Grande: The most advanced project with near-surface, open-pitable resources totaling 71 million tonnes of 0.30% Cu, 0.36 g/t Au and 3.2 g/t Ag in the indicated category and 41 million tonnes of 0.23% Cu, 0.28 g/t Au and 2.8 g/t Ag in the inferred category. In addition, well-mineralized porphyry dykes have been intercepted beneath the current resource, with the best intercepts returning 257.2 m of 0.53% Cu and 1.20 g/t Au. Rio Grande is located in Salta Province, approximately 9 km from the Lindero gold-copper mine owned by Fortuna Mining Corp. The project also owns valuable support infrastructure, including an active airfield located between the project and the Lindero mine, which is currently being utilized by the mine. Drilling at the project was last completed in 2012 with a NI 43-101 Technical Report completed by Roscoe Postle Associates in 2018, under much lower metal price assumptions and years before the nearby Lindero mine began operations in 2020. Several priority drill targets remain untested and more sophisticated modern geophysical and geochemical techniques have yet to be utilized at the project. Aguas Calientes: The project contains abundant and well-mineralized surface boulders with high concentrations of gold and silver along a 6 km strike length. Aguas Calientes is located in Jujuy Province and is approximately 35 km from the town of San Antonio de los Cobres, a major mining industry service hub in Salta. Limited drilling was completed in 2019, which intersected some mineralization, but more importantly, confirmed epithermal structures that are expected to assist in future targeting and drilling programs. The source of the high-grade boulders has yet to be found, and drill permits are still active. Earlier stage projects: The remaining portfolio contains four green-field exploration projects with limited historical work completed but with prospectivity for copper, gold and/or silver, including: El Camino, Oscara, La Frontera, and Catua. These projects have not been worked or re-evaluated for many years, but the mineral concessions have been held in good standing through Aldebaran and predecessor companies. Aldebaran intends to distribute its shares of Centauri to Aldebaran shareholders upon a go-public event for Centauri. Aldebaran may elect to distribute the Centauri shares all at once or in stages and may retain a minority interest in Centauri. The formation of Centauri will allow Aldebaran shareholders to maintain their exposure to the Altar copper-gold project in San Juan, Argentina, while also receiving additional value through shares in Centauri. Centauri is currently a Canadian subsidiary of Aldebaran. Aldebaran and Centauri have executed a definitive transfer agreement, pursuant to which Centauri will acquire all of the shares of Aldebaran Argentina S.A. and Minera El Toro S.A., the subsidiaries owned by Aldebaran that hold the portfolio of Argentina projects. In exchange, Aldebaran will receive 40,000,000 common shares of Centauri, and the balance will be owned by the seed round investors. The transfer is subject to certain conditions and closing is expected to occur in Q4-2025. Pursuant to the non-brokered seed round financing, Centauri has issued 11,380,000 shares at C$0.50 per share to new investors for a total capital raise of C$5,690,000. Centauri is currently governed by a three-member board of directors, which includes Mr. Mark Wayne, Mr. Javier Robeto, and Sam Leung. An exploration advisory committee has been formed to assist in the development of new exploration programs as well as to ensure project continuity from historical work; the first two members of this committee are Dr. Kevin B. Heather and Mr. John Black. Centauri is in active discussions with candidate additions to the board of directors, exploration advisory committee, and the management team. Announcements are expected as the company progresses towards its go-public goal in 2026.