Edwin Naranjo Sierra Promoted to VP of Exploration; Mark Gibson Appointed to Board of Directors and Joey Wilkins Joins as Strategic Advisor
VANCOUVER, BC, July 28, 2025 /CNW/ - Copper Giant Resources Corp. ("Copper Giant" or the "Company") (TSXV: CGNT) (OTCQB: LBCMF) (FRA: 29H0) is pleased to announce the strengthening of its leadership team with three major appointments:
- Mark Gibson, former senior executive with Ivanhoe Electric and Cordoba Minerals, joins the Board of Directors as an Independent Director
- Joey Wilkins, a renowned porphyry exploration geologist, joins as Strategic Advisor
- Edwin Naranjo Sierra, MSc and FAusIMM, current Exploration Manager, is promoted to Vice President of Exploration
These appointments reinforce the Mocoa project's emergence as a magnet for top-tier porphyry expertise and reflect Copper Giant's evolution into a company capable of delivering world-class discovery and development outcomes.
"We are proud to welcome Mark and Joey and to recognize Edwin's outstanding leadership. These appointments underscore the caliber of Mocoa as a porphyry system—and our ability to attract the best minds in the business. The technical team we are building has not only discovered and defined world-class copper systems but actually advanced them toward production. That's the kind of real-world experience that turns potential into reality" — Ian Harris, President & CEO.
A Technical Team That Gets It Built
Great geologists want to be part of great projects. With today's announcement, Copper Giant adds decades of high-level experience in porphyry discovery, resource growth, and mine advancement—both in Colombia and globally.
Mark Gibson brings a career defined by execution at the highest levels. Most recently, he served as Chief Geophysics Officer and previously COO of Ivanhoe Electric (NYSE: IE), and as COO of Cordoba Minerals (TSXV: CDB), where he played a pivotal role advancing the Alacran copper-gold project in Colombia from exploration through feasibility. Over his career, he has built and led teams across Anglo American, HPX, and Kaizen Discovery, contributing to major global exploration programs and building strong community and regulatory foundations to enable long-term success.
"Having worked extensively in Colombia, I know the difference between good assets and exceptional ones. Mocoa stands out—and so does the team behind it. The opportunity to contribute my experience in exploration, and project advancement, both in Colombia and globally was a key reason I accepted this role. I'm confident that my background can add real value here—and that it will be welcomed by a technically sophisticated team committed to excellence." — Mark Gibson, Independent Director
Joey Wilkins is a porphyry exploration specialist with deep experience across the Americas and Asia, including leadership roles at Aztec Minerals, Kennecott (Rio Tinto), McLeod Willams Capital Corp, and Coeur Mining. His porphyry expertise spans discovery through advanced targeting, and he has built a reputation for technical rigor, field leadership, and sound judgment. He recently visited Mocoa and will support strategic targeting and system interpretation as the Company advances toward its next phase of growth.
"I first encountered Mocoa personnel and drill core at PDAC but seeing it on the ground recently and meeting the team confirmed what I suspected: this system checks every box. It has the scale, intensity, and complexity of the world's largest porphyries. What's equally impressive is the quality of the team, which is deeply knowledgeable, rooted in the region, and clearly capable of taking this to the next level. This is the kind of project and team that doesn't just lead in Colombia—it gets recognized globally." — Joey Wilkins, Strategic Advisor
Edwin Naranjo Sierra, who has led Copper Giant's exploration team since 2022, is promoted from Exploration Manager to Vice President of Exploration. Edwin's breakthrough work on age dating, system architecture, and mineralization controls has fundamentally reshaped the understanding of the Mocoa system and positioned it as a leading district-scale porphyry target in the Northern Andes. He is finalizing his PhD in Economic Geology, with specialization in magma-fertility related to Jurassic porphyry copper-molybdenum deposits, a specialization directly relevant to unlocking the full potential of Mocoa. His leadership has been instrumental in attracting high-caliber geologists and building a technically elite, locally grounded exploration team.
"Mocoa is the project every geology student in Colombia learns about. For me and our team, it's not just a job, it's personal. We've put our heart and soul into understanding this complex and extraordinary system. This new role is a chance to give even more. I'm proud to continue leading such a talented team and grateful for the opportunity to help shape one of the most exciting copper projects in the region." — Edwin Naranjo Sierra, Vice President of Exploration
The Company further announces an aggregate of 6,250,000 incentive stock options (the "Options") have been granted to certain directors, officers, employees and consultants of the Company as well as investor relations personnel. The Options are exercisable at a price of $0.18 per share, vesting immediately (subject to those Options granted to investor relations personnel) and expire on July 25, 2035, subject to approval of the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV"). 125,000 Options granted to investor relations personnel will vest on a quarterly basis over a twelve-month period in tranches of 25% each per the requirements of the TSXV.
About Copper Giant
Copper Giant Resources Corp. is part of the Fiore Group, a private and well-established Canadian organization known for building successful, high-impact companies across the natural resource sector. Copper Giant was formed with a singular focus: to advance high-quality copper projects beyond resource definition—responsibly, efficiently, and with long-term positive impact.
The Company is led by a team with uncommon experience, having successfully taken some of the few major copper mines developed in the past two decades from discovery through to construction.
Copper Giant's current focus is the Mocoa copper-molybdenum deposit in southern Colombia, one of the largest undeveloped resources of its kind in the Americas. Recent exploration success has revealed potential well beyond its original footprint, highlighting Mocoa as a broader district-scale opportunity—and the catalyst for the Company's name and evolution.
Guided by the values of respect and responsibility, and grounded in its Good Neighbor philosophy, Copper Giant is committed to creating enduring value for all stakeholders and playing a meaningful role in the global energy transition.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This news release includes forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements within, other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding the drilling results and the outcome of the Company's current resource expansion strategy; other activities and achievements of the Company, including but not limited to: the timing and success for the advancement of the Mocoa Project, the expansion of the Mocoa resource base; are to be considered forward looking. Although Copper Giant believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices and volatility with the Company's common shares, exploitation and exploration successes, uncertainty of reserve and resource estimates, risks of not achieving production, continued availability of capital and financing, processes, permits and filing requirements, risks related to operations in foreign and developing countries and compliance with foreign laws and including risks related to changes in foreign laws and changing policies related to mining and local ownership requirements in Colombia, and general economic, market, political or business conditions and regulatory and administrative approvals. There can be no assurances that such statements will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements
