Nevada Copper Announces Appointment of Mike Ciricillo as Chief Executive Officer and Board Changes

YERINGTON, Nev., Oct. 15, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nevada Copper Corp. (TSX: NCU) (“Nevada Copper” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mike Ciricillo as acting Chief Executive Officer.

Appointment of Mike Ciricillo

Mr. Ciricillo was previously the Head of Copper Industrial Operations for Glencore Plc, where he oversaw Glencore’s worldwide copper assets. Prior to Glencore, he has held a number of senior management roles during a 20-year tenure with Phelps Dodge and Freeport McMoRan, including as President of Tenke Fungurume Mining and General Manager of Miami Arizona Operations. Throughout his career Mr. Ciricillo has overseen numerous significant copper operations in the US and abroad.

The board of directors is pleased to welcome Mr. Ciricillo to Nevada Copper and look forward to his leadership. His exceptional depth of experience in managing copper operations both underground and open pit, in the U.S. and internationally, will be invaluable as the Company advances through its ramp-up to steady-state production from its underground mine and advances its organic growth pipeline, including the Open Pit project.

The board of directors would also like to thank Mr. Spencer for his commitment during this year and look forward to his ongoing involvement. Mr. Ciricillo will assume the role of acting CEO from Evan Spencer, effective October 26, 2020. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic delaying the issuance work permits has restricted the ability for Mr. Spencer to relocate to Nevada. Mr. Spencer has played a crucial role in systems implementation, execution of the development plan and shaft completion over 2020, including managing the business through the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Q2 2020 and culminating in the successful restart of copper production in August 2020. Mr. Spencer will remain actively engaged with Nevada Copper for an interim period, supporting in mine planning and the transition with Mr. Ciricillo.

Mr. Ciricillo joins a maturing senior management team, with the recent appointments of Andre van Niekerk as Chief Financial Officer and Dale Ekmark as Chief Operating Officer (formerly Vice President at Detour Gold).

Board Changes

The Company is also pleased to announce that Kate Southwell has been appointed to the board of directors of Nevada Copper, replacing Phillip Day, who has stepped down from the board.

Mr. Day has provided significant support to Nevada Copper through the design and construction phases of the Pumpkin Hollow underground mine, and his process engineering experience has been invaluable in supporting the commissioning of the Pumpkin Hollow processing facility. Ms. Southwell has over 15 years of experience as a legal professional and brings substantial knowledge and expertise in legal and commercial issues, including regulatory, sustainability and risk management matters at the time when the Company has become a copper producer. She is a currently a Vice President at Pala Investments, and has previously worked at Nyrstar and Shearman & Sterling.

About Nevada Copper

Nevada Copper (TSX: NCU) is a copper producer and owner of the Pumpkin Hollow copper project. Located in Nevada, USA, Pumpkin Hollow has substantial reserves and resources including copper, gold and silver. Its two fully permitted projects include the high-grade underground mine and processing facility, which is now in the production stage, and a large-scale open pit project, which is advancing towards feasibility status.

NEVADA COPPER CORP.

For further information contact:

Rich Matthews, Investor Relations

Integrous Communications