What has been your focus since your appointment as CEO of Alta Copper?

My focus has been to accelerate our Cañariaco project. Three months after I assumed my new role as CEO, we received approval from MINEM for drill permit application (“DIA”) which was submitted in December 2023. 

I see this project as an extremely promising and exciting opportunity. Based on advanced engineering studies and a recently published PEA it has robust economics. The most significant legacy issue I have tackled is community & social license where we are currently making great strides. Following a dormant period for the company from 2015 to early 2023, we are moving again, with new people and a new approach.

What drilling work has been done up to now at Cañariaco, and what are the plans moving forward?

Historical Drilling at Cañariaco by any comparison to larger prophyry project like a La Granja is very modest, but extremely successful with just 85,000 m for a project with over 7 million t of copper. 

We have three target areas: Norte, the most advanced; Sur, which has only seen 15 drill holes; and Verde, which has had no drilling whatsoever. Our permit allows for up to 43,000 m, which we see commencement of drilling in 2025.

Could you take us through the results of your 2024 PEA?

At our base price of US$4, the PEA illustrates an after-tax NPV of US$2.3 billion and an internal rate of return of 24% - fantastic for a big project. Every US$0.25 increase in the copper price over that base increases that NPV by US$425 million. At current copper prices of US$5 the after tax NPV increases to US$4 billion, with further opportunities to reduce the current tax impact. All that shows the project has the right size and CapEx intensity to attract major interest, which it has already done; for example the Fortescue investment.

We will move to feasibility and an EIA by early 2026, as most of our resources are measured and indicated, which will further advance the project to full permits for construction, within the next two to three years, which is well ahead of many development projects held by a junior company. Now, finalizing our community agreement will prove a key driver for a significant re-rating of valuation, which under any measure is well below what it should be. With our new team and new communication strategy, we hope to be in a position to start drilling again by Q3 2025.

I am well versed in community relations and it is a fundamental part of any mining project. I will be working hard on that front, and we will see this project move forward as it needs to, by way of a collaborative working relationship with the community and all stakeholders.

This is a project that can be brought into production in a relatively short period of time. There is even more potential to grow the resource significantly, based on our current assessment and 3D geological model. Still, if you start as a small copper developer and try to build a mine alone, it typically just does not work. When a big company steps in that all changes, as they have the execution team and funding to construct.

What is your outlook for copper?

One only has to look at the structural deficit in copper: electric vehicles, green transition, solar and wind power, artificial intelligence, the power grid, the list goes on and on. There are analysts out there suggesting copper could go up to US$10,000 or US$15,000 per ton – I fundamentally believe that will be the case. In fact, current increases in copper prices clearly reflect that these projections will be met.
Yet, how many projects will be ready to start producing before 2035? The answer is very, very few. In our case, we are well advanced, with just a few things that need fixing. Cañariaco is a resource capable of producing 150,000 to 160,000 t/y of copper — there are not many that have that potential, and fewer still with the major backing we already have.