Supper Copper expands Chile footprint with Castilla project buy

[Ben Graham]

Canadian junior Super Copper (CSE: CUPR, OTCQB: CUPPF) has struck a deal to acquire 100% of the Castilla copper project in Chile, locking down a 5,800-hectare land package near the historic Manto Negro mine for $100,000 upfront.

The total price tag is $1.3 million, but the bulk of that will only be paid if key milestones are hit, including a discovery through drilling, a preliminary economic assessment with a net present value of at least $50 million, and a first commercial sale. 

The milestone-based payments are structured at $50,000, $150,000, and $1 million, respectively.

Chief executive Zachary Dolesky said the acquisition was a true risk-reward play, “[We’re securing] a copper-oxide trend for a small upfront fee with all future payments tied to genuine discovery and development milestones,” he said.

The Castilla property lies in Chile’s mining-rich Atacama region and includes 20 exploration concessions. It’s just south of the former Manto Negro open pit, which produced 1.3 million tonnes of 1.2% soluble copper between 2005 and 2009. That historical production offers a potential blueprint for processing, Dolesky noted, adding that the proximity to Super Copper’s other Chilean asset, the Cordillera Cobre project, creates operational efficiencies.

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Super Copper expects to close the deal by the end of July and will run both projects with a shared exploration team. That approach is expected to cut per-metre drilling costs and fast-track exploration timelines. Cordillera, located less than 100 kilometres from Castilla, is a larger sulphide target slated for Phase 2 geophysics in 2025.

With this acquisition, the Vancouver-based copper player will control two complementary projects in Chile, reinforcing its position in a world-class mining region while maintaining a lean capital profile.

Shares in the company climbed 6.5% on the news on Tuesday, closing at 49 Canadian cents each. Year-to-date the stock is up more than 44% and the junior’s market capitalization sits at almost C$18 million ($13m).