Copper is on the rise and South America has bucketloads of it
\nBHP is looking to acquire fellow mining giant Anglo American \u2013 which has major copper operations in Chile and Peru
\nASX juniors seek to capitalise on intense interest in the region<\/p>\n
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Copper is on a heater at the moment as demand for the red metal soars toward US$10,000\/t \u2013 with some analysts pegging it to usurp the all-time-high of ~US$10,700\/t set in 2021.<\/strong><\/p>\n Stockhead\u2019s<\/em> own mining guru Josh Chiat<\/a> says the desire for copper is forecast to remain strong<\/a>, based on renewable energy tech, batteries and EV production growth \u2013 cars that use much more copper wiring than combustibles.<\/p>\n Marry that idea with the fact South American nations hold large swathes of untapped copper mineralisation and have been positioning themselves recently as highly attractive mining jurisdictions.<\/p>\n It\u2019s no wonder then, that when the world\u2019s largest miner, BHP (ASX:BHP)<\/strong><\/a>, attempts to snap up London-based major Anglo American \u2013 which has stakes in huge copper reserves in Chile and Peru \u2013 the rest of the sector\u2019s ears start to perk up.<\/p>\n In an effort to also become the world\u2019s largest copper producer, the Big Aussie just lobbed \u2013 and got rejected for \u2013 a $60bn bid to buy the company<\/a> in what would\u2019ve been the largest mining deal on record, just throwing shade over Glencore\u2019s $59bn acquisition of Switzerland\u2019s Xstrata back in 2012.<\/p>\n However, there are plenty of indications that BHP will return to the table with an upgraded offer.<\/p>\n If BHP wins the day it will notably add a 60% stake in Peru\u2019s Quellaveco and a 44% stake in Chile\u2019s Collahuasi copper mines in South America, adding to its own majority slice of the giant Escondida mine nearby.<\/p>\n That news has ASX juniors on the continent salivating over their own copper potential, in a region where there\u2019s been a lack of exploration in the past few years.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n One of those is Firetail Resources (ASX:FTL)<\/strong><\/a> operating at the southern end of Peru\u2019s high-grade copper district where big hitters such as Vale, BHP, Rio and Newmont all have major operations.<\/p>\n Assays from maiden drilling at its Cumbre Coya target at Picha recently confirmed the continuation of copper mineralisation over 170m<\/a>, with the strike open in all directions and at depth.<\/p>\n \u201cWe continue to be excited about the potential at Picha, and these latest results are a validation of all the hard work by the team in advancing this project,\u201d FTL exec chair Brett Grosvenor says.<\/p>\n \u201cWork continues on site as we move into the latter part of the drill program, and we eagerly await the next results to further develop our understanding of this system.\u201d<\/p>\n On Chile\u2019s coastal copper belt, Culpeo Minerals (ASX:CPO)<\/strong><\/a> has boosted its stake in the Lana Corina copper project up to 50%, straight on the back of acquiring an 80% interest in Fortuna, another highly-prospective copper project<\/a> 10km to the north.<\/p>\n \u201c2000m of drilling is now underway to follow up on high-grade copper and molybdenum<\/a> mineralisation,\u201d CPO MD Max Tuesley says.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re targeting what we\u2019ve identified as a 3km-long corridor of prospectivity between Lana Corina and Vista Montana and expect to likely double the mineralised footprint through this latest diamond drilling program.\u201d<\/p>\n Assay results are expected in the next 4-6 weeks.<\/p>\n With its advanced 798Mt at 0.45% Cu Costa Fuego copper-gold project, also in Chile, Hot Chili (ASX:HCH)<\/strong><\/a> is showing a lot confidence in its development plans, having just rattled the tin for up to $29m which the company says will fund the next 18 months of exploration and development.<\/p>\n The copper hunter has an all-encompassing approach towards its foray into the region, focusing on desalination water supply studies<\/a>, an MoU signed with the nearby port<\/a> and a recent 25% increase of Costa Fuego with a $4m acquisition of the close by Domeyko tenements<\/a>.<\/p>\n Discussions with potential development partners, a pre-feasibility study, expansion drilling and exploration and an environmental impact study across the tenements are ongoing.<\/p>\n Southern Hemisphere Mining (ASX:SUH)<\/strong><\/a> is in-country too, proving up its Llahuin copper-gold tenure just a stones-throw (8km) from Pucobre\u2019s US$490m El Espino copper-gold mine currently under construction.<\/p>\n The infrastructure being implemented for El Espino, SUH says, significantly de-risks Llahuin, which has a current resource of 169Mt at 0.4% copper.<\/p>\n The explorer is in the midst of a drill program to test multiple targets so it can increase the resource base to support a 25-year mine life<\/a>.<\/p>\n Across to Argentina and Belararox (ASX:BRX)<\/strong><\/a> is notched to the same belt as such as Filo Mining Corp\u2019s C$3.3bn 644Mt Filo Del Sol mine that is backed by BHP, as well as the Los Helados and Potro Cliffs projects being developed by TSE-listed NGEx Minerals.<\/p>\n Its early-stage Toro Malambo Tambo (TMT) project has highly prospective epithermal and porphyry potential<\/a> for copper, gold and molybdenum, where current exploration is focused on 12 high-priority targets across the landholding.<\/p>\n Rock chips sampled from the targets reached grades of up to 1.41% copper, 2.49ppm gold, 484ppm silver, 20.9% zinc and +20% lead.<\/p>\n \u201cThese assay results confirm our geological observations that we are in the epithermal environment at Toro Central and South, and deeper, in the high levels of a porphyry system in Toro North,\u201d BRX exploration director Argentina Jason Ward says.<\/p>\n \u201cFieldwork continues at Tambo Sur, after which we will re-rank our projects in order to plan our upcoming drilling program.\u201d<\/p>\n In Brazil\u2019s Goia State, Alvo Minerals (ASX:ALV)<\/strong><\/a> is about to kick off another round of exploration at its Palma VMS copper-zinc find, drilling into multiple and completely untested targets that aim to replicate the success and add to the existing C1 and C3 prospects, which have a combined 4.6Mt at 1% copper and 3.9% zinc resource with silver and lead to boot.<\/p>\n An initial 5000m of diamond drilling<\/a> aims to update that resource at Palma\u2019s district-scale tenement package.<\/p>\n \u201cOur team has worked in the background over the past 18 months, bringing these new prospects to a point where drilling is the next logical step to confirm a discovery,\u201d ALV MD Rob Smakman says.<\/p>\n \u201cOur broader exploration model at Palma has always been to make discoveries of high-grade copper and zinc deposits on our district scale land package in a proven VMS belt. We believe this puts Alvo in a unique position as a junior explorer.\u201d<\/p>\n And in southern Ecuador, Titan Minerals (ASX:TTM)<\/strong><\/a> and its three copper and gold projects have attracted the interest of Gina Rinehart\u2019s Hancock Prospecting with a farm-in deal that could be worth up to US$120m for an 80% stake in its flagship Linderos project.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n\n \ufeff<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Hot Chili, Firetail Resources, Alvo Minerals, Belararox, Culpeo Minerals and Southern Hemisphere Mining are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.<\/em><\/p>\n This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The post The Big Aussie\u2019s keen, so who else is wiring into South America\u2019s copper boom?<\/a> appeared first on Stockhead<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Who\u2019s charging down copper in South America?<\/h2>\n