In this episode I’m joined by Geoff McNamara, Co-Founder and Non-Executive Chairman of Culpeo Minerals, an ASX-listed copper exploration and development company focused on discovering and advancing high-grade copper projects in Chile.
Culpeo listed on the ASX in 2021 and has since built a portfolio focused on Chile's Coastal region, including its flagship Lana Corina Project, where the company made a significant copper-moly discovery, alongside the Fortuna Project.
Geoff joins me today to talk about the Culpeo story, what they've learned from exploring in Chile, the progress at Lana Corina and Fortuna, the current drilling programmes, the outlook for copper and what it takes to build and finance a junior exploration company in today's market.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Culpeo Minerals is targeting shallow, open-pittable copper deposits in Chile’s Coastal Cordillera, aiming for a district-scale resource of 50 to 100 million tonnes.
The flagship Lana Corina project, along with nearby Vista Montana and Fortuna, has shown high-grade continuity supported by recent geochemistry and geophysics programs.
Chile offers an established mining workforce, strong regional infrastructure, and a pro-business regulatory environment with reduced corporate tax rates and royalty holidays for new discoveries.
Despite competitive capital markets and a multi-decade exploration deficit, long-term copper demand remains robust due to global electrification and artificial intelligence infrastructure needs
BEST MOMENTS
"We like that coastal cordillera because of the infrastructure, because we believe it’s underexplored... you need pretty deep relationships in-country."
"When you want to make discoveries, you go to places where there are a lot of mines... Chile is the world’s largest copper producer, it’s got the world’s largest copper reserves, and a long history of mining."
"We’ve obviously had the electrification theme for some time, and more recently, we’ve had the artificial intelligence—the AI—overlay on that as well, so there is a very strong demand story there."
"There’s been a couple of decades without any significant discoveries... so it is a market that’s well-primed for copper and for new discoveries."
VALUABLE RESOURCES
Mail: rob@mining-international.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/
X: https://twitter.com/MiningRobTyson YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DigDeepTheMiningPodcast
Web: http://www.mining-international.org
GUEST RESOURCES
https://culpeominerals.com.au/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/culpeo-minerals/
https://x.com/CulpeoMinerals
Podcast Description
Rob Tyson is an established recruiter in the mining and quarrying sector and decided to produce the “Dig Deep” The Mining Podcast to provide valuable and informative content around the mining industry. He has a passion and desire to promote the industry and the podcast aims to offer the mining community an insight into people’s experiences and careers covering any mining discipline, giving the listeners helpful advice and guidance on industry topics.
This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/
