With exciting copper projects in development both in Namibia and Zambia, Koryx Copper provides an update on its progress and future in mineral exploration.
Koryx Copper Inc, a TSX-V listed company, focuses on developing its exciting Haib Copper project in Namibia and its large 752km² land position in the Zambian Copper Belt.
It is very unusual to find an exploration company holding a project of the magnitude of Haib Copper in Namibia. The project already hosts a resource totalling over 5.3 billion pounds of copper, with 60% sitting in the indicated resource category. Moreover, the ore tonnage is expandable at the surface and at depth.
The Haib project hosts a large tonnage / low-grade porphyry copper deposit. The team at Koryx was confident they could substantially increase the current grade of the indicated resource, pointing at an average of 0.31% Cu.
This strong confidence came from the fact that the predecessors of Koryx have drilled the deposit with vertical boreholes spaced by 150m. The deposit was always compared to copper porphyry deposits in the Andes, and the Koryx team thought it might be wrong because Haib is 1.8 billion years old.
In comparison, the Andes deposits are younger than 200 million years old. As it is quite old, the Haib deposit may have transformed substantially over its long life, and probably, the mineralisation was re-concentrated along newly identified structures such as quartz veins, faults and shears. Most of those structures are vertical or sub-vertical, and the vertical wide-spaced drilling may have missed a large number of those features.
Promising results
The drilling programme designed by the Koryx team has proven the theory and turned out to be a major game changer. Most of the 40 holes drilled by Koryx were in an inclined orientation to drill across the structures. The results were stunning, showing grades between 0.40% Cu and 3.95% Cu on very large extensions up to 220m. Those grades over large areas will add substantial economics to the project.
In February 2021, Koryx disclosed the results of a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) showing a Capex of 340m and an after-tax NPV of $1.3bn at a copper price of $3.50 per lb with an after-tax IRR of 36.1%. These are very appealing economics for a company like Koryx Copper.
An updated NI 43-101 resource estimation will be disclosed in August 2024. The company will resume drilling in the high-grade pits with the goal of developing measured resources that will be converted to reserves after the results of a metallurgical test work planned to start in September 2024. Exciting times are coming for Koryx.
Exploring the Zambian Copper Belt
The company also holds 51%, with an option to acquire up to 80%, of two large exploration licenses in the Zambian Copper Belt, one of the most prolific copper belts in the world.
The most advanced project is Luanshya West, sitting about 25km west of Luanshya, one of the largest copper and cobalt mines in Zambia. Luanshya West sits on the same geology as Luanshya and shows similarity in the soil sampling results.
Koryx has carried out a soil sampling programme that has enabled the identification of ten large surface copper anomalies and 13 large surface cobalt anomalies. A geophysical survey has confirmed that the anomalies show high chargeability at depth.
Koryx plans to carry a short reverse circulation drilling programme from September to October 2024. If the results carry good grades, Koryx may be sitting on a potential discovery.
Why Koryx Copper
Koryx boasts an accomplished team with a proven track record in capital markets, exploration, and mine operations. It holds quality assets in low-risk and low-cost jurisdictions. Koryx is supported by Blue-chip Financial institutions and high-net-worth individuals. The tight share structure includes strategic and institutional investors.
Moreover, Koryx offers a significant upside with major exploration and optimisation potential, multiple targets, and serious improvement opportunities. Furthermore, Koryx has a low valuation primed for value re-rating on significant near-term execution events (financing, mineral resource estimation, drilling, metallurgical test work).
Koryx is definitely worth being on mineral resources investors’ shopping lists.
Copper is the king commodity for the coming 30 years
Artificial intelligence (AI) is completely reshaping life as we know it, and nowadays, there are few industries that AI hasn’t touched. However, few people realise how the AI boom has driven the copper market to new highs.
According to Goldman Sachs, copper prices have outperformed both gold and silver this year and could rise another 20% this year to hit $12,000 per tonne, thanks to the rise in AI technology and the buildout of new data centres.
Commodity trader Trafigura says AI has the potential to add one million tonnes of annual copper demand by 2030, which is equivalent to the total production of Escondida, the world’s largest copper mine.
The problem is that new copper discoveries are few and far between, and supply is dwindling. Growing supply concerns are prompting tech leaders like Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos to invest in the copper mining industry to secure future supply for their AI ventures.
The same situation applies to the electrification of transport, where we see major vehicle builders securing future supply by large investments in the copper mining industry.
The power transmission infrastructures are ageing and are poorly maintained in most countries. A serious turnaround is needed and will necessitate billions in investments and will increase substantially copper demand in the coming ten to 15 years.
Without copper, there would be no transportation, communications, or power transmission. Copper is involved everywhere in modern life.
Demand is only increasing
The larger copper mines see their reserves depleting, and the mining companies do not easily find new copper resources to turn into reserves and eventual copper mines. New copper mines are desperately needed. Large mining companies are hungry and searching for large mineral resources. They are ‘elephant hunters.’
Koryx Copper is also an ‘elephant hunter’. It has already started developing one ‘elephant’ in Haib Copper and is exploring the possibility of finding more in ‘elephant’ countries such as Zambia.
Investors looking for strong returns are invited to target copper explorers active in ‘elephant’ countries. There are a few that may become targets for the ‘big game hunters.’
Please note, this article will also appear in the 19th edition of our quarterly publication.
