Cobre (ASX:CBE) has entered a binding option agreement with Vision Global Investments SA (VGI) to acquire 25 mining concessions totalling 6,820 hectares adjacent to its Sierra Atacama Copper Project.
The acquisition expands Cobre’s footprint along the northern Chilean iron oxide copper-gold belt, providing control of a district-scale land position surrounding its existing copper production hub in the Antofagasta region.
The properties cover extensions of the highly mineralised Sierra Atacama structural corridor, with potential to host additional copper discoveries.
Under the terms of the agreement with VGI, Cobre has an exclusive option to acquire full ownership through staged payments while funding ongoing licence fees.
Cobre retains the right to terminate the agreement at any time.
The company has already completed the first staged payment of US$200,000 ($290,215), which was paid upon signing. It will then pay US$200,000 on the first anniversary, US$200,000 on the second anniversary, and US$1.5 million on the third anniversary.
CEO Adam Wooldridge says the acquisition forms an important part of Cobre’s strategy to establish a ‘district-scale’ copper platform in one of the world’s premier copper-producing regions.
“The Sierra Atacama Copper Project provides Cobre with an established operating base, infrastructure and processing capability,” Woolridge says.
“The project area captures a significant portion of the highly mineralised Sierra Atacama fault corridor, which, despite its favourable geological setting, remains underexplored using modern exploration techniques.”
The Atacama Fault System represents one of the principal controls on copper mineralisation within the Coastal Cordillera of northern Chile.
The newly acquired properties cover extensions of this ‘highly prospective’ structural environment, including geological units equivalent to those hosting mineralisation at Sierra Atacama.
At the Sierra Atacama deposit, mineralisation is closely associated with the fault system, which locally trends approximately north 30 degrees east and dips steeply at around 75 degrees to the east.
The mining concessions extend Cobre’s control across both the western and eastern margins of the fault corridor, covering areas of outcropping prospective geology as well as zones concealed beneath transported gravel cover.
Cobre says exploration across the properties will focus on integrating historical datasets with systematic geological mapping, surface geochemistry, and geophysical surveys to define priority drill targets.
The company notes it has completed its due diligence on the properties.
Cobre is focused on copper production in Chile and tier one copper exploration in Botswana.
Write to Paula Fabe at Mining.com.au
Images: Cobre
