en.Wedoany.com Reported - Hayden Locke, President and CEO of Marimaca Copper Corp. (TSX:MARI), believes the company's share price only reflects the approximate fair value of its flagship asset, the Marimaca Oxide Deposit (MOD), while the market assigns almost no value to another, larger asset, Pampa Medina. He noted that junior mining companies often trade at a discount due to early-stage status, pending permits, lack of exploration potential, jurisdictional risk, and financing pressures, but Marimaca does not fit this pattern. The MOD has completed a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) and received its Environmental Qualification Resolution (Resolución de Calificación Ambiental, RCA) in November 2025, and the company holds significant cash.

The MOD is located in the Antofagasta region of Chile, less than 25 kilometers from the Port of Mejillones, with low execution risk. The DFS shows proven and probable reserves of 179 million tonnes at 0.42% copper, containing 748,000 tonnes of copper, with a mine life of 13 years and steady-state production of approximately 50,000 tonnes of copper cathode per year. Using a long-term price assumption of $4.30/lb, the after-tax net present value (8% discount rate) is $709 million, with an internal rate of return of 31%; based on the COMEX three-month average copper price of $5.05/lb, the after-tax net present value (8% discount rate) is $1.1 billion, with an internal rate of return of 39% and a payback period of 2.2 years. The initial capital intensity per tonne of annual copper production is approximately $11,700, among the lowest globally for similar projects. The project's profitability index makes it one of the few development projects with a capital expenditure below $1 billion and a net present value exceeding 1.5 times the capital cost. Locke stated that this asset alone roughly explains the current share price, while the full exploration potential of Pampa Medina is essentially free for investors.

Pampa Medina is a sediment-hosted copper-silver system located approximately 28 kilometers from the MOD, currently being drilled by six rigs. Locke compares it to the Kakula deposit in the Democratic Republic of Congo, one of the greatest copper discoveries of the past two decades. Kakula is approximately 6 kilometers long and 1.5 kilometers wide, containing 400 million tonnes of ore at a 1% cut-off grade with a copper grade of about 3% and an average true thickness of about 12 meters. Locke believes Pampa Medina, within its expanding footprint, has already shown comparable, and in some places thicker, high-grade intervals. The latest assay results show one hole intersected 20 meters at 2.65% copper and 13.9 g/t silver from 564 meters depth, including 6 meters at 6.11% copper and 24.0 g/t silver; and 104 meters at 1.01% copper and 4.7 g/t silver from 664 meters depth, including 40 meters at 2.04% copper and 11.1 g/t silver. Hole SPRD-08B, which reached a total depth of 1,052 meters, encountered mineralization in basement metasedimentary rocks for the first time, suggesting further extension potential beyond the host unit. Unlike Kamoa-Kakula, Pampa Medina does not face water constraints from a large overlying aquifer.

Locke believes that neither the exploration potential of Pampa Medina nor the identified extensions of the oxide deposit are reflected in the current share price. He noted separately that even without further exploration success, these extensions could add 20,000 to 25,000 tonnes of copper cathode production annually. Regarding the sulfuric acid memorandum of understanding for the company's PADA plant, if it converts into a binding joint venture after a six-month evaluation period, it could improve the MOD's operating cost profile. Near-mine oxide targets (Cindy, Mercedes, Roble, Tarso, Sierra) offer additional resource growth not yet quantified, and are located near existing infrastructure. The Marimaca board recently added members with large project experience to strengthen execution capabilities: Chairman Giancarlo Bruno, former CEO of Mantos Copper and Vice President of Anglo American's Northern Division, has direct experience building the Mantoverde mine; Non-Executive Director Zenon Wozniak served as Project Director at First Quantum Minerals for 23 years, overseeing the development of nearly all of the company's mines; Project Director Josh Watson, based in Santiago, brings large-scale project experience to the local team. The MOD's environmental approval has been obtained, and the industrial permit was submitted in April 2026, with approval expected in the fourth quarter. Project financing is led by Endeavour Financial, expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, with the first sulfide resource target set for early 2027. Construction is targeted for 2027, with first copper cathode expected in 2029. Against the backdrop of copper demand driven by electrification, grids, and data centers, the number of junior copper developers targeting approximately 50,000 tonnes per year with clear construction prospects has significantly decreased following the acquisitions of Arizona Sonoran by Hudbay and Foran by Eldorado.