Cobre Ltd (ASX:CBE) is aiming to transform itself into a copper producer after launching a A$60 million capital raising to acquire a majority interest in the Sierra Atacama Copper Project in Chile’s Antofagasta region. The binding and exclusive agreement with Minera Salar Blanco (MSB) gives Cobre the right to earn up to 51% of the district-scale project, which spans about 40,000 hectares in one of the world’s premier copper belts.
Sierra Atacama hosts an operating underground mine currently producing about 400 tonnes of copper cathode per month via heap leach and SX-EW processing. The project also includes extensive, largely unexplored ground adjacent to major copper operations including Marimaca and Capstone Copper’s Mantos Blancos mine.
Location of the Sierra Atacama property relative to surrounding deposits. (deposit sizes quoted from company websites).
Executive chairman Martin Holland described the deal as “highly transformational”.
“This acquisition is highly transformational for Cobre. We are moving from being an explorer-developer to a producer in a production hub in Chile, which is surrounded by substantial infrastructure. This represents a very exciting opportunity for Cobre to blend this new asset together with the Company’s existing assets in Botswana.
'"I have had had a long term trusted and successful relationship with the vendor, Martin Borda, and the opportunity for Cobre to partner with him on this project is a true privilege. With the Kitlanya projects the subject of the BHP agreement, our agreement with Sinomine for the Okavango Copper Project advancing well and the development of the ISCR project at Ngami coming along strongly, it was time for Cobre to venture out and seek opportunities to take the company to the next level. The Board of Cobre believe that the Sierra Atacama Project in Chile has the potential to transform the company into one of the ASX’s most exciting copper producers."
Under the staged earn-in structure, Cobre will fund US$10 million for an initial 20% interest, with US$3 million already paid and the balance due within eight weeks of long-form documentation. A further US$10 million within 12 months would lift its interest to 40%, with an additional US$10 million securing a 51% stake.
Completion remains subject to shareholder approval, due diligence, execution of formal documents and regulatory consents.
Resource base and production profile
The project contains a 2025 NI 43-101 Mineral Resource estimate of 109.6 million tonnes at 0.67% copper (measured, indicated and inferred), including 58.1 million tonnes at 0.66% copper in the measured and indicated categories.
Mineral reserves at the Nicolasa and Roxana deposits total 43.31 million tonnes at 0.67% copper, comprising 7.33 million tonnes at 0.88% copper at Nicolasa and 35.98 million tonnes at 0.61% copper at Roxana.
Cobre cautioned that the mineral resource estimate is a foreign estimate prepared under Canada’s NI 43-101 standard and not yet compliant with the JORC Code (2012), with validation and conversion work planned.
The existing operation includes an underground fleet, crusher, leach pads and an SX-EW circuit with operating capacity of 700 tonnes per month, installed capacity of 1,200–1,400 tonnes per month and expansion potential to 2,400 tonnes per month.
Electrowinning and solvent extraction plants.
Expansion strategy and exploration upside
Cobre intends to expand the current small-scale underground operation into a larger open pit over the next 18 months, leveraging more than 140 kilometres of historical drilling and channel sampling.
The three-stage plan includes verification of historical data through re-assays and twinned holes, lateral expansion drilling along strike and combined underground and surface drilling to extend mineralisation at depth.
Deep drilling has intersected high-grade copper sulphide mineralisation, which may include additional precious metal credits, and a focused underground and surface drilling program is being prepared to test deeper mixed and sulphide zones.
Equity raise and use of funds
Cobre has secured binding commitments to raise A$60 million (before costs) at A$0.15 per share through a placement to new and existing sophisticated and professional investors.
The placement comprises about 49 million shares under existing capacity and 351 million shares subject to shareholder approval at a general meeting expected in April 2026. The issue price represents a 6.3% discount to the last close of A$0.16.
Major shareholder Tribeca Investment Partners is cornerstoning the raise with a A$15 million commitment, with shares subject to a three-month voluntary escrow.
Funds will be directed toward the staged earn-in, capital expenditure including crusher and SX-EW expansion, exit of certain contracts, drilling in Chile and Botswana, and working capital.
Corporate updates and incentives
As part of the transaction, Cobre has appointed experienced mining executive Phil Mitchell as a board adviser. Mitchell previously served as head of business development and strategy at Rio Tinto and has held senior roles including CFO of Rio Tinto Iron Ore and executive committee member at Anglo American.
The company also proposes to issue up to 56 million performance rights to directors and key contractors under a newly adopted equity incentive plan, subject to shareholder approval.
On completion of both placement tranches and the proposed performance rights issue, Cobre is expected to have 923,644,812 shares on issue and 56,000,000 performance rights outstanding.
With an operating mine, significant installed infrastructure and a large foreign resource base in Chile’s Antofagasta region, Cobre is positioning Sierra Atacama as a platform for growth, while progressing validation work toward JORC-compliant resources and potential large-scale open pit development.