World Copper Ltd (TSX-V:WCU, OTCQB:WCUFF) is poised to "materially advance two high-quality copper projects in tier-one jurisdictions" with preliminary economic assessments (PEAs) in 2022, according to Red Cloud Securities.
The broker currently has no rating or target price on the stock but its analysts noted that World Copper shares trade at a discount to peers on an enterprise value per pound of copper-equivalent of US$0.010 per pound compared to resource and PEA-stage peers, which are at US$0.018 per pound.
The company, which is well-funded going into 2022, is focused on advancing two primary copper porphyry projects - Escalones and Cristal in Chile - and the analysts at Red Cloud also highlighted two key developments seen in 2021.
These were the redefinition of the Escalones project in Chile as a copper oxide deposit, and secondly the acquisition of the Zonia copper oxide project in Arizona via a merger with Cardero Resources, subject to court approval.
READ: World Copper poised for ‘sustained growth’ in 2022 as it advances flagship Escalones project in Chile and Zonia in Arizona
An updated resource estimate in August 2021 for Escalones redefined it as copper oxide asset, not a sulphide flotation project, which means the heap leach processing can be simpler and have less of an environmental footprint.
"We note that the resource delineated ~426Mt at 0.367% Cu (~3.5B lbs Cu) in the oxidized zone, which compares favourably to other large-scale, low-grade heap leach Cu mines in Chile," said the analysts.
"Additionally, considerable exploration upside remains at its Mancha Amarilla target, which is expected to be tapped in a 5,000m drill program (Jan/22)," they added.
On the Zonia asset, the Red Cloud analysts said: "We note that the company is planning to produce an updated PEA in early 2022 and start definition drilling of the main resource ahead of detailed engineering (PFS/FS). This drilling would aim to test the northeastern Cu-Mo geochemical anomaly, which has potential to expand the resource."
They cited upcoming catalysts for the company as:
- Closing of Zonia acquisition (2021)
- Drilling at Escalones (Jan/2021)
- Escalones and Zonia PEAs (2022)
Contact the writer at giles@proactiveinvestors.com