Junior Miner Targets High-Grade Copper Resources in Argentina

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Kobrea Exploration Corp. (KBX:TSX; KBXFF:OTCQB; F31:FSE) announced it has started a property-wide helicopter-borne magnetic and radiometric survey at its Western Malargüe Copper Projects in Argentina, seven assets in which the company has the right to earn a 100% interest.

The property-wide, 2,245 line-kilometer geophysical survey will provide insight to the scale, geometry and intensity of known alteration systems on the property, along with potentially outlining additional porphyry targets within the project boundaries, the company said.

The survey will include coverage of the El Perdido and El Destino porphyry copper-gold targets.

"The results of this airborne geophysical survey will better define the extents of the porphyry systems at El Perdido and El Destino and will be integral to developing additional porphyry targets across this highly prospective, district-scale land package," Chief Executive Officer James Hedalen said. "To date, historical exploration across the projects has focused on advancing hydrothermal alteration footprints that are readily visible in satellite imagery and on the ground. This first comprehensive geophysical survey of these projects will help to outline structures and alteration effects associated with porphyry systems not visibly apparent as color anomalies or which are under colluvial cover."

The government of the Mendoza province, home to this prospective 73,334-hectare (73,334-ha) land position, just opened the area in April 2024 to exploration and mining through creation of the Western Malargüe Mining District (WMMD) and subsequent legislative work. The goal is to facilitate development of a modern and sustainable mining industry there.

"We are first movers into the newly established WMMD," Hedalen has said. "We have an opportunity to make discoveries by drilling for the first time in this part of a world-class porphyry copper belt."

Outlining More Areas for Exploration

According to Kobrea, the ground magnetometer survey completed by a previous operator at the El Perdido porphyry copper target covers the core of the system, while the airborne magnetometer data will present a more comprehensive picture of the geology and hydrothermal alteration. The radiometric data recorded will highlight the surficial distribution of potassic alteration and the extents of hydrothermally altered rock.

At El Destino, a 1-kilometer-by-3-kilometer hydrothermal alteration system is suspected to continue under younger Pleistocene-aged ignimbrites to the north and south of the outcropping alteration footprint, the company said.

The airborne magnetometer will measure the rock properties beneath the younger cover rock to define the greater extent of the hydrothermal alteration footprint. The data will help outline additional areas exhibiting potassic alteration beyond those mapped to date.

A 'Massive District-Scale Property'

Based in British Columbia, Kobrea Exploration Corp. acquires and explores base metal projects in North and South America.

Last August, Kobrea entered a five-year option agreement to earn 100% of a highly prospective portfolio of seven adjacent properties in Argentina called the Western Malargüe Copper Projects. Along with El Perdido and Elena, they are Cuprum, Veronica, Sofi, El Destino and Mantos de Cobre. The owners retain a 1.5% nonsmelter return royalty (NSR) on the properties, according to Kobrea's corporate presentation. The NSR is divided into five entities, which Kobrea could purchase for US$1.5 million apiece.

*Together, this collection of projects is "a massive district-scale property," Technical Analyst Clive Maund said in an October 2024 report. "The potential of the Western Malargüe projects becomes clearer when we consider that the seven main targets are not merely targets but are projects in their own right that each cover[s] a very substantial land area."

On Monday, he noted that the stock had "dropped sharply over the past several trading days for capital markets reasons, these being that on the 21st of this month the four-month hold came off a large tranche of stock issued in a private placement late last year, which explains the high volume in the stock as it dropped last week."

Technical Analyst Clive Maund said the stock was viewed "as a Buy again here and a strong buy on any further near-term weakness in readiness for the expected reversal to the upside." 

However, Maund said the volume was rapidly easing as the stock "gravitates towards the cyclical lows of January and August last year, which it is now approaching and which is expected to generate a major reversal to the upside — and here we should note that it may not get that far down before reversal occurs — it could happen anytime now."

Therefore, the analyst said the stock was viewed "as a Buy again here and a strong buy on any further near-term weakness in readiness for the expected reversal to the upside."

The Canadian explorer has another asset, which it owns outright, in British Columbia called Upland. Spanning 5,300 ha, it hosts " a copper-dominant, remobilized polymetallic volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit that is open for expansion laterally and to depth," according to Kobrea. About 50 holes were drilled at Upland between 1969 and 2010. One highlight intercept was 74 meters of 0.32% copper from surface. Several targets warranting follow-up were identified via an airborne survey.

Now that Kobrea's 2025 exploration campaign at the Western Malargüe Copper Projects has kicked off, investors should expect related updates and results, any of which could boost its share price.

The Catalyst: Helping Spark the Energy Transition

Supported by a drop in the U.S. dollar, copper prices rose this week, hitting a two-week high in London, reported Mining.com. A softer dollar makes commodities cheaper for buyers using other currencies.

"Metals have faced a turbulent April amid global trade uncertainty sparked by US President Donald Trump's sweeping import tariffs," Mining.com said. "While the trade tensions threaten economic growth — and with it, metal demand — a weaker dollar is providing some support."

Much of the energy transition depends on copper and its importance as an electrical conductor, and the hunt for the red metal "has been accelerating, as companies involved in all parts of the copper supply chain realize the structural supply deficit," wrote Rick Mills, author of the newsletter Ahead of the Herd.

"They understand the need to find sources — existing mines, expansions, brownfield projects, greenfield projects, etc. — and are making deals to acquire the base metal, which is not only essential to electrification and decarbonization but industry in general," Mills wrote.

The Swiss bank UBS estimates that the copper supply deficit will exceed 200,000 tons by 2025, she wrote. The International Energy Forum adds that, to meet the growing demand, more than a billion tons of new copper mining capacity will be needed annually until 2050.

Ownership and Share Structure

According to Refinitiv, two insiders own 8.56% of Kobrea. They are CEO and Director James Hedalen with 4.24% and Vice President of Exploration and Director Rory Ritchie with 4.32%.

The rest is in retail. There is no institutional ownership at this time.

The Canadian explorer has 35.35M outstanding shares and 32.35M free float traded shares. Its market cap is CA$14.21 million. Its 52-week high and low share prices are CA$0.80 and CA$0.25, respectively.