- 01Cobre inks Chile ore deals; ~300t Cu/mo from Q4/2026.
- 0250k–75k t/mo ore at 1.0–1.5% Cu; lifts Sierra Atacama.
- 03Third-party ore boosts cash flow pre-2027 open-pit.
Cobre Limited (ASX: CBE) has signed ore purchase agreements with two copper oxide miners in Chile’s Antofagasta region that are expected to add approximately 300 tonnes of copper cathode production a month from the fourth quarter of 2026.
Under the agreements, the two miners will deliver ore to the plant and receive a purchase price referenced to contained copper and the prevailing copper price, with volumes scheduled to ramp up during the fourth quarter.
Deliveries are anticipated to build to between 50,000t and 75,000t a month at grades of 1.0% to 1.5% copper, providing higher-grade feed for the under-utilised Sierra Atacama plant.
The additional cathode production sits outside Cobre’s previously announced production targets, which remain unchanged as the company continues stabilising underground output towards its 400t to 500t monthly target.
Cobre expects the purchased ore to lift plant utilisation and operating cash flow ahead of its planned transition to substantially expanded open-pit production from 2027, while negotiations with further regional suppliers are already well advanced.
Existing Processing Infrastructure
Sierra Atacama has installed cathode production capacity of 20,000t a year but is currently operating below nameplate, leaving existing processing infrastructure available for additional third-party feed.
Because the purchased material bypasses Cobre’s mining and development costs, the incremental cathode cost is limited to the ore purchase price and variable processing expenses—principally acid, power, and reagents.
Higher throughput will also spread the plant’s largely fixed operating costs across a greater tonnage base, which Cobre expects to lower the unit cost of processing ore from its own underground operation and provide further potential upside to cash generation.
“The current underground operation will progressively transition through 2027 into a substantially larger open-pit operation, and third-party ore fills that gap,” chief executive officer Adam Wooldridge said, calling the near-term future a “defining period for Sierra Atacama”.
“These agreements are the direct product of the operational credibility we have built with regional counterparties, and they demonstrate the strategic advantage of Sierra Atacama's location and processing capacity in the heart of Chile's premier copper region—Sierra Atacama is being positioned as the regional processing hub, and the market is now recognising that.”
Bridging into Open-Pit Growth
Cobre plans to progressively transition Sierra Atacama from its current underground operation to a substantially larger open-pit operation during 2027, with the third-party ore intended to maintain higher plant throughput between the two production sources.
The regional supply arrangements are also establishing commercial, logistical and quality-assurance systems that can scale as Cobre’s own production grows, while processing ore from different sources is building metallurgical experience across the plant.
Cobre expects the additional feed to help the existing operation reach its maximum theoretical production level of about 20,000t a year, or approximately 1,600t a month, faster than relying on its own production alone.
Guidance for the 2027 financial year will incorporate underground production, third-party ore, and the planned start of open-pit mining, while further supply agreements under negotiation could lift plant utilisation closer to nameplate and add further cash flow.
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