Culpeo Minerals to acquire Jupiter copper project in Chile following high-grade discoveries

Culpeo Minerals (ASX: CPO) is moving to add the Jupiter copper project to its Chilean portfolio via an agreement with Excava Holdings.

Under the terms of the deal, Culpeo can acquire 100% of the highly prospective project covering approximately 4,000 hectares in the South American nation’s low-altitude Coastal Cordillera region.

Structured as a farm-in option arrangement, the transaction will see Excava transfer the Jupiter concessions into a special purpose vehicle (SPV).

Two large zones

Executive chair Geoff McNamara said the acquisition represents a strategic addition to Culpeo’s portfolio, further solidifying its position as a leading explorer in Chile’s prolific copper belt.

“Early exploration undertaken as part of our due diligence has already identified two large zones of high-grade copper and gold mineralisation, presenting an immediate focus for us to pursue,” Mr McNamara said.

“The low-cost entry and staged ownership structure of the transaction allows for considered, systematic exploration while we continue exploration across our Lana Corina and Fortuna projects.”

Additional options

Culpeo has the option to acquire staged interests in the SPV, subject to meeting exploration and payment milestones.

Financial terms include an initial payment of approximately $64,000 and then around $127,000 on the first anniversary of the execution date.

Culpeo will be liable for follow-up payments of approximately $318,000 in year 2, $477,000  in year 3, $604,000 in year 4 and $1.59 million in year 5.

High-grade discoveries

Mr McNamara said the project complements Culpeo’s existing project interests and aligns with its strategy of focusing on high-grade copper discoveries proximal to infrastructure within the Coastal Cordillera.

The company’s geologists conducted a five-day field visit during November 2024 to validate and verify historical work.

They collected a total of 37 surface rock chip and channel samples and submitted them to ALS Laboratories for analysis of copper, gold, silver and molybdenum.

These samples returned strong grades of up to 4.33% copper and 3.24 grams per tonne gold with 13 returning  greater than 0.5% copper.