Ivan Bebek personifies the "go big or go home" philosophy. An early career as a stockbroker buying mining stocks was not enough for him. He wanted to make a large mineral discovery, so he changed course and did just that. . .but not just one.
"My passion is discovery because that's the most rewarding part of the sector, and that's where the most money is made for people who speculate on the mining sector," he told Streetwise Reports in a recent interview.
After successes with two gold projects, Asanko in Ghana (Keegan Resources) and El Barqueno in Mexico (Cayden Resources), he went even bigger. He applied his seemingly literal Midas touch to prospecting globally for opportunities that could deliver a top-tier discovery and spent US$125 million (US$125M) and five years doing so.
Working with Newmont Corp. (NEM:NYSE), he identified many. One is an area in Peru's Andahuaylas-Yauri belt being explored by Coppernico Metals Inc. Another is an area in a Paleocene porphyry belt, also in Peru, being explored by Tier One Silver Inc. Bebek, now in his 25th year in the mining industry, is involved in both companies.
Coppernico Metals Inc. (COPR:TSX)
Of the identified opportunities, Bebek chose the Coppernico one to pursue directly.
"As I've had more success, I've looked for a bigger and bigger prize," he said. "And Coppernico Metals, with the big copper potential project in southern Peru, represents one of the largest opportunities I've seen in my career to date, based on evidence we've collected both on surface and from some historical drilling."
The British Columbia-based company is carrying out its inaugural drill program at the Sombrero project, and is on hole four out of 30, noted Bebek, Coppernico's chief executive officer (CEO), as well as chair and a director. The current plan is to drill non-stop through H1/25.
Thus, near-term catalysts for the company's stock are releases of drill results in batches, starting in the next three to four weeks and continuing until this year's end, Bebek said.
Major Copper Rally Imminent
Copper, the star of Sombrero, has been performing well and looks ready for its next big upleg, which could be massive, Technical Analyst Clive Maund wrote in an August report.
"This therefore is a good point to buy copper and all things copper," he added.
According to Marin Katusa of Katusa Research, the tightening of the copper market could cause a price surge, he wrote in a recent article. Three metrics indicate a copper supply crunch is impending. They are the rapid decline in days of forward consumption, the long-term global market balance for copper moving toward a deficit and a slowing of global mine production. From 2015 to 2023, only 18,000,000 (18 Mt) of copper were discovered versus to 28 Mt in 2014 alone.
Meanwhile, demand for the red metal is "unstoppable," wrote Katusa. Driving it is the green energy transition, as copper is used in electric vehicles, solar panels, wind turbine, electric grids and more.
"Investors, take note: The train could leave the station with copper stocks, any day now," Katusa added.
Joe Austin, senior analyst at Chaikin Analytics, reported the copper supply will peak at some point in the next two years then start to decline, according to the International Energy Agency. The agency estimates a copper shortfall of about 7 Mt by 2035, about a third of output forecasted for that year.
"By 2040, the available supply of copper will be roughly two-thirds of what we produce today. But by then, the demand for copper will have soared far higher than where it is today," Austin wrote.
Analyst: A Story to Invest In
Steven Therrien, analyst at 3L Capital, visited Coppernico's Sombrero project late last month and left "very encouraged," he wrote in a Sept. 10 research report. His impression was that the project has the requisite elements to potentially become a globally significant copper project.
"With plenty of cash in the treasury and up to 49 holes permitted, we firmly believe Coppernico is one of the best copper discovery drill stories one can currently participate in," Therrien wrote.
Ownership and Share Structure
According to Reuters, five strategic entities, all insiders, own 5.02%, or 8.9 million (8.9M), shares of Coppernico Metals. From most to least interest held, they are: CEO Ivan Bebek with 3.45% or 6.11M shares, Director Jeffrey Mason with 1.13% or 2M shares, Lead Independent Director Gordon Fretwell with 0.26% or 0.46M shares, Director Keenan Jennings with 0.17% or 0.3M shares and Director Antonio Arribas with 0.01% or 0.03M shares.
Two institutions together own 1.84% or 3.26M shares. They are Invesco Advisers Inc. with 1.79% or 3.18M shares and BlackRock Institutional Trust Company N.A. with 0.05% or 0.08M shares.
Retail investors own the remaining 93.14% of Coppernico.
The company has 177.24M outstanding shares and 168.34M free float traded shares.
Its market cap is CA$50.79M. Its 52-week trading range is CA$0.26−CA$0.53 per share.
Tier One Silver Inc. (TSLV:TSX; TSLVF:OTCQB)
Tier One Silver Inc. offers the potential for "a world-class, major silver discovery with incredible grades of silver that we haven't seen before in any other silver exploration project," in addition to copper potential, Bebek told Streetwise. He is Tier One's chair.
In July, the Canadian company launched a two- to three-month program of exploration field work at its flagship Curibaya project, including sampling and geological mapping, noted a news release. The objectives are to expand and define the potential of the precious metal epithermal corridors and the porphyry target and to delineate targets for future drilling.
Therefore, investors likely can expect findings from these efforts to be released in the near future, which could bump up Tier One's share price.
An increase in the silver price also could catalyze the stock, Technical Analyst Clive Maund wrote in a June report.
Silver Breakout Inevitable
The silver market is an unusual situation in which prices seem stuck between US$28/oz and US$30/oz despite an ongoing and growing supply-demand imbalance, Peter Krauth of Silver Stock Investor said in a Sept. 6 video.
Silver is expected to have its fourth consecutive year of a global supply deficit in 2024, according to an International Banker article. The deficit is expected to increase this year, too, by 17%, due to a 2% growth in demand and a 1% drop in total supply, according to data from The Silver Institute.
John Ciampaglia, CEO of Sprott Asset Management, told Kitco News that silver is undervalued and its price should soar now that gold has reached an all-time high above US$2,500/oz.
"It's mind-boggling to us that silver is still below US$30," Ciampaglia said. "It is obviously way off its 2010 highs, and we would love to see it get back to the US$50 level. We think it has the ability to do that over time."
Yes, silver "is languishing" despite its technicals signaling an imminent upsurge, noted a Sept. 5 article on Citizen Watch Report. Maybe it is going to take a trigger event to reset the price.
"The simple fact that gold and silver prices have been so out of sync suggests that silver’s inevitable breakout could be more significant and prolonged than even the most bullish analysts can say," the writer added.
When silver does bust out beyond US$30/oz, Maund wrote, it will be the start of a "massive unprecedented bull market," and the time to buy is before that happens.
He explained, "What this means is that silver and all things silver are a terrific bargain here with these sorts of prices not expected to last much longer, and may never be seen again."
Analyst: "Strong Investment Opportunity"
According to Maund, Tier One Silver is "a strong investment opportunity," creating value for shareholders through discovery.
Given the solid fundamentals of the company, it is primed for a rerating, he wrote.
Ownership and Share Structure
According to Reuters, seven strategic entities, including insiders, own 5.02% or 8.59M shares of Tier One Silver. The Top 3 investors are Chair Ivan Bebek with 3.24% or 5.55M shares, Director Jeffrey Mason with 0.86% or 1.48M shares and Steven Cook with 0.75% or 1.28M shares.
Retail investors hold the remaining 91.41%. There are no institutional investors.
According to the company, it has 171.05M shares issued, 9.93M options and 45.55M warrants for a total of 226.53M fully diluted shares outstanding.
Tier One's market cap is CA$11.36M, Reuters reports. Its 52-week trading range is CA$0.065−CA$0.19 per share.
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