Mining Co. Expands Drilling at Significant Copper Discovery in Colombia

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Libero Copper and Gold Corp. (LBC:TSX.V; LBCMF:OTCQB) announced it has mobilized a second drill for its 14,000-meter resource expansion program at its Mocoa copper-molybdenum project in Colombia.

The company has said that recent holes MD-043, MD-044, and MD-045 "form the backbone of the company's current resource expansion strategy" with robust results over a broad area, from surface to depth, each remaining open. President and Chief Executive Officer Ian Harris said Libero may have found "the tail of an elephant" in the results.

"Mobilizing a second rig at Mocoa reflects our growing confidence in the scale and robustness of this multi-pulse porphyry system," Harris said in a release on March 25. "Our drilling continues to confirm multiple stages of mineralization driven by distinct magmatic-hydrothermal events, reinforcing Mocoa as a long-lived, evolving system. Drilling has intersected significant mineralization in multiple directions, well beyond the current resource boundary."

Adding a second rig accelerates Libero's understanding of these overlapping mineralization events while expanding the deposit at a faster pace.

"Key infrastructure upgrades are complete — from access upgrades to a new bridge — to ensure this next phase of drilling is expandable, aggressive and efficient," he said. "Ultimately, we see Mocoa's footprint growing significantly, and this additional rig is a crucial step in realizing its full potential."

The ongoing Mocoa drilling program has "provided valuable information regarding the geological configuration and copper and molybdenum distribution within the porphyry system at Mocoa," Libero said in the release. "Mocoa is a classical porphyry system where at least three main stages of magmatic-hydrothermal activity have been recorded to date."

A Sleeping Giant?

It could be an undervalued sleeping giant, as well, when compared to some other copper-porphyry deposits hosted along the same geological belt across Colombia and Ecuador, including Solaris Resources' (SLS:TSX) Warintza in Ecuador.

While on a tonnage basis Warintza is about 3.7 times bigger than Mocoa (or just 2.6 times bigger in terms of copper equivalent pounds), its market cap is more than 21 times higher on a dollar-for-copper-equivalent basis (CA$0.035 for Warintza vs. CA$0.002 for Mocoa), based on the same US$4 per pound copper price.

At the same time, Mocoa's copper (Cu) grades are slightly higher at 0.33% vs. 0.31% for Warintza, and its copper equivalent (Cu Eq) grade is 0.57% vs. Warintza's 0.41%, when comparing the projects on the same metals prices used in Warintza's last Mineral Resource.

Mocoa's high-grade core is also proportionally bigger and higher grade than Warintza. About 32% of the Mocoa deposit of 201 million tonnes (Mt) averages 0.74% Cu Eq at a 0.5% cutoff grade, while about 26% of the Warintza deposit of 604 Mt averages 0.63% Cu Eq at a cutoff grade of 0.5%. Cu Eq was calculated using the same price assumptions as Solaris.

Solaris, which just announced it was moving its headquarters to Ecuador and that it appointed a new president and chief executive officer, is rated Outperform with a price target of CA$14 per share by BMO Capital Markets Analyst Rene Cartier.

"A well-mineralized breccia domain exists at Mocoa, extending >1,000m below surface," wrote Combaluzier, who maintained a Buy rating but did not set a target price. " It suggests excellent vertical continuity of a system that opens potential for deeper mineralization."

According to global databases, including the USGS and Mining Intelligence, fewer than 10 undeveloped, near-surface copper porphyry projects globally have over 4 billion pounds of contained copper with significant molybdenum by-product — placing Mocoa in an elite peer group.

Analyst: Discoveries, Expansion Key to Re-Rating

The Mocoa project is in the Putumayo Department of southern Colombia, about 10 kilometers north of Mocoa. The deposit contains an inferred mineral resource of 636 million tonnes (Mt) grading 0.45% CuEq (0.33% Cu and 0.036% Mo), representing 4.6 billion pounds of contained copper and 511 million pounds of molybdenum.

The 14,000-meter drilling program at the project this year will increase total drilling by 50%.

*Mineralization at Mocoa remains open along strike and at depth, offering "significant exploration upside," wrote John Newell of Newell & Associates on February 24. "The company has identified multiple high-priority drill targets, including additional porphyry systems adjacent to the main Mocoa deposit. The next phase of work will include permitting, community engagement, and an expanded drill campaign aimed at expanding the resource base and further de-risking the project."

In February, Libero announced its stock had been recognized as of the 2025 TSX Venture 50, an annual ranking of the top 50 performing companies from more than 1,600 companies on the TSX Venture Exchange. Selection is based on share-price appreciation, market capitalization growth, and trading volume, the company said.

Combaluzier with Red Cloud wrote that results from the company's drilling this year "should bolster a future MRE (mineral resource estimate) update at Mocoa."

"The drill program is expected to continue through H1/25, with a continued focus on bridging data between known the high-grade zones and targeted step-out drilling," the analyst noted. "We believe the results should help support an expansion of resources in an updated future MRE for Mocoa."

Combaluzier continued, "We continue to believe that additional discoveries and resource expansion at Mocoa are two factors that are key to a potential re-rating of Libero's stock price."

The Catalyst: Helping Spark Energy Transition

According to Ryan Dezember reporting for The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, U.S. copper futures were trading at record highs, "lifted by a weaker dollar and buyers who are stockpiling ahead of potential tariffs on the industrial metal."

Futures for May delivery, the most traded contracts, recently hit US$5.206 a pound, topping the intraday high notched last May, Dezember noted.

President Donald Trump has threatened 25% tariffs on U.S. imports of copper, which is used in electronics and construction to convey electricity and water in wires and pipes.

"Analysts say the gains — about 29% so far this year — are unlikely to last given weak demand for physical copper, especially China, where there is a growing discount to prices outside of the country," Dezember wrote. "A similar divergence of prices emerged last spring before prices fell from the price record set then."

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 the company's investor presentation updated in February, 29% of Libero is owned by management, insiders, and affiliates, including 11% held by Guistra.

About 18% is held by institutions.

13% is held by High Net Worth (HNW) investors, 4.5% by Anglo Asian Mining Plc, and 35.5% is retail.

Refinitiv reports that other major shareholders include Harris with 0.93% and directors Ernest Mast with 0.08% and Rob Van Egmond with 0.07%.

Libero has a market cap of CA$13.91 million. Its 52-week range is CA$0.20-0.66.