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Highlights

  • Culpeo Minerals signs farm-in agreement to acquire 100% of the 4,000-hectare Jupiter copper project in Chile.

  • Early exploration confirms two large high-grade copper-gold zones, with surface samples grading up to 4.33% copper.

  • Deal includes low-cost, staged payments totaling $3.18 million over five years.

Culpeo Minerals (ASX:CPO) is set to significantly bolster its Chilean copper portfolio after securing an agreement with Excava Holdings to acquire the Jupiter copper project, a highly prospective exploration area in Chile’s Coastal Cordillera region.

The transaction is structured as a farm-in option deal and will allow Culpeo to earn 100% ownership of the 4,000-hectare project through staged payments and exploration milestones. The Jupiter concessions will be transferred into a dedicated special purpose vehicle (SPV) under the terms of the agreement.

Strategic Copper Play

Culpeo Executive Chair Geoff McNamara described the acquisition as a “strategic addition” that reinforces the company’s footprint in one of the world’s most mineral-rich copper belts.

“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,” McNamara said.

He added that the low-cost entry and staged structure of the transaction enables Culpeo to progress systematically, while continuing work at its existing Lana Corina and Fortuna projects.

Promising Early Results

A field team conducted a five-day site visit in November 2024 to verify historic exploration data and collected 37 rock chip and channel samples from the Jupiter site. The samples, analysed by ALS Laboratories, returned impressive assay results, including up to 4.33% copper and 3.24 grams per tonne (g/t) gold. Notably, 13 of the 37 samples exceeded 0.5% copper.

Flexible Financial Terms

The staged acquisition terms begin with an initial payment of approximately US$64,000, followed by US$127,000 on the first anniversary. Further payments escalate across the five-year deal, reaching US$318,000 in year two, US$477,000 in year three, US$604,000 in year four, and US$1.59 million in the fifth and final year. The arrangement provides Culpeo the flexibility to scale investment in line with exploration outcomes.

Culpeo also retains the right to earn staged interests in the SPV based on meeting specific milestones, allowing for a phased approach to de-risk the acquisition and prioritise exploration.

Focused on High-Grade Discoveries

Mr McNamara said the Jupiter project fits seamlessly into Culpeo’s broader strategy of targeting high-grade copper systems close to infrastructure.

With Chile’s Coastal Cordillera offering a favourable geological setting and accessibility, Jupiter could emerge as a key asset in Culpeo’s copper pipeline, especially as global demand for critical minerals like copper continues to rise.