Why Raptor Metals (ASX:RAP) is re-assaying old drill core to grow its Chester copper resource

Sonal Goyal

03 November 2026 09:09 PM AEDT

Why Raptor Metals (ASX:RAP) is re-assaying old drill core to grow its Chester copper resource

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Key Highlights

Chester Project holds a JORC 2012 resource of 6.68 million tonnes at 1.092% copper, containing 158.64 million pounds of copper in New Brunswick, Canada.
Re-assay programme of historical core returned 22 metres at 2.14% copper and 28 metres at 1.67% copper from 19 of 22 holes reported.
Maiden 19-hole, 2,126-metre diamond programme at Chester is fully reported; a resource update and 2027 drill programme are planned.
Agreed to acquire the Coyote and Foghorn projects in New Brunswick from UR Mineral Inc. for A$550,000 in cash, shares and a 2% net smelter royalty.

Raptor Metals Ltd (ASX:RAP) is testing whether re-assaying old drill core can lift the size of its Chester copper resource in New Brunswick, Canada, while it prepares to drill two new targets. The results so far are encouraging, but they are early, and the company has A$1.3 million in cash.

A copper explorer in New Brunswick

Raptor is an exploration company that the ASX classes in Materials, and it has been listed since October 2021. It owns 100 per cent of the Chester Project, a stacked volcanogenic massive sulphide system in the Bathurst Mining Camp, about 70 kilometres south-west of Bathurst, with Central, East and Copper Stringer zones.

Chester has a JORC 2012 Mineral Resource of 6.68 million tonnes at 1.092 per cent copper, containing 158.64 million pounds of copper at a 0.5 per cent cut-off. Earlier releases quote slightly different figures, so the next resource update will matter.

Re-sampling old core

Earlier selective sampling left gaps in multi-element coverage, so Raptor cut and sampled archived core. On 26 October 2026 it reported assays for 19 of the 22 holes sampled, with three still pending. Those holes covered 641.52 metres of sampled core.

Highlights include 22 metres at 2.14 per cent copper from 21 metres in hole C-07-063 and 28 metres at 1.67 per cent copper in C-07-064. Hole C-07-051 returned 13.87 metres at 1.84 per cent copper from 29.13 metres, with zinc and silver also present.

A revised version of the release followed the same day, lowering the copper-equivalent grades slightly, and these are downhole widths rather than true thicknesses. The company said no assay data had been adjusted.

New drilling and acquisitions

The 19-hole, 2,126-metre maiden diamond programme at Chester has been fully reported, and borehole electromagnetic surveys have defined conductors that could guide further holes. Metallurgical test work on PQ core and an updated resource estimate are planned, followed by a proposed 2027 drilling programme.

In May 2026 Raptor agreed to buy the Coyote and Foghorn projects in New Brunswick from UR Mineral Inc. for A$550,000 in cash, shares and a 2 per cent net smelter royalty. It also reported selling its remaining holding in Australian Gold and Copper.

Handheld pXRF readings at Silverjack and Headway are indicative only, with laboratory assays awaited. Planned drilling at Coyote totals about 2,800 metres, including roughly 800 metres at Silverjack from mid-November and 2,000 metres at Turgeon from November.

Cash position

Cash was A$1.325 million at 30 September 2026, with no debt. Operating outflows were A$373,000 in the quarter, including A$157,000 of exploration. The company estimates about 3.6 quarters of funding at that rate.

Selling investments brought in A$353,000, although the text of the report cites about A$468,200 in proceeds, a mismatch the report does not reconcile. Related party payments were A$147,000, covering director and consulting fees, legal fees and rent.

Drilling programmes will lift spending, and any future Capital raising to carry the 2027 plan would dilute existing holders. The company has not announced a raising. On 29 October 2026 it did lodge a proposed issue of 3 million Class A Options at A$0.03, 3 million Class B options at A$0.05 and 1 million performance rights as director incentives, plus 976,857 settlement shares, all subject to approval on 30 November 2026.

Risks and next steps

Exploration carries geological risk. Historic core may not extend the resource, new targets may disappoint, and metallurgy could limit recoveries from a polymetallic orebody. Pending holes C-06-027, C-07-050 and C-07-126 could shift the average.

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