- Kobrea Exploration (CSE:KBX) (USOTC:KBXFF) is the first public company permitted to drill in Argentina’s newly opened Mendoza province.
- The company controls 730 km² of prospective copper ground with more than a dozen porphyry targets, including the permitted El Perdido project.
- Road construction is underway, with drilling expected to begin in late December or early January, marking a historic first for the district.
In this episode of The Capital Compass, Ricki Lee speaks with James Hedalen, CEO of Kobrea Exploration Corp. (CSE:KBX) (USOTC:KBXFF) — the first foreign pubic company to secure an exploration permit in Argentina’s newly opened Mendoza province.
Known globally for its copper-rich regions, Argentina’s Mendoza has historically been closed to exploration — until now.
With a vast 730-square-kilometre land package and drilling set to begin in late December or early January, Kobrea is positioning itself at the forefront of a new copper frontier.
James discusses the significance of this milestone, the scale of the company’s porphyry copper targets, and what investors can expect as Kobrea begins unlocking one of South America’s most promising untapped regions.
Watch the full interview below to learn more about Kobrea’s first-mover advantage and the future of copper exploration in Mendoza.
TRANSCRIPT BELOW
Ricki: So, for those new to Kobrea, James, can you start by introducing the company and explaining how this opportunity in Mendoza came about?
James: Sure. Quite simply, we’re a copper exploration and development company. We started to focus on Argentina a number of years ago, looking in some of the known copper belts. And then we got wind of Mendoza.
So, what Mendoza been doing for the past six or seven years is having a concerted push to open up a southwestern portion of their province. It was led by the governor of Mendoza and a government adjacent agency called Impulsa Mendoza. So, we learned about this prior to it officially being opened.
But what they have done is they’d conducted an environmental impact study across the district so that companies such as myself and other foreign entities would have some security and the ability to explore.
So how we were able to get it was because we were there kind of first and we were able to negotiate with the vendors, meet with the government officials around people like Impulsa Mendoza.
So, it’s a concerted push that’s been five or six years in the making, and I have to give a lot of credit to the governor and government of Mendoza and Impulsa Mendoza to build the framework, to build a modern, sustainable mining and exploration environment for Kobrea.
Ricki: So, James, tell us how significant is this opening and what does it mean for the future of copper discovery in Argentina?
James: So good question. I mean, Argentina in general is a very prospective country for their minerals. Mendoza historically completely underexplored and in some cases unexplored.
The fact that you can get in there and explore these targets I mean, we’re not reinventing the wheel of porphyry copper exploration. It’s just you’ve been unable to do it. So, these are geologically known projects.
We just are the first people to be able to get a drill permit. So, in that sense, over the coming years, there will be discoveries made in Mendoza. We just happen to be the first to be permitted to go and drill some of these targets.
Ricki: And what does being that first mover mean in practical terms for investors and for your exploration strategy?
James: So, us being first from the investment standpoint is a pretty unique opportunity. I mean to get a land package like this in one of the world class belts that has 10 to 12 porphyry targets outlined at surface, being first is great.
I think there will be others coming. Once we can prove that you can get permitted and get drilling, I think it’ll give a re-rate to the province of Mendoza as an exploration and development destination.
So, for our investors that are invested in Kobrea, we’re going to be able to drill these projects for the first time in history. These would’ve been drilled 30, 40 years ago, and there would’ve been multiple campaigns from multiple companies all over this district.
And right now, in the near term, in the next couple months, we’ll be able to drill them for the first time.
Ricki: So, you’ve assembled a huge land position made up of 7 projects and containing over 12 porphyry targets, including recently permitted El Perdido. Can you give us a sense of the scale and what kind of mineral potential you’re seeing so far across the project area?
James: So, the scale of these are big. We have 730 square kilometers of claims with a number of identified porphyries. Each one is a multi-kilometer alteration system.
I always say to people, we’re not reinventing porphyry copper exploration. They’re very textbook, they just haven’t been drilled. So, it’s a heavily leached environment, but the geochemistry, magnetics and alteration mapping would suggest we’re looking at copper gold or copper gold molly systems.
You need to drill to assess the grade of these systems, and they would’ve been drilled 30 or 40 years ago.
The environment has changed, and you’ve got to give a lot of credit to the provincial government of Mendoza for having a good framework that they’ve worked on for the past six or seven years.
So, I would say the potential is massive. I mean, there’s going to be discoveries made in Mendoza. We have a number of kicks at the can in terms of, we have El Perdido, El Destino. I mean, our focus right now is El Perdido.
It’s permitted; we’re currently building the road. But the potential across the whole projects is enormous. It’s kind of a unique position to get a land package such as this, completely under explored in one of the world class belts.
Ricki: So, as you just mentioned there, you’ve begun the access road construction, so drilling expected to start later this year. Can you walk us through that timeline? What’s happening over the next few months? What milestones should investors be watching out for?
James: Absolutely. So right now, as just announced, we’ve started the road construction, the fully permitted road to get to the target area at El Perdido. That should take 30 to 40 days.
So, if it’s on the low side of that, we could potentially have the drills spinning later this year. But with Christmas coming in it’ll either be mid-December or early January.
That’s really going to be the big kind of catalyst for investors is the first drill hole in this district by a public company in history.
And then also, we have crews working up the other targets to the El Perdido standard. El Destino being one that is very close. So, we need a few more weeks of mapping and sampling on that to determine where we want to drill there.
And then it’s a matter of systematically going through the rest of the targets and developing them to kind of that El Perdido standard and systematically going down the line and exploring this this land package systematically and cost effectively.
But I think the milestones for the next few months would certainly be getting the drill turning at El Perdido and then getting El Destino up to that standard of El Perdido so we can permit and drill that in subsequent exploration campaigns.
Ricki: Well, it’s nice to know that even miners get Christmas off. James, thank you for joining us today and sharing the latest from Kobrea Exploration Corp.
James: Appreciate it. Thanks for your time.
For more information, visit kobreaexploration.com. I’m Ricki Lee, and this has been The Capital Compass. See you next time.
This article is disseminated in partnership with Kobrea Exploration (CSE:KBX). It is intended to inform investors and should not be taken as a recommendation or financial advice.