Mike Fagan,
Editor
Feb. 25, 2025
Arizona-based Gunnison Copper Corp. (TSX: GCU)(OTC: GCUMF) — currently trading undiscovered around C$0.18 per share in a rising copper market — controls the entire Cochise Mining District in southeastern Arizona where it is advancing multiple brownfields copper development projects.
Marking the first time in the history of the Cochise Mining District where one company controls the entire district, the move sets Gunnison Copper (“GCU”) on a path to develop the multi-asset mining camp as an integrated mining operation with shared infrastructure, including processing and refining.
- Gunnison Copper Project (Current Flagship): Open-pit, pre-feasibility-stage copper project with measured and indicated (M&I) resources containing over 831 million tons at 0.31% Cu; one of the most substantial open-pit copper projects in the United States.
- Johnson Camp Mine Project (~2 km north of Gunnison Project): Open-pit, construction-stage copper project with first Cu production slated for 2H 2025; potential mine restart in coordination with Nuton LLC, a Rio Tinto venture.
Gunnison Copper Project:
In Q4 2024, GCU released a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) on the 100%-owned Gunnison Copper Project as a conventional open-pit / heap leach operation for the production of finished copper cathode for domestic US consumption.
Highlights include:
- Measured and Indicated (M&I) resources containing over 831 million tons at 0.31% Cu:
- Measured resources of 191.3 million tons at 0.37% Cu
- Indicated resources of 640.2 million tons at 0.29% Cu
- After-tax net present value (8%) of US$1.3 billion; internal rate of return (IRR) of 20.9% at a long-term copper price of US$4.10/lb
- Average annual copper cathode production of 83,700 tons over first 16 years and total production of 1,355,900 tons over entire 18-year mine-life at an average Cash Cost of US$1.42/lb Cu and Sustaining Cash Cost of US$1.94/lb Cu produced
- Total initial capital cost of US$1.3 billion and after-tax payback period for initial capital of 4.1 years
The project benefits from a streamlined permitting process (with only amendments to exciting permits required), access to rail link, and a lower-cost-to-mine alluvium earth-moving process with minimal drill & blast required.
Johnson Camp Mine Project:
GCU is simultaneously advancing the Johnson Camp Mine, which is under construction, with first copper production expected in mid-2025.
The asset is fully funded by partner company Nuton LLC, a Rio Tinto venture, with, as noted, a production capacity of up to 25 million pounds of finished copper cathode annually. The project will have a traditional acid heap leach circuit and a sulfide leach circuit using the technology of Nuton LLC.
The project is expected to produce up to 12,000 tons of finished copper per year for up to 20 years with supply earmarked for US domestic customers in the clean energy, defense, and manufacturing supply chains.
As part of the project’s expansion and advancement, GCU and Nuton have been selected by the US Department of Energy to receive US$13.9 million in tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 to expand production of Made in America copper, which is designated a Critical Material for Energy.
Gunnison Copper CEO Stephen Twyerould — whom you’re about to hear from directly in our exclusive interview coming right up — commented on the Johnson Camp Mine project and the associated DoE tax credit via press release:
“We are honored to receive this significant support from the Department of Energy and the IRS. This tax credit will allow us to produce significant quantities of copper metal domestically in the United States to directly supply American production in a variety of critical industries such as energy and defense.”
Importantly, GCU already has operating infrastructure in place at the Johnson Camp Mine Project, as can be seen in the foreground (below) with the nearby Gunnison Open-Pit Copper Project in the distance; onsite infrastructure includes an SX/EW processing plant with 25 Mlbs per annum capacity and 99.999% pure copper cathode production capability.
Looking ahead, the sub-C$60M market cap company anticipates first copper production from the Johnson Camp Mine Project in 2H 2025. The company will also be producing a Technical Report for the full life of mine (LOM).
At the Gunnison Copper Project, GCU is on-track to deliver the full value of a fully-permitted open-pit reserve for the flagship property by the end of 2026 with a Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) underway.
Management continues to be diligently focused on the company’s transition to producer status with a further focus on health, safety, and social license buoyed by 10 years running without a single lost-time incident site-wide.
With a number of key catalysts on the near-term horizon and with a laser focus on delivering value to shareholders, our own Gerardo Del Real of Junior Resource Monthly caught up with Gunnison Copper CEO Stephen Twyerould to discuss the plans and process for advancing the company’s Arizona-based copper projects to the benefit of stakeholders. Please enjoy!
For more information on Gunnison Copper, please contact the company’s IR department at 604-365-6681 or via email at info@gunnisoncopper.com.
Visit the Gunnison Copper corporate website and sign up to receive updates directly from the company here.
Yours in profits,
Mike Fagan
Editor, Resource Stock Digest
Click here to see more from Gunnison Copper
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