Cobre Limited (CBE.ASX) Quarterly Report - Increased Copper Recovery and Record Quarterly Revenue at Sierra Atacama
Cobre Limited record revenue, increased shareholding of Sierra Atacama and a clear expansion pathway.
Cobre Limited (ASX:CBE) is pleased to provide an operational and corporate update on activities during the September 2026 quarter at the Sierra Atacama Copper Project (Sierra Atacama or the Project), Antofagasta, Chile, together with an update on the Company's Botswana exploration interests, corporate activities and material events subsequent to the end of the quarter.
HIGHLIGHTS
Sierra Atacama Copper Project (Chile)
- Turnaround taking hold - a third consecutive quarter of operational improvement: copper recovery up to 78% (from 66% in March, the year's best) and record revenue of ~US$11.8m (+30% on March), delivering a second straight quarter of positive EBITDA (~US$0.5m).
- Balance sheet strengthened - A$67m cash at 30 September (~A$90m pro forma including A$18m from completion of Tranche 2 of the capital raising in early October and A$6m Sierra Atacama acquired on obtaining control), with creditor exposure cut ~38% since assuming operational control, to ~US$32.2m.
- Production positioned to step up: 818 tonnes of cathode for the quarter, with third-party ore tolling commenced in September; October projected at ~500t/month as tolled ore leaches through and the full benefit flows into the December quarter.
- Void and tunnel surveying completed for our underground operation, clearing the way for a safe, progressive ramp-up this quarter.
- Exploration ramped up materially with four operational drill rigs now running: the first diamond hole - the deepest in the mine's history at 986.9m - intersecting visual high-grade mineralisation at depth (refer ASX release 21 September 2026). An update to the exploration program and assays expected mid-November.
- Botswana advancing - Ngami ISCR demonstration well-field completed (full-scale hydrogeological studies next quarter) and target diamond drilling underway at Okavango.
Material events subsequent to quarter-end:
- Cobre secured control (~63%) of Sierra Atacama (refer ASX release 12 October 2026);
- Defined a staged engineering pathway to grow cathode capacity to ~18,000, ~25,000 and up to ~50,000 tpa (refer ASX release 13 October 2026);
- Secured additional low-cost copper feed - ~150kt of ENAMI ore plus on-site recovery initiatives (refer ASX release 21 October 2026); and
- High resolution drone magnetic survey completed over the remaining mining and exploration tenements with interpretation and target generation underway.
CORPORATE
Increase in Sierra Atacama ownership. On 31 August 2026, Cobre announced that its wholly owned Chilean subsidiary, Sierra Cobre SpA, had increased its interest in the Sierra Atacama Copper Project to approximately 54%, making Cobre the majority owner. Cobre acquired the additional interest by taking up new shares in a US$12 million capital raise by Sierra Atacama. Cobre funded this from its A$90 million placement announced in July. The arrangement also gave Cobre an option to buy further shares from Minera Salar Blanco SpA (MSB) for US$12 million, exercisable by 31 December 2026.
Subsequent to the end of the quarter, on 12 October 2026, Cobre announced that it had exercised this option, increasing its interest in Sierra Atacama to 62.86% and taking control of the Project, including the right to appoint three of the five directors to the project entities.
Completion of A$90M Capital Raising: On 2 October 2026, Cobre announced that, following the approval of shareholders at the Extraordinary General Meeting held on 28 September 2026, it had completed a capital raising announced to ASX on 9 July 2026, pursuant to which the Company raised a total of A$90m (prior to costs) at a price of AUD$0.30 per share.
Appointment of Non-Executive Chairman and Board Renewal: Subsequent to the end of the quarter, the Company was pleased to announce the appointment of highly experienced mining executive, Philip (Phil) Mitchell, as the Company's new Chairman. In conjunction with Phil's appointment to the Chairman's role, it was also announced that Martin Holland will transition into the role of Managing Director while current CEO, Adam Wooldridge, will join the Board as CEO/Executive Director. Long-serving directors Michael Addison and Andrew Sissian, have also advised they will retire from the Board as part of this board renewal and transition. These changes will become effective immediately upon the close of the Company's November 2026 Annual General Meeting.
Strategic adviser and brand. In August 2026, the Company announced the appointment of Rothschild & Co as strategic adviser. As per the announcement, the first phase of their engagement is expected to take approximately three months with the focus on setting Cobre's strategic priorities, building a financial and valuation model across the global portfolio and reviewing funding options. It will also cover reviewing and sharpening the Cobre investment case, with independent market feedback, and general strategic support to the Board and management.
Cobre also appointed LLYC, a leading Latin American communications and branding firm, to lead a refresh of the Sierra Atacama brand in Chile. The majority of this work is expected to be completed in the December quarter. It will focus on engaging stakeholders in Chile and strengthening the Project's social licence to operate.
Investor engagement. Cobre participated in the Tribeca Future Facing Commodities Symposium in Singapore, met with Mitsui & Co in Tokyo, Japan to discuss the partnering and offtake contract, continued engagement supporting the US-Chile copper relationship, and hosted an investor site visit to Sierra Atacama as announced on 21 September 2026 (Figures 1 and 2*).
Quarterly Investor Briefing:
Cobre will host a Quarterly Investor Briefing at 9.00 a.m. (Sydney time) on Friday, 30 October 2026. Participants can register using the links below:
Phone Registration: https://s1.c-conf.com/diamondpass/10057847-dgt0sg.html
Webcast Registration: https://ccmediaframe.com/?id=aurq6e1s
*To view the full Quarterly Report, please visit:
https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/9Z4N7X53
Cobre Limited Martin Holland E: info@cobre.com.au WWW: www.cobre.com.au
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