The Cheapest Way to Own a Copper Mine Is to Let Someone Else Build It
VANCOUVER, BC, Sept. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Canada News Group News Commentary - Copper is the metal the energy transition cannot proceed without, and the market reflects it. Fortune Business Insights values the global copper market at approximately US$279.29 billion in 2026 and projects roughly US$466.67 billion by 2034, a compound annual growth rate of about 6.63%. The problem for investors is that owning copper usually means owning the cost of digging it up: capital budgets that run into the hundreds of millions, construction schedules measured in years, and a dilution cycle that grinds down early shareholders long before the first concentrate ships.
Active Companies from around the markets with current developments this week include: Salazar Resources Limited (OTCQB: SRLZF) (TSXV: SRL) (FSE: CCG), Franco-Nevada Corporation (NYSE: FNV), Royal Gold, Inc. (Nasdaq: RGLD), and Triple Flag Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE: TFPM).
Forecasters differ on the size without differing on the direction. Grand View Research puts the copper market at about US$260.2 billion in 2026 rising to roughly US$388.8 billion by 2033, a compound annual growth rate of around 5.9%. Both houses point at the same drivers: electrification of transport, grid modernization, renewable generation and data centre buildout, all of which consume copper in quantities that existing mines were not scoped to deliver.
The supply side is where it gets difficult. New copper mines are expensive, slow and concentrated in jurisdictions that require patience. A mid-sized project can absorb a quarter of a billion dollars of initial capital before it produces anything, and the junior company that found the deposit rarely has that money. The usual outcome is that the discoverer sells the asset, or issues so much equity to build it that the original shareholders own a fraction of what they started with.
Which is why the market has spent two decades building alternatives. Royalty and streaming companies exist precisely to separate exposure to a mine from responsibility for funding it, and they have become some of the best-performing businesses in the sector by doing so. The model is simple: put capital in early, take a defined slice of output forever, and never sign a construction contract.
There is a rarer version of the same idea, and it sits at the project level rather than the portfolio level. A carried interest means one partner holds a percentage of a project while another partner funds it through to production. The holder takes ownership economics rather than a royalty percentage, and pays nothing to get there. Very few juniors have one on an asset that is actually being built.
Salazar Resources Limited (OTCQB: SRLZF) (TSXV: SRL) (FSE: CCG) Provides Update on Construction of the Mine at the El Domo Project
- Salazar holds a 25% carried interest in the Curipamba-El Domo polymetallic project in Ecuador; Silvercorp holds the remaining 75% and is the operator.
- Construction is fully funded, with commissioning targeted for July 2027.
- Cumulative capital expenditure reached US$66.2 million through June 30, 2026, including US$12.3 million in the second quarter against US$4.8 million a year earlier.
- On July 31, 2026 the operator received the second of four installments, US$43.9 million, under a US$175.5 million stream financing agreement with Wheaton Precious Metals, taking total proceeds to approximately US$87.8 million.
- Proven and probable reserves of 7.13 million tonnes grading 2.55 g/t gold, 47.82 g/t silver, 1.93% copper, 0.26% lead and 2.63% zinc, supporting an after-tax net present value of US$573 million at an 8% discount rate and a 45% internal rate of return.
Salazar Resources Limited (OTCQB: SRLZF) (TSXV: SRL) (FSE: CCG) reported on September 9, 2026 on construction progress at the Curipamba-El Domo polymetallic project in the Bolivar and Los Rios provinces of Ecuador. The detail that separates this from most junior mining news is the ownership structure. Salazar retains a 25% carried interest in the project. Silvercorp holds the other 75%, operates the project, and is funding the build.
The economics attaching to that interest are not speculative. The project carries proven and probable mineral reserves of 7.13 million tonnes grading 2.55 grams per tonne gold, 47.82 grams per tonne silver, 1.93% copper, 0.26% lead and 2.63% zinc, containing 137.7 thousand tonnes of copper, 584 thousand ounces of gold, 187.7 thousand tonnes of zinc, 18.4 thousand tonnes of lead and 11.0 million ounces of silver. Measured and indicated resources stand at 11.4 million tonnes with a further 3.8 million tonnes inferred.
The economic analysis supporting those reserves shows an after-tax net present value of US$573 million at an 8% discount rate, or US$705.6 million at 5%. Table 22.2 of the technical report states a 45% internal rate of return and a three-year payback. Initial capital is US$283.7 million, sustaining capital US$72.5 million, and life-of-mine operating costs US$416.3 million, or US$58.39 per tonne milled. Reserves carry an average net smelter return grade of US$312 per tonne against a US$55 per tonne cut-off, which is an unusually wide margin. Mine life is 11.5 years at a nominal 666 thousand tonnes per year, and a refined flowsheet has improved copper recoveries by 5.4% and gold recoveries by 6.2% relative to the 2021 feasibility study.
"We have been following the ongoing construction at El Domo and are very pleased with the progress being made. Senior management of Salazar has just completed a site tour and have seen firsthand how the mine is developing. We look forward to the commissioning of operations targeted for July 2027," said President and Chief Executive Officer Fredy Salazar.
What has actually been built is the more useful measure. Since construction began in January 2025 and through June 30, 2026, cumulative capital expenditure on the mine reached US$66.2 million, including US$12.3 million during the second quarter of 2026 against US$4.8 million in the same period a year earlier, a pace that has roughly tripled. Approximately 604,600 cubic metres of earthworks excavation and fill were completed in the quarter across the non-contact water channel, the processing plant foundation and the initial tailings storage facility dam. The temporary camp is finished and operational, permanent camp earthworks are advancing, and open-pit pre-stripping has commenced against a planned total of approximately 4.1 million cubic metres.
Two details are worth pulling out. The processing plant foundation is complete and the major plant and water treatment equipment has been procured and is shipping to Ecuador, which moves the schedule risk from procurement toward assembly. And the plant construction contract went to the same contractor that built the flotation mill at the Mirador copper-gold mine in Ecuador, which is a meaningful piece of in-country execution history rather than a first attempt.
Funding is not an open question either. Construction is fully funded, and on July 31, 2026 the operator received the second of four installments under a US$175.5 million stream financing agreement with Wheaton Precious Metals, an amount of US$43.9 million that brought total proceeds under the agreement to approximately US$87.8 million. Alongside its carried interest, Salazar holds a wholly owned exploration portfolio in Ecuador comprising the Monja, Santiago, Pijili, El Tigre and Tarqui-Quimi projects. The NI 43-101 technical report underpinning the project figures is available on the Company's website and on SEDAR+.
There are several risks associated with the Company's plans. Salazar does not operate El Domo and does not control the construction schedule, the budget or the commissioning date; those rest with the operator, and the Company is dependent on the operator and on third-party contractors. A carried interest is not the same as a debt-free windfall, and the terms on which the carry is settled affect what ultimately reaches shareholders. The project is in Ecuador and carries regulatory, permitting, community and jurisdictional risk. Commissioning targeted for July 2027 is a target rather than a commitment, and construction projects of this scale routinely slip. Reserve and resource estimates and the economic analysis derive from a technical report prepared for the operator and for Salazar, are estimates rather than facts, and depend on metal price and cost assumptions that may not hold. Salazar itself is pre-revenue from this asset until commissioning, and its wholly owned exploration portfolio is at an early stage with no reserves defined. Copper, gold, zinc, lead and silver prices are volatile and a sustained fall would reduce the value of the interest.
Read this and more news for Salazar Resources Limited (OTCQB: SRLZF) at: https://canadanewsgroup.com
The mining industry is really coming to life since we are past Labour Day, there are many developments and happenings in the market this week including:
Franco-Nevada Corporation (NYSE: FNV) is the original expression of the idea that you can own mines without building them. The company released its 2026 Asset Handbook on May 6, disclosing 121 cash-flow producing assets, adjusted EBITDA of US$1.66 billion in 2025, no debt, and a nineteen-year unbroken record of dividend increases.
Those three facts together explain why the model attracts capital. A portfolio spread across 121 producing assets absorbs a single mine going wrong. No debt means no refinancing risk in a cyclical industry. And nineteen consecutive years of dividend growth through multiple commodity cycles is the kind of record that operating miners very rarely produce, because operating miners have to fund sustaining capital whether or not the metal price cooperates.
Royal Gold, Inc. (Nasdaq: RGLD) has been scaling the same model by acquisition. The company reported record first quarter 2026 revenue of US$469.1 million, up 142.5% year over year, at an 83% adjusted EBITDA margin, reflecting the first full quarter of contributions from its acquisitions of Sandstorm Gold Royalties and Horizon Copper. It followed with record operating cash flow in the second quarter alongside share repurchases and further debt repayment.
An 83% adjusted EBITDA margin is the number to sit with. It is the arithmetic consequence of holding interests in mines without carrying their operating costs, and it is the same arithmetic that makes a carried interest valuable at the single-project level. Note also that Sandstorm no longer trades as a separate company following that acquisition, which is a reminder of how quickly the composition of this sector changes.
Triple Flag Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE: TFPM) is the younger of the three and has been growing through deployment rather than consolidation. The company reported record gold equivalent ounces and record cash flow per share with a 93% asset margin, and raised its quarterly dividend for a fifth consecutive year.
On the deployment side it signed a stream on Evolution Mining's E44 gold deposit at Northparkes in February and completed a US$440 million gold stream on the Ravenswood gold mine, increasing its 2030 outlook. Triple Flag is included here because it shows the model still funding new construction rather than merely harvesting old deals, which is the mechanism by which projects like El Domo get built without their minority owners writing cheques.
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This article is being distributed by Canada News Group, which is wholly owned and operated by Market Equities Limited ("MEL"). This distribution is being made pursuant to a prior advertising and digital-media agreement for Salazar Resources Limited under which Baystreet.ca Media Corp. ("Baystreet") was paid a fee. Baystreet and Market Equities are separate companies. The owner/operator of Baystreet also serves as a director of Market Equities and receives a management fee from Market Equities for operating its business. Because of this relationship and the compensation described above, Market Equities and its owners, directors, and affiliates have a financial interest in the promotion of Salazar Resources Limited, which constitutes a conflict of interest as to our ability to remain objective in our communication regarding the profiled company. We also expect to receive further compensation as part of an ongoing digital media effort to increase visibility for the company, and no further notice will be given. Because of this conflict, individuals are strongly encouraged not to use this publication as the basis for any investment decision.
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Qualified Persons and Technical Information. The scientific and technical information in this article relating to the mineral resource and mineral reserve estimates and the economic analysis for the Curipamba-El Domo project is derived from the NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Curipamba-El Domo Polymetallic Project prepared by SRK Consulting China Ltd. for Silvercorp Metals Inc., the operator and 75% holder of the project, and Salazar Resources Ltd., with an effective date of December 31, 2025 and issued May 31, 2026. Ms. Yanfang Zhao (MAIG) was responsible for the mineral resource estimate and Mr. Falong Hu (FAusIMM) was responsible for the mineral reserve estimate. The publisher has not independently verified any scientific or technical information in this article.
Cautionary Note Regarding the Project and the Carried Interest. Salazar Resources Limited holds a 25% carried interest in the Curipamba-El Domo project and is not the operator. Silvercorp Metals Inc. holds the remaining 75% interest, operates the project and is responsible for its construction and funding. Salazar does not control the construction schedule, budget, commissioning date or operating decisions, and is dependent on the operator and on third-party contractors. Mineral resources and mineral reserves are estimates, mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability, and estimates may prove inaccurate. Net present value, internal rate of return, capital cost, operating cost, recovery, mine life and payback figures are forward-looking estimates derived from the technical report referenced above and depend on assumptions regarding metal prices, costs, recoveries, permitting and schedule that may not be realised. Commissioning targeted for July 2027 is a target and not a commitment. Construction progress, expenditure and stream financing figures are as disclosed and are stated as at the dates indicated. The project is located in Ecuador and is subject to regulatory, permitting, taxation, community and jurisdictional risks. References to Wheaton Precious Metals and Silvercorp Metals Inc. describe counterparties to the project and its financing and are not comparisons; neither company is involved in the production or distribution of this article. Readers should review the Company's disclosure record on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca in full.
Cautionary Note Regarding Referenced Companies. References to Franco-Nevada Corporation, Royal Gold, Inc. and Triple Flag Precious Metals Corp. are provided solely as market and sector context. Those companies are not peers, competitors, or financial comparables of Salazar Resources Limited. They are large, established, revenue-generating royalty and streaming companies holding diversified portfolios of interests across many producing assets, whereas the profiled company is a junior exploration company holding a single carried interest in a project under construction together with early-stage exploration properties. Their revenues, margins, portfolios, dividends and share performance are not indicative of Salazar Resources Limited's prospects, and a carried interest is a different instrument from a royalty or a stream. None of those companies is involved in the production or distribution of this article. No partnership, affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement is implied. Market-size figures cited in this article are third-party projections of total market value and do not represent addressable revenue for any company named, including the profiled company.
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Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements. This publication contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable United States securities laws, including statements regarding the construction schedule, budget and expected commissioning date for the El Domo project, expected timing of first commercial concentrate production, the use of proceeds from the stream financing agreement, mineral resource and mineral reserve estimates, projected economics including net present value and internal rate of return, mine life, and projections of copper market size and growth. Such statements are generally identified by words such as "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "targeted", "potential", or that events "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Such statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, including risks related to construction and development delays, fluctuating commodity prices, the availability of financing, regulatory and permitting matters in Ecuador, reliance on the project operator and third-party contractors, community relations, and other risks associated with mineral exploration and development described in the Company's filings available under its profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the Company's news release. Do not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this publication are made as of the date above and Canada News Group undertakes no obligation to update them.
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