Spotlight 1: 4 companies to watch in Latin America

In addition to precious metals, Latin America is rich in critical minerals, such as copper, and lithium. Beyond these minerals, the continent has potential in graphite, nickel, manganese and rare earth elements. It is proving to be a rich hunting ground for the following companies. 

Bravo Mining 

Bravo Mining (TSXV: BRVO; US-OTC: BRVMF) is focused on its Luanga palladium-platinum-rhodium-gold-nickel project in northern Brazil, about 2,700 km north of Rio de Janeiro. 

The company expects to complete a feasibility study in the third quarter of this year. In February, it started a 28,000-metre drill program. Three rigs will drill 22,000 metres of infill and extensional drilling at Luanga and the fourth rig is to drill 6,000 metres at new regional targets, including deep zones beneath Luanga’s current resource.  

The 2026 exploration program also includes geophysics to further refine targets. 

In January, Bravo closed a $86-million (US$63.5-million) over-subscribed public offering. The total included a $34.5-million non-brokered private placement with Orion Mine Finance, under which it expects to enter a participation agreement and to provide up to $300 million in funding. 

A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) completed last year envisioned two scenarios for the open-pit project. In the base case, processing would take place via a conventional froth flotation plant with a nameplate processing capacity of 27,700 tonnes per day or 10 million tonnes per year, producing a single saleable concentrate that would be sold to a third-party smelter.  

The alternate case evaluated adding onsite downstream processing to produce a highly concentrated metal matte for sale to a refinery.  

The PEA outlined an after-tax net present value (at an 8% discount rate) of $1.25 billion and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 50% for the base case, and a $1.86 billion NPV and 50% IRR for the alternate case.

Initial capital costs for the base case were pegged at $496 million and $677.6 million for the vertically integrated case. The payback period for both scenarios is 2.4 years. The study was based on metal prices of $1,271 per oz. palladium, $1,500 per oz. platinum, $6,000 per oz. rhodium, $3,251 per oz. gold and $8 per lb. nickel.  

Luanga is forecast to produce annual payable metal averaging 255,000 oz. palladium, 158,000 oz. platinum, 15,000 oz. rhodium, 8,500 oz. gold and 8,549 tonnes of nickel over a mine life of 17 years. 

The project has measured and indicated resources of 158 million tonnes grading 0.98 gram palladium per tonne, 0.62 gram platinum, 0.09 gram rhodium, 0.05 gram gold and 0.12% nickel for 4.9 million oz. of contained palladium, 3.1 million oz. platinum, 450,000 oz. rhodium, 262,000 oz. gold and 194,848 tonnes tonnes nickel.  

Inferred resources add 78 million tonnes averaging 0.97 gram palladium, 0.59 gram platinum, 0.08 gram rhodium, 0.05 gram gold and 0.13% nickel for 2.4 million oz. contained palladium, 1.4 million oz. platinum, 202,000 oz. rhodium, 128,000 oz. gold and 97,719 tonnes nickel. 

Bravo Mining has a market cap of about $507 million. 

Hannan Metals 

Hannan Metals (TSXV: HAN) is exploring for copper, gold and silver in Peru at its main Valiente project, where the company has identified 18 intrusion-related porphyry, epithermal and skarn-style targets. Teck Resources (TSX: TECK.A/B; NYSE: TECK) owns 8.2% of the company. 

The most advanced targets are in the central and northern parts of the project – Previsto and Belen. Previsto, a 5-km by 5-km footprint in soil geochemistry and radiometrics is the priority target. The headline discovery, Previsto Central, is an alkaline epithermal vein system where channel samples have returned 69.1 metres grading 2.4 grams gold and 13 grams silver, including 26 metres of 5.4 grams gold and 27 grams silver.  

Hannan started its first drill program of 2,600-metres at Belen in January, though results returned low grades. 

The company says Previsto shares similarities with alkaline gold deposits like SSR Mining’s (TSX: SSRM; Nasdaq: SSRM) Cripple Creek gold mine in Colorado and Barrick Mining’s (TSX: ABX; NYSE: B) 49%-owned Porgera gold mine in Papua New Guinea.  

In February, Hannan reported a new high-grade zone 1 km south of Previsto with rock chip assays of 6.7 grams gold, 34 grams silver and 40 parts per million (ppm) copper. 

Belen, 23 km southwest of Previsto, is a 12-km belt with three targets: Sortilegio, Vista Alegre and Ricardo Herrera. Sortilegio is an alkaline copper-gold target with grab samples from gossanous boulders assaying up to 4.4 grams gold and 16% copper. At Vista Alegre, an epithermal gold target, assays have included 2.7 grams gold and 44 grams silver. Ricardo Herrera is an outcropping calc-alkaline copper-gold-molybdenum porphyry system with strong soil anomalism and multiple induced polarization (IP) targets. 

The company kicked off its first drill program at Belen last May. 

The company has also staked the San Martin project, about 300 km from Valiente. In November 2020 it signed an earn-in and joint-venture agreement with Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp. (JOGMEC). JOGMEC has the option to earn up to a 75% stake in the project by spending up to $35 million (C$47.9 million) and delivering a feasibility study for the JV. 

The project covers a new, basin-scale sediment-hosted copper-silver system that extends over 200 km by 100 km along the foreland region of the eastern Andes Mountains in Peru’s Huallaga Basin. The company notes that mineralization in the area is geologically similar to the Kupferschiefer deposits in Eastern Europe. 

Key channel samples at San Martin include 2 metres grading 4.9% copper and 62 grams silver; 1.8 metres of 3.7% copper and 42 grams silver, including 1.2 metres of 5.4% copper and 62 grams silver. 

Hannan Metals has a market cap of C$104.3 million. 

New Pacific Metals 

New Pacific Metals (TSX: NUAG; NYSE-AM: NEWP) is advancing two silver projects in Bolivia: Carangas and Silver Sand.  

Carangas is located about 540 km southwest of La Paz in southwestern Bolivia and Silver Sand sits about 600 km southwest of La Paz. 

This year the company plans to drill up to 30,000 metres of infill and exploration drilling at Carangas, kick off a feasibility study and continue to work on converting its exploration licence to an administrative mining contract. 

A PEA on Carangas in October 2024 outlined a starter pit with a 16-year mine life producing about 106 million oz. of payable silver, 620 million lb. of payable zinc and 382 million lb. of payable lead at an average life-of-mine all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of $7.60 per lb. silver net of by-product credits. 

At a base case price of $24 per lb. silver, $1.25 per lb. zinc and 95¢ per lb. lead, the PEA estimated an after-tax NPV (at a 5% discount rate) of $501 million and a 26% IRR. Initial capital of $324 million could be repaid back after tax in 3.2 years.  

Carangas has a conceptual pit-constrained resource of about 215 million indicated tonnes grading 30 grams silver, 0.3 gram gold, 0.3% lead and 0.6% zinc for 205.3 million oz. of contained silver, 1.6 million oz. gold, 1.4 billion lb. lead, 2.7 million lb. zinc and 112.6 million lb. copper. 

Inferred resources total 44 million tonnes averaging 33 grams silver, 0.2 gram gold, 0.3% lead and 0.5% zinc for 47.7 million oz. of contained silver, 217,700 oz. gold, 297.9 million lb. lead, 533.7 million lb. zinc and 16.8 million lb. copper.  

New Pacific has also intersected gold below the conceptual pit. Drill hole DCAR0044 returned 88 metres grading 1.67 grams gold, including 18 metres of 3.6 grams gold; and DCAR0094 cut 156 metres of 2.44 grams gold, including 41 metres of 5.4 grams gold. 

At Silver Sand this year, New Pacific is working on community agreements and permitting and undertaking geotechnical and hydrological drilling for the feasibility study. 

A prefeasibility in June 2024 outlined a mine life of 13 years producing 12 million oz. silver a year for a total of 157 million oz. silver, at an AISC of $10.69 per ounce. At a base case silver price of $24 per oz., the post-tax NPV (at a 5% discount rate) came to $740 million and the IRR 37%. Initial capital was pegged at $358 million and the post-tax payback at 1.9 years. 

Silver Sand has 54.3 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 116 grams silver for 201.8 million contained oz. silver and another 5 million inferred tonnes averaging 88 grams silver for 13 million oz. of contained metal. 

New Pacific Metals has a market cap of about C$1.1 billion. 

NGEx Minerals 

NGEx Minerals (TSX: NGEX; US-OTC: NGXXF) – part of the Lundin Group of Companies – is focused on exploring its flagship Lunahuasi copper-gold-silver project in Argentina’s San Juan province.  

In March, the Mining Authority of San Juan approved Lunahuasi’s Environmental Impact Statement for the development of an exploration adit. The adit will give direct access to extract a bulk sample for metallurgical and engineering studies, provide year-round access for underground drilling, and improve the company’s geological understanding of the deposit. 

The company launched its stage four drill program last October, which will feature up to eight rigs and target 25,000 metres of drilling. Highlight results in February included 1,246.5 metres grading 0.6% copper, 0.23 gram gold and 9.9 grams silver in DPDH049 starting from 116.5 metres downhole, including 13.61 metres of 4.68% copper, 1.67 grams gold and 28.8 grams silver from 725 metres and 7.45 metres grading 13.38% copper, 1.62 grams gold and 52.8 grams silver from 942 metres downhole.  

Drillhole DPDH057 intersected 131 metres grading 3.1% copper, 2.03 grams gold and 58.2 grams silver from 424 metres depth, including 30 metres of 4% copper, 4.58 grams gold and 64.5 grams silver from 468 metres. Drill hole DPDH060 cut 32.3 metres averaging 3.13% copper, 2.18 grams gold and 26.5 grams silver from 223 metres, including 2.7 metres of 13.89% copper, 6.64 grams gold and 127.3 grams silver from 245.30 metres. 

NGEx is also involved in the Los Helados copper project, 9 km to the northeast of Lunahuasi, in Chile’s Atacama Region. NGEx is the major partner and operator at Los Helados, subject to a joint exploration agreement with Nippon Caserones Resources, which is the indirect 30% owner of the operating Caserones open-pit copper mine about 17 km to the north of Los Helados. (Lunding Mining (TSX: LUN) owns the remaining 70% of Caserones.) 

Los Helados hosts about 2.1 billion indicated tonnes grading 0.4% copper, 0.15 gram gold and 1.5 grams silver for 18.4 billion lb. copper, 102. million oz. gold and 97.5 million oz. silver. Inferred resources total 1.08 billion tonnes grading 0.34% copper, 0.1 gram gold, and 1.4 grams silver for 8.2 billion lb. copper, 3.6 million oz. gold and 50.2 million oz. silver. 

Recently the company spun out its net smelter return royalties on Lunahuasi and Los Helados to LunR Royalties (TSXV: LUNR). 

NGEx Minerals has a market cap of about C$5.8 billion.