Why the Global Economy Deems Copper Porphyry as One of the World's Most Valuable Deposit Types

PALM BEACH, Fla., May 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --  FinancialNewsMedia.com News Commentary - Porphyry copper deposits are the world's largest source of copper and is also is one of the world's most valuable deposit types. The term "porphyry" comes from the word "porphyritic", a textural term used by geologists to describe the mineral pattern within the rocks that commonly occur in copper porphyry deposits. Porphyry copper deposits play an important role in the global economy. These deposits provide over 60% of the world's copper and include other important metals such as molybdenum, gold and silver. Porphyry copper deposits are known for their low grades and very high tonnage. Porphyry copper deposits are generally composed of a "plug-like" igneous intrusion – a large magma body that is emplaced beneath a volcanic system. On average these deposits can have a vertical and horizontal extent of 1-2 km and can range from tens of millions to more than one billion tons in size. An article in Investing News said that: Ask any economic geologist the most important factor in building a profitable mine and they will tell you "grade is king." Grade refers to the concentration of a valuable mineral within ore, and higher-grade ore is typically cheaper to extract. Hence, the higher the grade, the more economical the deposit and the more likely it will be mined — or so the logic goes. The mantra has become an unshakeable tenet in the mining industry, and a standard rule of thumb for investors gauging the true value of a resource company.  Of course, there are always exceptions to any rule, and copper porphyry deposits are quite possibly the best example of how the "grade is king" dogma is merely an oversimplification of mine economics. Other geological factors can have a large impact on the economics of a project. In the case of copper porphyry deposits, their enormous size, polymetallic nature, decades-long mine lives and high production rates rank them as one of the world's most valuable deposit types."  Active Companies in the markets today include First Tellurium Corp. (CSE: FTEL) (OTCPK: GODYF), Newmont Corporation (NYSE: NEM) (TSX: NGT), Rio Tinto Group (NYSE: RIO), Teck Resources Limited (NYSE: TECK) (TSX: TECK.A), Surge Copper Corp. (OTCQX: SRGXF) (TSXV: SURG).

The article continued: "The metallurgical qualities of copper porphyry orebodies make them ideally suited for large-scale, low-cost resource extraction. "The ore is inexpensive to mill and concentrate using flotation methods, heap leaching and electrowinning processes. The mines are inexpensive to operate using bulk-mining methods," Stanley Korzeb, economic geologist for the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, and a research professor at Montana Tech, told the Investing News Network.  Within porphyry systems the copper mineralization can extend vertically for several kilometers beyond the main base of the open pit. This vertical scale often translates to a decades-long mine lives… meaning these mines can outlive many a market cycle, taking hits that would knock smaller mines out of commission… What makes for an ideal takeover target."

First Tellurium Corp. (CSE: FTEL) (OTCPK: GODYF) BREAKING NEWS - Regional Exploration Success Highlights Copper Porphyry Potential at First Tellurium's Deer Horn Property - First Tellurium Corp. (the "Company" or "First Tellurium") reports that recent geophysical survey results from Surge Copper's Ootsa Project, located 40 kilometers north of First Tellurium's Deer Horn Property in west-central British Columbia, continue to reinforce the potential for this district to host significant multiple copper porphyry deposits. Leif Nilsson, Surge Copper's CEO, commented that, "…this district has significant untapped exploration potential and could one day be among the largest copper districts in Canada."

The Deer Horn Property, First Tellurium's flagship polymetallic project, contains porphyry-type copper and tungsten along with one of the world's only NI 43-101 resource of tellurium, gold and silver. The property was recognized by First Solar Inc. as one of the world's top primary tellurium prospects.  Past exploration at Deer Horn, as reported in the Company's 2018 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), encountered several copper porphyry-type showings in addition to the known Te-Au-Ag resource.

The PEA noted: "The Pond and H-Spot showings are discoveries of bulk tonnage, porphyry-style copper+/-silver mineralization and associated alteration. Their broad distribution may be evidence of a largely hidden porphyry copper system. A second area of anomalous porphyry-related copper-gold mineralization occurs on a ridge crest 1.8 km northwest of Kenney Lake."

First Tellurium's Tyrone Docherty stated, "While the Deer Horn Property remains a premier tellurium project, the property's copper porphyry potential could ultimately provide greater value. While we weren't looking for copper originally, the significant showings have proved to be a very exciting and fortunate bonus for future exploration. Deer Horn covers over fifty-one square kilometers, and our copper porphyry exploration remains in the very preliminary stages."

Deer Horn's copper porphyry potential will be explored further in upcoming work programs at the property.

In a 2021 report, Goldman Sachs declared copper as "the new oil." Copper will drive, and will be essential to, the emerging green economy and development of electric vehicles. Within ten years, noted Goldman Sachs, copper demand for electric vehicles and battery metal products may increase by 900%.

Added Docherty, "The exciting results from Surge Copper's work at Ootsa, located in the same district as Deer Horn and the Huckleberry Mine, support our premise that this region is emerging as one of Canada's top districts for copper porphyry exploration."  CONTINUED…  Read this full release for First Tellurium Corp. at:  https://firsttellurium.com/news-media/news

Other recent developments in the markets include:

Newmont Corporation (NYSE: NEM) (TSX: NGT) recently announced first quarter 2022 results.  FIRST QUARTER 2022 HIGHLIGHTS WERE: Produced 1.34 million attributable ounces of gold and 350 thousand attributable gold equivalent ounces from co-products; Reported gold CAS of $890 per ounce and AISC of $1,156 per ounce; Remain on track to achieve full-year guidance ranges; full-year results continue to be back-half weighted^; Generated $689 million of cash from continuing operations and $252 million of Free Cash Flow^; Declared first quarter dividend of $0.55 per share, consistent with the previous quarter; $1 billion share repurchase program to be used opportunistically in 2022, with $475 million remaining^; Ended the quarter with $4.3 billion of consolidated cash and $7.3 billion of liquidity with a net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio of 0.3x^; Credit rating upgraded by S&P Global Ratings to BBB+ from BBB with a stable outlook; and Advancing profitable near-term projects, including Tanami Expansion 2, Ahafo North and Yanacocha Sulfides.

"Newmont delivered a solid first quarter performance with $1.4 billion in adjusted EBITDA as we safely managed through the Omicron surge. The strength of our proven operating model and global portfolio in the world's best mining jurisdictions is the foundation of Newmont's clear and consistent strategy to create value and improve lives through sustainable and responsible mining. In April, we published our 18th Annual Sustainability Report, which provides a transparent look at our ESG performance and the issues and metrics that matter most to our stakeholders. As a values-based organization and the gold sector's recognized sustainability leader, Newmont has a long history of leading change in our approach to ESG and our core values are fundamental to how we run our business and where we choose to operate."

Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm, recently said: "We made notable progress during the quarter with the commencement of underground mining at Oyu Tolgoi following a comprehensive agreement reached with the Government of Mongolia, completed the acquisition of the Rincon lithium project in Argentina, and signed a framework agreement at the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea. These projects are all aligned with our strategy of growing in materials essential to a decarbonising world.

"Production in the first quarter was challenging as expected, re-emphasising a need to lift our operational performance. We launched seven more deployments of the Rio Tinto Safe Production System, building on the achievements from the previous rollouts. As we ramp up Gudai-Darri, our iron ore business will have greater production capacity and be better placed to produce additional tonnes of Pilbara Blend in the second half.

Teck Resources Limited (NYSE: TECK) (TSX: TECK.A) recently announced that initiatives deployed through its technology transformation programs, highlighted by the signature RACE21™ program, are expected to generate approximately $1.1 billion in recurring, annualized benefits through enhanced operational performance, safety and sustainability.

"From advanced analytics to machine learning to automation, our RACE21™ program has built on our long-standing focus on technology and innovation to generate significant new benefit through improved operational performance, safety and sustainability, helping to solidify Teck's position as a technology leader in our industry," said Don Lindsay, President and CEO. "As we look to the future, we will continue to leverage digital innovation to more efficiently and sustainably produce the metals and materials needed for a low-carbon world."

Surge Copper Corp. (OTCQX: SRGXF) (TSXV: SURG) recently announced the completion of a district-wide airborne geophysical survey and related inversion modeling results carried out across the combined Ootsa and Berg Properties located in central British Columbia. The Z-axis Tipper Electromagnetic ("ZTEM") survey has imaged the electrical conductivity signature of the known deposits in the district and has produced numerous comparable signatures in several regions within the district, underscoring the Company's view that the district hosts a large porphyry cluster with significant exploration potential. The Company is well advanced on data compilation and interpretation to refine targeting within the regional exploration pipeline for advancement and drill testing during the 2022 exploration program.

Leif Nilsson, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "The completion of geophysical inversion modeling of this district-scale ZTEM dataset is an important milestone in Surge's strategy. One aspect of our thesis is that this district has significant untapped exploration potential and could one day be among the largest copper districts in Canada. Investing in such a survey that essentially provides highly-useful petrophysical data within the entire explorable volume of such a large and prospective district will prove very valuable to the Company as we begin to embark on focused regional exploration activities in the coming field season."

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