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Copper is a vital input in the global economy.
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If you want a good bellwether of where the economy is headed, you’d be hard pressed to find a better individual marker than the price of copper.
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While that price has taken a hit in recent months, the past month has seen a pronounced rebound in the red metal’s fortunes.
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That strength in the face of volatile market conditions helps explain why big miners like Barrick Gold are leaning into their copper production to generate robust earnings for investors.
The dearth of new, large copper projects to fill the looming supply gap bodes well for junior explorers who can find new copper deposits.
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And, as you’re about to see, Alpha Copper (ALCUF.OTC, ALCU.CSE) is well positioned to make the kind of discovery that will make the sector take notice.
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Alpha Copper offers nothing less than the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a potential discovery that could make big returns for early investors.
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Copper: Adding Value To Gold Companies
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A good sign that copper is holding up well in the current environment is the second quarter earnings numbers from gold giant Barrick.
Simply put, the major’s copper output was a huge contributor to the good numbers it turned in.
Barrick produced 120 million pounds of copper during Q2, a 25% increase from the year prior. That copper input helped the company post $488 million in net earnings during the quarter, up from $411 million in Q2 2021.
Those improved earnings came in the face of increased input costs due to inflation and falling gold and copper prices for much of the quarter.
The good numbers are a positive indication of how the copper market is providing resilience to even large gold producers like Barrick.
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The Secular Supply Gap For Copper Looms…
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…And major miners of all stripes are going to be on the lookout for new discoveries of the red metal, because they are desperately needed.
First off, the number of “tier one” deposits capable of filling the looming supply gap for copper has been dwindling.
Then there’s the fact that average grades of deposits in global copper powerhouses like Chile and Peru have been in decline for many years.
Throw in political roadblocks in those and other copper producing countries, and the need for new sources of copper in safe jurisdictions is clear.
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Here’s the big issue: The above factors have created a situation in which the global copper market will be in a severe supply deficit, even without any increase in base demand.
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But that base demand is far lower than what we’re actually going to see. When you factor in the increased demand for copper being sparked by the electrification of the global economy, it’s obvious that the price of the metal will have to soar to unprecedented heights.
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Perfect Timing:
Two Projects With Discovery Potential
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With this supply gap in copper as a backdrop, Alpha Copper has no less than two copper projects in the uber-safe jurisdiction of British Columbia that are capable of producing a significant discovery.
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First there’s Indata, which sits 1.8 miles south of a high-grade (5.3%) copper discovery called Kwanika in north-central British Columbia.
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Indata lies along the prolific Quesnel Terrane structure that runs along the spine of central British Columbia. That structure is also host to the Highland Valley copper mine, which is one of the largest open-pit copper mines in the world.
Alpha Copper has done extensive surface work on Indata and is excited to begin a 5,000-meter drill program to test for a major copper-gold porphyry orebody like the one that hosts Highland Valley.
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Next up is the company’s Okeover project in southwest British Columbia. This project has seen work from several explorers over the year and comes with a host of data to help Alpha home in on drill targets.
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That data is already robust enough that Alpha Copper is about to embark on a 2,000-meter program at Okeover.
That’s right — Alpha Copper is about to drill two high-potential projects in the days just ahead.
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Profit From The Irresistible Fundamentals Of Copper
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Copper is already making a comeback after the recent correction. The supply/demand dynamics for the metal are just too powerful for any correction to last very long.
As this rebound continues to attract investor attention, it could coincide with results from Alpha Copper’s current drill programs.
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Given the world’s growing need for large copper projects in safe jurisdictions, success with one or both of these drill programs could spark a big run on Alpha Copper’s shares.
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Longer term, that secular supply gap in copper bodes well for the sector as a whole and for junior explorers like Alpha Copper in particular.
If you’re looking for an underappreciated, discovery-oriented bet on copper, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better candidate in that space than Alpha Copper.
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Reap rewards from this bold bet on copper.png)
