Southern Copper Upgraded to Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buy

Cyprium Metals has achieved key commissioning milestones at its Nifty Copper Complex in Western Australia as it advances heap leach operations and prepares for first copper cathode production. Executive chairman Matt Fifield said commissioning is progressing across the heap leach operation while pre-commissioning work on the solvent extraction and electrowinning plant nears completion, with targeted injection flow rates reached through direct injection leaching after more than a year of trials. Early results showed copper recovery responding quickly to acid injection, with copper-to-acid ratios performing better than initially anticipated, and grade control drilling reconciled within approximately 5% of the existing mineral resource block model. The company has established 212 production and monitoring wells, providing access to approximately 1.7 million tonnes of material and supporting an estimated six to eight months of planned production under conservative recovery assumptions. Remaining milestones before wet commissioning include installation of programmable logic controller controls and energisation of the SXEW plant, following the introduction of high-voltage power to the plant infrastructure.

Getty Copper Inc. has closed its previously announced brokered and concurrent non-brokered private placement of flow-through common shares, raising aggregate gross proceeds of C$15,023,478.78. Under the brokered offering, the company issued 7,352,566 BC Charity FT Shares at C$1.395 each and 2,117,434 Charity FT Shares at C$1.305 each, for aggregate gross proceeds of C$13,020,080.94, through Velocity Capital Partners and Clarus Securities Inc. as co-lead agents and joint bookrunners alongside Raymond James Ltd. The non-brokered offering added 1,854,998 FT Shares at C$1.080 each for gross proceeds of C$2,003,397.84, with no commission payable. The company paid the agents a 6% cash commission on the brokered offering and issued 568,200 compensation warrants at C$0.97 per share for 16 months, and separately paid Velocity Capital Partners and Clarus Securities Inc. a flat advisory fee of C$105,000 plus 110,000 advisory warrants at C$0.97 for 16 months. Insiders subscribed for 483,000 FT Shares in the non-brokered offering for proceeds of C$521,640, a related party transaction under MI 61-101. Proceeds will fund eligible Canadian exploration expenses qualifying as flow-through critical mineral mining expenditures on the company's British Columbia projects on or before December 31, 2027, with renunciation to subscribers effective no later than December 31, 2026; the offering remains subject to final acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Largo Inc. announced that Instituto do Meio Ambiente e Recursos Hídricos of State of Bahia, Brazil, known as INEMA, has issued the environmental permit for development of the Gulçari A Norte, or GAN, pit and associated infrastructure at its Maracás Menchen Mine. The permit, issued under INEMA Portaria No. 35,482, includes a four-year license for implementation and operation of the GAN pit, along with a new waste rock stockpile, calcined tailings facility, expansion of the Dry Mag low grade dry magnetic ore stockpile, access roads and operational support areas, plus authorizations for vegetation suppression and fauna management. GAN is the second open pit in Largo's proposed mining sequence, adjacent to the north of the Campbell open pit, which has been the sole source of Largo's vanadium production since its start up 12 years ago, and the company said the new pit should extend production for multiple years, optimize mining plans, add operating flexibility and reduce operating risks by diversifying ore sources. The GAN deposit also contains copper, gold and platinum group metals, similar to the Campbell open pit, which began producing those metals as by-products in August 2026. GAN is one of five open pits in Largo's Maracás Menchen portfolio, which the company says has a resource base with potential to last more than 30 years at current production rates, and it is one of the deposits incorporated into the current 31-year life-of-mine plan. Executive Chairman and Co-CEO Alberto Arias called the approval strategically important as the Western World seeks additional sources of vanadium, copper and PGM, while Co-CEO James Bannantine said the permit strengthens the long-term fundamentals of the Maracás Menchen Mine and provides greater certainty around future mining areas.