Overview
Vizsla Copper (TSXV:VCU, OTCQB:VCUFF) is a mineral exploration and development company focusing on its promising copper assets in British Columbia, Canada. Vizsla Copper is a spinout of highly successful Vizsla Silver (TSXV:VZLA, NYSE:VZLA). The company’s flagship Woodjam copper project is a significant district-scale opportunity with the potential to become a world-class copper producer. Vizsla Copper’s additional assets build upon its portfolio of copper projects in BC, a tier 1, mining-friendly jurisdiction.
Copper has earned a reputation as “the new gold” due to its strategic role in the energy transition. Rising demand and tightening supply led to copper reaching an all-time high in March 2022. While there has been some correction since then, the forecast for copper remains strong for its important role in clean energy development.
Vizsla Copper is committed to socially responsible exploration by prioritizing environmentally sustainable practices and community involvement.
The company’s flagship Woodjam copper project covers over 64,000 hectares with several identified and untested targets. Historical inferred resource estimates for the project indicate 1.7 billion pounds of copper and 968,000 ounces of gold.
Copper projects in BC have been gaining significant attention from investors due to the jurisdiction’s mining-friendly laws and unexplored or underexplored projects. BHP, Teck and Boliden have all recently invested in junior exploration companies with properties across the province. The company’s additional projects, Carruthers Pass and Blueberry, are also within BC and create additional opportunities to improve shareholder value.
Vizsla’s acquisition of the Consolidated Woodjam Copper Corp. in December 2022 was a transformational acquisition for the company, allowing Vizsla Copper to significantly improve its copper holdings as it prepares to meet the impending copper supply shortage.
The company also completed the acquisition of a 100 percent interest in the 37,466-hectare Copperview project in the Aspen Grove area of south-central British Columbia from Donald Rippon of Mineworks Ventures.
An experienced team of managers with expertise throughout the natural resource industry leads the company toward its goal. Craig Parry, executive chairman, talked about the Vizsla Copper management team in an interview, “We’ve been able to recruit some absolute superstars. Looking around for good geologists these days, they’re in red hot demand. It’s hard to find those people.” Parry and Steve Blower, VP exploration for Vizsla Copper, were awarded the AME 2022 Colin Spence Award for excellence in global mineral exploration for their integral roles in the discovery of the Hurricane uranium deposit during their time with IsoEnergy Ltd.
Company Highlights
Vizsla Copper is a mineral exploration and development company focusing on exploring its underexplored assets in British Columbia, Canada.Copper is essential for the ongoing energy transition and has been called “the new gold” for its applications throughout the clean energy industry.A copper shortage is expected as demand rises due to the electrification of the world, while supply struggles to keep up.Vizsla Copper acquired the consolidated Woodjam Copper in December 2022, further enabling the company to focus on meeting growing copper demand.The flagship Woodjam asset is a district-scale opportunity, located in an established mining district, with promising historical results that remain underexplored.Vizsla Copper’s additional projects in BC create future opportunities to improve shareholder value as exploration continues.The company is committed to socially responsible exploration at every step by minimizing environmental impact and supporting community involvement.An experienced team of managers with expertise throughout the natural resource industry leads the company toward its goal.
Key Projects
Woodjam Project
The Woodjam project is a district-scale opportunity with more than 64,000 hectares and several identified yet untested targets. Woodjam is located in an established mining region and 55 kilometers east of Williams Lake, both supporting future production. The asset is within the Quesnel Terrane, a proven copper-gold belt that hosts significant producing mines such as Gibraltar and Mount Polley.
Project Highlights:
Significant Exploration Potential: Over 120,000 meters have been drilled on the property by previous operators, including Gold Fields Limited which spent $30 million on the project between 2008 and 2013 before a corporate decision was made to shift back to gold assets. These historical drill campaigns have only explored approximately 15 percent of the property and indicate blue-sky potential as additional exploration continues. An aeromagnetic survey conducted by Vizsla Copper has generated a significant number of high-priority targets. Low Exploration Costs: The project is amenable to lower exploration costs due to its climate and location. A large portion of the property is accessible by highway with a major transmission line to the southwest. The project is amenable to year-round exploration and drilling and does not require a remote camp or helicopters to access.
Carruthers Pass
Vizsla Copper has the option to acquire 60 percent of the Carruthers Pass project. The asset contains a traditional VMS mineralization, a type of mineralization known for high-grade copper and gold deposits.
Project Highlight:
Promising Historic Exploration: Historical exploration identified a massive sulfide occurrence called the Boulder Zone. This zone is approximately 3.4 meters thick with an average grade of 2.1 g/t gold, 163 g/t silver, 5.4 percent copper and 4.9 percent zinc. Additional untested conductors with VMS-style targeting are located throughout the asset and present additional future exploration potential.
Blueberry Project
The 100-percent-owned Blueberry property is within an underexplored area within the Omineca Mining Division. The project is along trend of Imperial Metals’ past-producing Huckleberry Mine, which operated for 20 years. Additionally, the asset is directly adjacent to M3 Metals’ recent porphyry discovery.
Copperview
The Copperview Project consists of 37,466 hectares in 40 claims located less than 4 kilometers north (and along trend) of Kodiak Copper’s Gate Zone discovery which has a drill intersection to date of 535.1 meters @ 0.49 percent copper, 0.29 g/t gold from 201.9 meters in drill hole MPD-20-04) on the MPD property.
Project Highlights:
Prospective Geology: Mapping by the British Columbia Geological Survey indicates that prospective Nicola Gp. volcanic rocks extend northward from the MPD project to the Copperview Project claims where they are largely covered by a thin veneer of glacial till.In proximity to producing mines: The project is located within a prolific copper, gold and molybdenum mining region of the southern Quesnel Terrane; 50 kilometers north of the Copper Mountain mine, 65 kilometers southeast of the Highland Valley mine, and 90 kilometers south of the New Afton mine.
Management Team
Craig Parry – Executive Chairman
Craig Parry is a co-founder and chairman of Inventa Capital – a private natural resources investment company. He is chairman of Skeena Resources, Golden Triangle-focused developer of Eskay Creek and Snip mines. Parry is the former CEO and founder of IsoEnergy, a successful uranium exploration company focused on Canadian assets. He is the founding director of NexGen Energy, and the founding shareholder and senior advisor to EMR Capital.
Chris Donaldson – CEO and Director
Chris Donaldson is an experienced executive with 25 years focusing on capital markets, government and community relationships. He is the executive chairman of TinOne Resources (TSXV:TORC), the CEO and director of Outback Goldfields (TSXV:OZ), and former director of corporate development and community with Western Copper and Gold (TSX and NYSE American listed company).
Michael Konnert – Director
Michael Konnert is a natural resource entrepreneur experienced in deal-making, financing, team development, and corporate strategy. He is the founder and CEO of Vizsla Silver, where the company has consolidated and is developing one of Mexico’s highest-grade silver and gold districts. He is co-founder and managing partner of Inventa Capital, a natural resource investor and incubator with the vision of providing the elements the world needs. Previously, Konnert co-founded CobaltOne Energy, a battery metal exploration company he led as CEO and sold to Blackstone Minerals (ASX:BSX) in 2017. He is an advisor to several companies and a board member of Vizsla Copper , Archer Exploration (CSE: RCHR), Vida Carbon (Private) and Summa Silver (CSE:SSVR).
Simon Cmrlec – Director
Simon Cmrlec is currently COO of Ausenco, the world’s foremost EPCM company. He is involved in the construction and commissioning of various base metals, iron ore and gold projects in the US, South America, Australia, Middle East and South Africa including Olympic Dam and Goro Mine. Cmrlec holds a B.Eng (Hons) in metallurgical engineering from the Gartrell School of Mining, Metallurgy and Applied Geology at the University of South Australia.
Karlene Collier – Director
Karlene Collier has 15+ years of experience in capital markets and M&A. She scaled the first publicly listed cryptocurrency company in Canada with a market capitalization of over $1.7 billion. Her recent focus is on the natural resource sector where she has managed and scaled a portfolio of companies in her current role as vice-president of operations at Inventa Capital
Steve Blower – VP of Exploration
Steve Blower is a professional geologist with over 30 years of experience in the minerals industry. He is the former president and CEO of Pitchstone Exploration Ltd., VP of exploration for Denison Mines , VP of exploration for IsoEnergy, and a consultant/director of 92 Energy. He is a former mine geologist at the Huckleberry and Similco open-pit copper mines in British Columbia. Blower holds a BSc in geological sciences from the University of British Columbia and an MSc in geological sciences from Queen’s University.
Grant Tanaka – CFO
Grant Tanaka has more than 15 years of financial leadership experience in the mining industry. He is the former director of finance operations with Ma’aden Gold & Base Metals. Formerly held senior finance positions at Teck Resources Limited, New Gold, and Copper Mountain Mining Corporation. Tanaka has a Bachelor of Business Administration, specializing in entrepreneurial leadership and is a Canadian Chartered Professional Accountant.
Keith Bodnarchuk – Corporate Development
Keith is a professional geologist with over 15 years of experience in exploration/mining and capital markets, who before joining the Inventa Capital group of companies, recently led the strategy and corporate development for IsoEnergy. Keith is also the president and CEO of Cosa Resources and is an advisor and former interim CEO of Archer Exploration. He was previously a project geologist at Denison Mines, with a focus on North American and African projects.
Dr. Chris Leslie – Senior Technical Advisor
Chris is an economic geologist with over 15 years of experience focused on the discovery and advancement of porphyry and epithermal-related copper and gold deposits and was an integral member of the discovery team at the 11 Moz Blackwater Gold project in central B.C. Chris has a Ph.D. in economic geology from the Centre for Ore Deposit and Earth Sciences (CODES), University of Tasmania, a M.Sc. in geological sciences from the University of British Columbia and a B.Sc. in geological sciences from the University of Alberta and is a registered professional geoscientist with EGBC