ATEX Resources De-Risks With Strategic Agnico Eagle Investment, Eyes Copper Opportunity in Chile

• ATEX Resources (TSXV:ATX) recently announced a strategic investment from Agnico Eagle, who became a 13% shareholder and is financing ATEX through its Phase 5 drilling program and beyond.
• ATEX is ramping up drilling with the goal of delivering an updated resource estimate by July/August 2025. Recent high-grade drill results are making the project more exciting from a payback perspective.
• Agnico Eagle's investment validates the long-term potential of ATEX's Valeriano copper project in Chile. Agnico Eagle sees the opportunity for ATEX to leverage its expertise and grow a large, long-life copper asset.
• With Agnico Eagle's backing, ATEX can think more long-term, advance technical/engineering studies, and start planning project development.
• At a ~C$300M market cap, ATEX is reaching a scale that is attracting more interest from institutional investors and larger funds that can deploy meaningful capital into the story.

ATEX Resources (TSXV:ATX) is making significant strides in advancing its large-scale Valeriano copper project in Chile, underpinned by a recent strategic investment from major gold producer Agnico Eagle. The C$300 million company is now well-funded to aggressively drill Valeriano and de-risk one of the most promising new copper projects in the world's top copper jurisdiction.

Agnico Eagle Invests in Valeriano

In a major vote of confidence for ATEX and Valeriano, Agnico Eagle recently acquired a 13% strategic stake in the company, becoming a key financing partner. Agnico Eagle is a globally significant gold producer with a market value around US$38.5 billion and a track record of astute strategic investments in high-quality mineral assets.

Speaking to the implications of the deal, ATEX President & CEO, Ben Pullinger commented: 

"They put in a chunk of change, but two, they've seen something in this project that they like...long life, big jurisdiction in Chile is where you want to be. So I think it's a very bold step and statement by them."

The investment by Agnico Eagle has put ATEX in a stronger position to create value at Valeriano, with funding secured to support an intensive drill program aimed at expanding and upgrading the resource. Pullinger noted that ATEX now has "the capital to start thinking long term", with Agnico Eagle's backing allowing it to advance engineering studies and plan for eventual project development.

Unleashing Valeriano's Potential

ATEX's Valeriano copper-gold project is located in the heart of Chile's prolific El Indio mineral belt. The project hosts a large mineralized system of copper gold porphyry resource: 1.41 billion tonnes at 0.67% CuEq (0.50% Cu, 0.20 g/t Au, 0.96 g/t Ag and 63.80 g/t Mo), however the recent drilling success suggests potential for significant resource growth and higher-grade zones that could enhance economics.

Pullinger highlighted that the last three holes of the Phase 4 drill program yielded ATEX's best results to date: 

"Hole 26, which hit, if you use our metallurgical recoveries, 95% for copper, 94% gold, had 100m at 2% copper equivalent. Hole 16a, which we're following up on right now, hit 112m of 1.5%. So we're still the exploring, we don't know what this project is - we know it's big, we know there's a lot of potential for growth, and now we're seeing some of the higher grade stuff which makes it more exciting from an eventual kind of payback scenario."

With two rigs turning and plans to ramp up to five rigs by year-end, the ongoing 20,000m Phase 5 drill program will be transformational for Valeriano. ATEX is aiming to deliver an updated resource estimate by July/August 2025, which will incorporate the high-grade extension zones and give the market a much clearer picture of the project's scale and economic potential.

Right Shareholders, Right Commodity, Right Time

According to Pullinger, ATEX has entered a: 

"very rarefied atmosphere of right shareholders, right place, right commodity, right time."

The company benefits from a tight share structure with two supportive investors - Agnico Eagle and Pierre-Paul Lassonde - owning close to 25%. This leaves ATEX well positioned to attract larger institutional investors as it delivers news flow from the large-scale drill program.

Pullinger pointed to growing interest from generalist funds that can deploy meaningful capital as ATEX reaches critical mass: 

"It's been very refreshing that over the last couple years meetings that I'm having are with shareholders that bought when we were 70 cents, they bought again when we were 80 cents. Now they're buying again at $1.50...at a $300 million market, there's still a huge amount of value in terms of the asset...triggering the appetite of those bigger funds that need to see a market cap that means they can earn a meaningful position."

While ATEX has benefitted from a rising copper price, the long-term supply/demand fundamentals of the copper market are the real investment thesis. The global energy transition will require massive amounts of copper for electrification and renewable energy infrastructure, but a lack of new mine supply is looming.

Interview with President & CEO Ben Pullinger

The Investment Thesis for ATEX Resources:

• Strategic 13% investment from major gold producer Agnico Eagle significantly de-risks ATEX and provides strong validation of its Valeriano copper project
• Agnico Eagle financing removes near-term capital concerns and allows ATEX to aggressively advance Valeriano with a Phase 5 drill program aimed at expanding and upgrading the resource
• Recent drilling has yielded ATEX's highest-grade intercepts to date, including 100m @ 2% CuEq and 112m @ 1.5% CuEq, demonstrating potential for higher-grade zones that could enhance project economics
• At a ~C$300M market cap, ATEX is undervalued relative to the size, grade and jurisdiction of Valeriano; de-risking from Phase 5 drilling and an updated resource in H2 2025 could drive significant re-rating
• Exposure to a large, long-life copper development project in Chile - the world's top jurisdiction for major copper mines - provides attractive long-term copper optionality
• Tightly held share structure with major mining companies Agnico Eagle and Pierre-Paul Lassonde owning ~25% leaves ATEX well positioned for continued upward market momentum

Key Takeaways

By delivering a major new copper resource in Chile and substantially de-risking it towards development, ATEX has potential to create significant shareholder value. The company is expecting strong news flow in the coming 12 months as it systematically drill tests the full extent of Valeriano.

ATEX is fully funded for the Phase 5 program and will not need to return to market for the foreseeable future. It now has the luxury of focusing entirely on adding value at Valeriano without having to constantly raise capital.

Agnico Eagle's involvement has clearly raised the profile of ATEX and Valeriano. The company is now one of the best positioned copper explorers globally, with validated exposure to a large copper resource in a Tier 1 jurisdiction.

From a macro perspective, the looming global copper supply shortage creates a highly favorable backdrop for advancing sizable new copper projects in stable jurisdictions.

Macro Thematic Analysis: 

The global energy transition is driving strong long-term demand for copper, which is a critical metal for electrification and renewable energy infrastructure. As the world moves towards a lower-carbon future, copper will play an essential role in electric vehicles, charging stations, solar and wind power systems, and energy-efficient buildings. However, a significant supply gap is looming for copper, with a dearth of new large-scale projects moving towards development, particularly in stable jurisdictions with a track record of major copper production.

Chile is the world's leading copper producer, accounting for over a quarter of global output, and its major copper mines are among the largest and highest-margin operations globally. The country has a rich geological endowment of copper, a supportive mining framework, and a long history of successful resource development. In this context, ATEX CEO Ben Pullinger sums up the opportunity: 

"There's no small or medium sized copper mines in the world... if you've got a 12 to 15 to 20 year life of mine in a gold asset, that's an interesting thing. Copper assets - typically once they get up and running, you know, like these are generational assets... there aren't a lot of scale projects, so like one new project coming online eats up a lot of the capacity that's needed."

For investors, exposure to a large, scalable copper project in Chile provides attractive optionality to rising copper prices driven by the energy transition. ATEX's Valeriano project has the potential to become a globally significant copper development story, and with Agnico Eagle now on the share register, ATEX is well positioned to create value as it advances Valeriano towards production in the coming years.