Marimaca Copper Appoints Senior Project Director as MOD Advances Toward Construction Decision

• Marimaca Copper has appointed Joshua Watson as Project Director to lead development of the Marimaca Oxide Deposit (MOD) in Chile's Antofagasta Region, drawing on over two decades of project leadership at Teck Resources, Barrick, Rio Tinto, and Vale.
• Nico Cookson has been elevated to President of the company, effective March 1, 2026, continuing to oversee corporate development, strategy, and investor relations alongside CEO Hayden Locke.
• The appointments come as the company advances toward a final investment decision (FID), with its Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) complete, environmental approval - the Resolución de Calificación Ambiental (RCA) - in hand, and detailed engineering underway.
• The 2025 DFS outlined a pre-production capital cost of US$587 million, a post-tax net present value (NPV) of US$709 million at a long-term copper price of US$4.30/lb, and a 31% internal rate of return (IRR), with a capital intensity of US$11,700 per tonne of copper production capacity.
• Management has stated its objective to be construction-ready by the end of 2026. The company has identified execution risk as a key consideration for a first-time builder at this scale, and Watson's appointment is intended to manage that risk.

Senior Appointments as MOD Moves to Execution Phase

Marimaca Copper is transitioning from the study phase to execution. The company completed its Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) in August 2025, secured its key environmental permit, the Resolución de Calificación Ambiental (RCA), in November 2025, and has detailed engineering underway. With these milestones in place, the company has stated its focus is on assembling the organizational capability needed to advance the Marimaca Oxide Deposit (MOD) toward a construction decision.

With seven phases of metallurgical testing complete, a 93% Measured & Indicated resource base, and a capital intensity of US$11,700 per tonne of copper production capacity, management has described the project's technical work as substantially complete. The near-term task, as outlined by the company, is building the team and governance structures to manage a US$587 million capital program. On March 2, 2026, Marimaca announced two senior appointments directed at this transition.

Marimaca Appoints Watson as Project Director

Joshua Watson has been appointed Project Director, a role created to lead the MOD through detailed design and into construction. For more than two decades, Watson held senior positions at Teck Resources, Barrick, Rio Tinto, and Vale, with stated responsibility for multi-billion-dollar capital portfolios spanning processing, energy, metallurgy, tailings, and water management. Recently, he served as Vice President of Projects, Studies, and Sustaining at Teck, where he oversaw project studies and sustaining capital programs, including multiple strategic joint venture projects.

Watson spent four years at Rio Tinto's Oyu Tolgoi operation in Mongolia, where he held senior roles and managed infrastructure projects, including the construction of one of the largest underground materials handling systems globally.

Chief Executive Officer of Marimaca Copper, Hayden Locke,  described the hiring priority:

"We're in the process of hiring out the team that will lead the execution phase. And that's a very challenging skill set to find - especially people who have the mindset and culture that we want, which is one of capital discipline and being very careful with the dollars that we spend, and making sure we deliver on what we say we're going to."

Locke has also described the execution risk the company is seeking to manage:

"That just reduces the risk of us having those horrible cost blowouts and screw-ups that you have during the execution phase."

MOD's DFS economics are based in part on the project's relatively low capital intensity for its scale. Maintaining that capital intensity through construction requires disciplined governance, experienced contractor management, and cost control. These are areas management has cited as the rationale for Watson's appointment.

Cookson Appointed as President

Nico Cookson has been elevated to President effective March 1, 2026. He transitions from his prior role as Head of Corporate Development & Strategy into a broader mandate, continuing to oversee corporate development, strategy, and investor relations alongside Locke.

Locke noted that Cookson's appointment reflects the role he has played in Marimaca's corporate strategy over the past several years. As Watson takes ownership of project execution workstreams, Cookson's mandate covers the corporate and financing functions running in parallel.

Marimaca has active project financing workstreams underway in 2026 alongside the detailed design and engineering program. The company has described maintaining institutional relationships and supporting the financing process as requiring dedicated senior leadership at the corporate level. Jose Antonio Merino remains Managing Director, Chile and Chief Financial Officer, retaining oversight of all Chilean operations. The organizational structure now comprises a project execution track under Watson and a corporate and financing track under Cookson and Locke.

DFS Parameters and the Scale of the Build

The 2025 DFS, led by Ausenco and NCL, outlined a conventional open-pit operation targeting 50,000 tonnes per annum of copper cathode production via a heap leach and solvent extraction-electrowinning (SX-EW) process.

The DFS economics include a post-tax net present value (NPV) of US$709 million and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 31% at a long-term copper price of US$4.30/lb, with sensitivities of US$1.1 billion NPV and 39% IRR at US$5.05/lb. The all-in sustaining cost (AISC) is estimated at US$2.29/lb over the life of mine, placing the MOD in the second cost quartile globally. The payback period is 2.5 years.

At US$11,700 per tonne of copper production capacity, the company has benchmarked the MOD's capital intensity against comparable projects in the Americas, including Costa Fuego, Vizcachitas, Santa Cruz, and Santo Domingo, and has cited this metric as favorable relative to peers. A US$587 million build carries execution risk, a factor management has acknowledged explicitly. 

Locke described his approach to the construction timeline:

"I am very focused on delivering this and getting it right the first time, rather than rushing it. That may be frustrating for some people, but I think in the long run that will pay dividends in terms of us not blowing up our capital structure by getting it wrong the first time."

2026 Workstreams

Marimaca has outlined four parallel workstreams for 2026: detailed design and engineering with execution strategy to be defined; sectorial (auxiliary) permits in line with the master schedule; site early works pre-final investment decision (FID) and long-lead item procurement; and project financing.

Watson's role covers the first two workstreams. The Owner's Team will oversee contractor selection, engineering completions, and permitting sequencing. Locke has stated that placing senior people into key positions is the prerequisite for managing the broader team build-out that follows. The company held US$78.7 million in cash as of September 30, 2025. Management has described current market conditions as supportive of a competitive financing process.

Variables That Could Impact the Investment Case

The appointments address stated execution risks but do not eliminate them. Capital cost estimates carry a stated accuracy range of -20% to +25% per AACE Class 3 guidelines, and construction timelines are management targets subject to change. The Owner's Team is still being assembled, and the pace of that build-out will be a factor in whether the company meets its construction-ready target by the end of 2026. The project financing process remains open; the form, terms, and timeline of any capital raise have not been confirmed, and equity dilution remains a possibility depending on the structure selected. Sectoral permitting introduces scheduling dependencies outside management's direct control that could affect the final investment decision timeline. Copper price sensitivity is also a consideration.

The Investment Thesis for Marimaca Copper

• Watson's appointment is directed at execution risk: His experience across Teck, Barrick, Rio Tinto, and Vale is the basis for management's decision to hire him to manage the organizational demands of a first-time build at this scale.
• Cookson's elevation maintains corporate and financing continuity: As operational leadership moves to project execution, Cookson's expanded mandate keeps financing strategy, investor relations, and corporate development under dedicated senior leadership running in parallel.
• The DFS establishes the financial baseline against which the execution team will operate: A 31% internal rate of return, a 2.5-year payback period, and a capital intensity of US$11,700 per tonne of copper production capacity are the figures management has cited to advance the project financing process. 
• The Owner's Team build-out precedes the construction decision: Assembling the team before a final investment decision is the company's stated approach to reducing construction delays and achieving construction readiness by the end of 2026.
• Capital cost is a key variable for investors to monitor: At US$587 million of initial capital, the DFS base case sits at the lower end of capital intensity among comparable copper development projects in the Americas per company benchmarking. Actual construction costs are subject to the stated AACE Class 3 accuracy range of -20% to +25%.

The appointments of Watson and Cookson reflect the organizational changes Marimaca is making as it advances toward a construction decision. For investors, the key variables over the next 12 months are the financing structure, the final investment decision timeline, and execution against the four workstreams outlined for 2026.

TL;DR

Marimaca Copper has appointed Joshua Watson as Project Director for the MOD and elevated Nico Cookson to President, effective March 1, 2026. Both appointments are directed at the company's stated priority of building the organizational capacity needed to advance toward a construction decision. The 2026 program covers detailed design and engineering, sectoral permitting, early works on site, and project financing. 

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