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Record Quarters, Zero Relief: Copper's Gap Keeps Growing
Record Quarters, Zero Relief: Copper's Gap Keeps Growing PR Newswire Issued on be...
About this update from Salazar Resources Limited
[{"type":"text","content":"Record Quarters, Zero Relief: Copper's Gap Keeps Growing\n\n\nRecord Quarters, Zero Relief: Copper's Gap Keeps Growing\n\n/* Style Definitions */\nspan.prnews_span\n{\nfont-size:8pt;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\n}\na.prnews_a\n{\ncolor:blue;\n}\nli.prnews_li\n{\nfont-size:8pt;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\n}\np.prnews_p\n{\nfont-size:0.62em;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\nmargin:0in;\n}\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPR Newswire\n\n\nIssued on behalf of Salazar Resources Ltd.Equity-Insider.com News CommentaryVANCOUVER, BC, May 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Global copper smelters are now paying mines for the privilege of buying their concentrate, with spot treatment charges collapsing to negative $70 per tonne by late March[1]. That is not a typo. The feed that keeps refineries running is so scarce that the traditional pricing relationship has flipped on its head, and executives at the Financial Times Commodities Global Summit confirmed in April that declining ore grades, ballooning capital costs, and permitting timelines stretching beyond a decade are choking off new supply precisely when electrification needs it most[2]. This structural bottleneck is directing capital toward companies that already hold permitted, drill-tested ground in proven copper belts: Salazar Resources (TSXV: SRL) (OTCQB: SRLZF), Ero Copper (NYSE: ERO) (TSX: ERO), Capstone Copper (TSX: CS) (OTCPK: CSCCF), Hot Chili (TSXV: HCH) (OTCQX: HHLKF), and Hudbay Minerals (NYSE: HBM) (TSX: HBM).\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJ.P. Morgan's April outlook holds copper above $11,100 per tonne even under bearish scenarios, pointing to constrained project pipelines and ongoing mine shutdowns that show no sign of easing[3]. The exploration side of the market is already repricing around that view: British Columbia posted a record $751 million in mineral exploration spending for 2025, with copper overtaking gold as the province's top target for the first time on record, as institutional capital rotates into large porphyry systems that can deliver scale into a widening deficit[4].Salazar Resources (TSXV: SRL) (OTCQB: SRLZF) has consolidated 100% ownership of its Santiago copper-gold project in southern Ecuador, bringing together a target that three decades of exploration data say could be significant. The 2,350-hectare concession sits in the Western Cordillera of the Ecuadorian...