The Copper Bottleneck That Rewrites Mining Valuations

About this update from Salazar Resources Limited

The Copper Bottleneck That Rewrites Mining ValuationsIssued on behalf of Salazar Resources Ltd. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- USANewsGroup.com News Commentary — The world needs copper faster than it can find it. Latin America's mining sector is pulling in record investment as analysts project a 10 million metric ton supply gap by 2040, and the pipeline of new discoveries keeps falling short despite exploration budgets that have quadrupled since 2005. That gap is already showing up in prices and in boardrooms. Wood Mackenzie's head of copper research recently told Bloomberg that supply constraints remain the dominant force across the sector, with limited production growth keeping prices elevated even through periods of sharp volatility. Five companies span the full spectrum of this pivotal porphyry pipeline: Salazar Resources (TSXV: SRL) (OTCQB: SRLZF), Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX), Solaris Resources (NYSE-A: SLSR) (TSX: SLS), ATEX Resources (TSXV: ATX) (OTCQB: ATXRF), and Lundin Mining (TSX: LUN) (OTCPK: LUNMF). Goldman Sachs forecasts copper averaging $12,650 per metric ton in 2026, with a long-term trajectory toward $15,000 by 2035 as electrification, AI infrastructure, and defense spending lock in structural demand growth. The bank also flagged a new risk: sulphuric acid supply chains are under strain, and 17% of global copper output depends on a single processing method now vulnerable to disruption. For copper-gold porphyry assets with permits and drill results in hand, the repricing window is already open. Salazar Resources (TSXV: SRL) (OTCQB: SRLZF) has identified a high-priority copper-gold porphyry target at its wholly owned Monja Project in Ecuador. Surface mapping defined a two-kilometer by one-kilometer mineralized core within a metallogenic belt that already hosts multiple significant copper deposits in southern Ecuador. The 9,088-hectare concession benefits from year-round exploration access and sits near Sunstone Metals' Bramaderos porphyry project. Rock chip sampling at Monja returned grades worth a closer look. The best sample came in at 4.77% copper, 1.12 g/t gold, 19.5 g/t silver, and 74 ppm molybdenum. Field crews also documented hydrothermal breccias with pyrite-chalcopyrite matrix, quartz-sulphide stockwork veining, and traces of bornite, all recognized indicators of porphyry fertility at depth...

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