News Provided by GlobeNewswire via QuoteMedia

News Provided by GlobeNewswire via QuoteMedia

Commodities giant BHP (ASX:BHP,NYSE:BHP,LSE:BHP) has published an operational review for the half year of 2025, highlighting celebratory results at its copper and iron ore operations, including Australia.

BHP Chief Executive Officer Mike Henry attributed the positive price environment while recognising the company’s achievements, citing that copper was up 32 percent while iron ore was 4 percent higher.

Escondida, BHP’s flagship copper operation located in the Atacama Desert in Northern Chile, was said to have achieved record concentrator throughput.

The Chilean project is regarded as the world’s largest copper concentrate and cathodes producer, displaying a production record of 644,000 kilotonnes.

“Antamina has also lifted its production guidance, and Spence and Copper South Australia are tracking to plan, with Copper South Australia achieving record refined gold output,” Henry added.

The company’s South Australian copper assets include the Olympic Dam, Carrapateena, and Prominent Hill projects, which were recently highlighted in a copper outlook and review by the South Australian Government.

“BHP is the largest producer of copper in the world, and we expect to grow our copper base from 1.7 million tonnes to around 2.5 million tonnes per annum,” said BHP COO Edgar Basto in an October 2025 statement.

For iron ore, BHP reported that it achieved record first half production and shipments at its Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO) operation.

WAIO’s production rose 1 percent compared to its previous record of the same period, having a total of 146.6 million tonnes of iron ore in the half-year to December 31.

Volumes from BHP’s 50-50 Brazilian joint venture Samarco were also highlighted, rising as a result of strong operational performance at the second concentrator following its restart at the end of H1 FY25.

Main dam commissioning at Samarco is advanced and scheduled for completion by 2029.

In a separate announcement, BHP updated its cost estimate for Stage 1 of its Jansen potash project, which is said to be on track for production in mid-2027.

From the previously estimated range of US$7.0 billion, the cost now stands at US$7.4 billion (including contingencies). The initial estimate of the investment cost in August 2021 was US$5.7 billion.

“As announced in July 2025, these cost increases have been driven by inflationary and real cost escalation pressures, design development and scope changes and lower productivity outcomes,” BHP said.

The mining giant said that it is entering the second half of financial year 2026 “with strong operating momentum.”

Half-year financial results of BHP are scheduled to come out on February 17.

“We’re investing for the decade ahead, with a significant copper growth pipeline and a pathway to approximately 2 million tonnes of attributable copper production in the 2030s.”

Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle de la Cruz, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Laramide Resources (TSX:LAM,OTCQX:LMRXF) has pulled out of a greenfield uranium exploration venture in Kazakhstan, citing policy changes that it says have effectively shut the door on economically viable foreign investment in the country’s uranium sector.

The Toronto-based company announced on Tuesday (January 20) it has terminated its option agreement with privately held Aral Resources for the Chu-Sarysu Basin project, ending its involvement in what it had previously described as one of the world’s most prospective under explored uranium regions.

The option agreement, which was signed in September 2024, gave Laramide access to 22 exploration licences covering more than 5,500 square kilometres in the Chu-Sarysu Basin. The region hosts several of Kazatomprom’s largest producing mines and is known for geology suitable for low-cost, in-situ recovery uranium deposits.

Laramide had been funding early-stage exploration work since late 2024 and was preparing a 15,000-metre, multi-rig drill program that was scheduled to begin in the second half of 2025.

That program never got off the ground. Laramide said delays in securing drilling permits from regional authorities meant no drilling took place as planned in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Although the final permits were granted on December 24, the regulatory landscape shifted almost immediately afterward. 2 days later, Kazakhstan’s president signed into law amendments to the Subsoil Use Code that materially alter the economics of uranium exploration for new entrants.

Under the revised framework, Kazatomprom is granted priority rights over prospective uranium areas, stricter minimum ownership thresholds in new production agreements, and enhanced control over extensions, reserve increases, and additional exploration at producing deposits.

Laramide said those changes, combined with higher holding costs following an earlier increase in annual property taxes, undermine the investment rationale for continuing exploration in the country. The company has ceased all funding related to the project with immediate effect.

“Motivated by an effort to address, and ideally reverse, the obvious and severe decline in the resource base of Kazatomprom, their national uranium company, it appears Kazakhstan may have scored a spectacular own goal with their recent de facto nationalisation of future uranium exploration in country,” Marc Henderson, Laramide’s president and chief executive, said in a statement.

“However, in what may be a world’s first, Kazakhstan appears to have moved pre-emptively to ensure national ownership and control of any new uranium discoveries before they are actually even made,” Henderson added.

Kazatomprom, the world’s largest uranium producer, has acknowledged the legislative changes and framed them as measures to improve subsoil use in the hydrocarbon and uranium sectors.

In a statement outlining the amendments, the company highlighted new provisions that raise the minimum ownership stake required in new uranium production agreements to more than 75 percent, up from 50 percent previously, and impose additional conditions tied to technology transfer for extensions and reserve increases.

For Laramide, the company said it will now focus entirely on advancing its two development-stage uranium assets: the Churchrock-Crownpoint project in New Mexico and the Westmoreland project in Queensland, Australia.

Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Peruvian Metals Corp – (TSX: PER) (OTC Pink: DUVNF) (‘Peruvian Metals’ or the ‘Company’) is pleased to announce updated metallurgical results on both oxide and sulphide Au-Ag material on its 100% owned Palta Dorada Gold-Silver property (‘Property’) located in the Ancash department in Northern Peru. New metallurgical work on gold recoveries in both the oxide and sulphide material shows recoveries exceeding 80%. The new metallurgical work was conducted on the main San Juan vein where a rehabilitated historic 53-metre-deep shaft (‘shaft’) provided good exposure to both the sulphides and oxides on this main mineralized structure.

The Property covers an area of approximately 2,250 hectares. It is accessible from Peruvian Metals Aguila Norte processing plant (‘Aguila Norte’ or the ‘Plant’) by approximately 120 kilometres of mainly paved roadway. Sulphide material will be treated at the Plant whereas oxide gold material will be initially sold to local toll mills.

The new updated metallurgical results on the sulphide material taken in the shaft show positive recoveries. The head grade of the new metallurgical sample assayed 8.30 grams Au/mt and 3.39 ounces Ag/mt. Precious metal recoveries on the sulphide material using flotation returned 89% for gold and 61% for silver. The metallurgical sample was taken as a composite over 1 metre located 10 metres below the oxide and sulphide transition. Previously announced assay results on seven chip samples taken at various depths in the shaft from the quartz vein containing sulphides returned a weighted average of 10.51 grams Au/mt, 329 grams Ag/mt and 1.74 per cent Cu. Assay results from these samples range from 3.06 to 24.1 grams Au/mt, 36 to 865 grams Ag/mt and 0.31 per cent Cu to 4.94 per cent Cu over an average width of 0.60 metres. The metallurgical work was performed by Ing. Jose Orlando Moncada Rejas who is the main metallurgist at the Aguila Norte Plant. Assaying was performed by Procesmin Ingenieros SRL located in Caraz Ancash by fire assay for Au-Ag.

The head grade from the oxide material taken in the shaft above the sulphide mineralization returned 35.1 grams Au/mt and 1.51 ounces Ag/mt. The sample taken was a composite over ½ metre width. Agitated cyanide leaching results show recoveries of 82% for gold and 58% for silver over 48 hours. Thirty-one tonnes of gold bearing oxide material assaying 9.74 grams Au/mt was taken from this area in June 2022 and sold to the Chala One toll mill located in Chala Peru. The price of gold used for the sale was $1852 US with gold recoveries of 90%.

Previously announced metallurgical work on oxide gold material taken from artisanal workings on a second mineralized structure north of the shaft returned positive results. A sample was collected from the sacks with a head grade of 13.0 grams Au/mt and 2.98 ounces Ag/mt. Agitated cyanide leaching results show recoveries of 92% gold and 65% silver over 36 hours. The sample was a collection of random grabs and should not be considered representative of the mineralization hosted on the property. Previous and new metallurgical work on the oxide material was processed and analyzed by fire assay at Auro Met Labs located in Trujillo. Auro Met Labs is used by many of the miners and toll mills in the area.

The development of the property has been delayed since 2023, due to extensive damage to the access road as a result of El Niño flooding. New access roads to the underground workings have been completed and access to all gold showings are now complete. The camp has been upgraded, and the Company is now in a position to restart the exploration and development work.

The development work by Peruvian Metals at Palta Dorada will concentrate on the main San Juan vein, where surface exposure shows at least an 840-metre strike length. Work to date includes a 160-metre access drift on the lower 895-metre level. The opening of the shaft is estimated to be located on the 945-meter level. Much of the mineral around the opening of the shaft was extracted by the previous owners. The shaft also shows a distinct sharp transition between sulphide and oxide zones at the 920-meter level. The Company plans to drift into the vein where the sulphide mineral is exposed in the shaft.

The Company acquired full ownership of the property by acquiring a 50% interest from Rio Silver Inc. (‘Rio Silver’) in 2024. Peruvian Metals has completed the payments to Rio Silver totaling $250,000 (U.S.) with Rio Silver retaining a 3-per-cent net smelter return capped at $2 million (U.S.).

In December 2025, Peruvian Metals received 3,999,999 shares of Rio Silver Inc. (TSXV: RYO) for the sale of the Minas Maria Property. Rio Silver closed at 67 cents on January 20, 2026. The Company is pleased to be the single largest shareholder of Rio Silver.

‘New metallurgical results in both oxide and sulphide material highlight the gold potential at Palta Dorada. When Peruvian Metals acquired its initial interest in the property, gold was trading at the $1500 US per ounce level. Now that gold is trading near the $4600 US per ounce level, the economic viability has been greatly improved. Our provisional permits allow the Company to extract large bulk samples of both the oxide and sulphide material. In the short term, oxide material will be sold to local mills. We have successfully sold gold oxide material from Palta Dorada in 2022. Sulphide material will be transported to our Aguila Norte mill for processing where we will be able to produce an Au-Ag concentrate for sale. We will continue to review additional gold opportunities in Northern Peru by moving into the Peruvian gold space which is bolstered by the progress at Palta Dorada. The oxide gold material, along with similar oxide mineral at our Aguila Norte site, will be one of many catalysts and sources of material for a potential CIP circuit,’ commented Jeffrey Reeder, C.E.O. of the Company.

Qualified Person
Jeffrey Reeder, P. Geo., is the Qualified Person, as defined in National Instrument 43-101, who has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this release.

About Peruvian Metals Corp.
Peruvian Metals Corp. is a Canadian exploration and mineral processing company. Our business model is to acquire and develop precious and base metal properties in Peru and to provide clients with toll milling services and produce high-grade marketable concentrates from mineral purchases. The Aguila Norte processing plant has an environmental permit (‘IGAC’) from the Peruvian government which provides the Company with the ability to expand operations past the current 100 tonnes per day level.

ON BEHALF OF PERUVIAN METALS
CORP.
(Signed) Jeffrey Reeder

For additional information, contact:
Jeffrey Reeder, CEO
Telephone: (647) 302-3290
Email: Jeffrey.reeder@peruvianmetals.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains certain ‘Forward-Looking Statements’ within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. We use words such as ‘might’, ‘will’, ‘should’, ‘anticipate’, ‘plan’, ‘expect’, ‘believe’, ‘estimate’, ‘forecast’ and similar terminology to identify forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Such statements and information are based on assumptions, estimates, opinions, and analysis made by management in light of its experience, current conditions and its expectations of future developments as well as other factors which it believes to be reasonable and relevant. Forward-looking statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements and information and accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on such statements and information. Risks and uncertainties are more fully described in our annual and quarterly Management’s Discussion and Analysis and in other filings made by us with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and available at www.sedar.com. While the Company believes that the expectations expressed by such forward-looking statements and forward-looking information and the assumptions, estimates, opinions, and analysis underlying such expectations are reasonable, there can be no assurance that they will prove to be correct. In evaluating forward-looking statements and information, readers should carefully consider the various factors which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements and forward-looking information.

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