Mar. 19 at 7:13 PM
$NRED.CSE
Copper M&A has become one of the biggest mining themes of 2024-2026. Majors are no longer waiting to discover everything themselves. They are buying what juniors already control
Recent deals show the pattern:
2023 -
$BHP / Lundin moved on Filo del Sol for
$3.1B at the PEA / early-resource stage
2024 - BHP made a
$49B bid for Anglo American, and it was rejected
2024 -
$RIO Rio Tinto bought Arcadium Lithium for
$6.7B
2023 -
$HBM Hudbay bought Copper Mountain for
$439M
That last one matters because Copper Mountain sits beside this Quesnel Arc setup. It shows the district is already on the radar of strategic buyers
The logic after the failed Anglo bid looks simple: buy earlier, buy cheaper, lock in future copper before assets get re-rated. Wood Mackenzie says 70% of copper resources expected to enter supply in 2025-2035 are currently in junior hands. That is why early-stage copper optionality matters now
