Summary of Coda Minerals Investment Thesis
This document presents a strong investment case for Coda Minerals, centered around a potentially game-changing chloride leaching technology for copper adn silver extraction. Here’s a breakdown of the key takeaways:
Core Technology & Advantage:
Chloride Leaching: Coda is leveraging chloride leaching, a proven technology in other industries, to achieve 95% copper recovery – significantly higher then the industry standard 80% from flotation. This translates to improved economics. Geological Consistency: The orebody shows limited geochemical variability, simplifying processing and reducing risk.
Financial Highlights:
Strong NPV & IRR: The project boasts a post-tax NPV of AUD $855 million with a 30% IRR using conservative commodity pricing. this scales to AUD $1.2 billion NPV at current spot prices.
Reduced Capex: The new processing flowsheet reduces total capital expenditure by AUD $74 million by eliminating complex and costly components like flotation circuits and oxygen plants.
De-risking & Optionality:
Commodity focus: The project now primarily focuses on copper and silver, offering exposure to liquid, bankable markets, rather than relying on the more volatile cobalt market. However, AUD $1.5 billion in potential cobalt upside remains for future consideration.
Staged development: A potential stage-one open-pit operation (250,000 tons of copper equivalent) offers a lower-risk, faster path to cash flow and reduces upfront capital requirements.
Mine Reoptimization: the existing mine plan was designed for a different processing method. Reoptimizing the mine plan for chloride leaching could further improve tonnage and grade selection.
Resource Expansion: The orebody is laterally extensive, offering meaningful potential for resource expansion through continued exploration.
Location & Management:
Favorable Jurisdiction: Located in South Australia,near BHP’s Carrapateena project,providing access to established infrastructure,mining expertise,and a stable regulatory environment.
Experienced Team: The management team has a strong track record in mineral economics and feasibility studies, emphasizing systematic risk management.
In essence, Coda minerals presents an opportunity to invest in a potentially highly profitable copper/silver project with a technological edge, reduced risk, and a clear pathway to value creation. The company is systematically progressing towards a prefeasibility study with multiple catalysts that could drive further value.
