China's Copper Strip Exports Drop in August, Year-to-Date Up 16.47%

Cobre (ASX:CBE) completed its first deep diamond hole since 2021 at the Sierra Atacama copper project in Antofagasta, Chile. Hole SA_CBR_DD001 reached 986.9 metres and intersected 3.57 metres of estimated 4% chalcopyrite and 2% pyrite mineralisation from 784.90 to 788.47 metres, plus 0.60 metres of about 6% chalcopyrite and 3% pyrite in magnetite breccia from 798.20 to 798.80 metres. Cobre is advancing a roughly 40,000-metre program, with 11 reverse-circulation holes done and four rigs operating, to convert the NI 43-101 resource of 109.6 million tonnes at 0.67% copper into a JORC estimate; the asset delivered first positive cash flow on 1 July 2026.

Mt Malcolm Mines (ASX:M2M) has opened a new copper-gold exploration corridor in Western Australia. The company identified four copper-gold prospects across targets including Braiser, where surface rock-chip samples returned copper grades up to 1.37% and gold up to 0.44 g/t. The new corridor broadens the project's mineralisation styles and search space. Mt Malcolm plans systematic surface sampling and follow-up drilling to test the anomalies and further assess copper-gold potential.

Caravel Minerals (ASX:CVV) is advancing its Caravel copper project in Western Australia, keeping the definitive feasibility study on track for September 2026. The updated ore reserve stands at 597 million tonnes at 0.24% copper, containing 1.42 million tonnes of copper. Mining Plus completed the mining study in July, supporting a conventional open-pit operation that would use a tier-one contractor for early pre-strip before transitioning to owner mining. Caravel signed a non-binding offtake term sheet with Adani's Kutch Copper covering up to 100% of copper concentrate, and secured A$30 million from Regal plus up to US$220 million in export-credit debt interest.