Kobrea Exploration has taken another step toward consolidating its rights over the seven copper projects that make up its portfolio in Malargüe and that, since early August, have been included in the exploration alliance signed with BHP Metals Exploration. The company completed a US$500,000 cash payment and issued 300,000 common shares as part of the option agreement that allows it to acquire up to 100% of these properties.
By Panorama Minero
The transaction brings renewed attention to the portfolio of assets that currently links BHP with Mendoza. The package comprises seven projects covering a total area of 733 km² in southwestern Mendoza, although they are at different stages of exploration. While El Perdido has already completed its first drilling campaign, other areas within the portfolio remain at the target generation and advancement stages.
The option agreement was signed by Kobrea on August 14, 2024, granting it the exclusive right to acquire 100% of the seven projects. To complete the transaction, the company must make payments totaling US$6.76 million and issue 3.5 million common shares over a five-year period. The original owners, a Mendoza-based mining company, will also retain a 1.5% net smelter returns royalty.
The Portfolio Through Which BHP Entered Mendoza
The portfolio took on a new dimension on August 5, when Kobrea announced the addition of BHP Metals Exploration as a partner to jointly explore the seven projects. The agreement establishes an initial project generation stage and leaves open a subsequent phase in which BHP may select up to four assets to advance individually through earn-in agreements.
During the first two years, BHP will make an initial payment of US$3 million and fund a project generation program with a minimum investment of US$5 million. Kobrea will remain the operator of the exploration activities, under the supervision of a management committee comprising representatives from both companies.
The composition of the portfolio will be central to this stage. Kobrea reported that numerous copper porphyry targets have been identified across the properties, featuring multi-kilometre hydrothermal alteration footprints, copper geochemical anomalies with gold and molybdenum, stockwork quartz veining, hydrothermal breccias, and granodioritic to dioritic porphyry intrusions.
However, the projects do not all start from the same level of information. Exploration carried out by Kobrea over the past two years has advanced some targets to the drilling stage, while others remain subject to surface studies, geophysics and environmental work required to prepare future campaigns.
El Perdido, the Most Advanced Asset
El Perdido currently represents the most advanced asset within the portfolio. During the 2025-2026 season, Kobrea completed six diamond drill holes totaling 2,358 metres, making it the first project within the Malargüe Western Mining District to reach the drilling stage.
The campaign was preceded by geological mapping, surface geochemistry, spectral studies and geophysical programs used to define the initial drill targets. It also required the construction of access roads and high-altitude infrastructure, as well as the establishment of the camp from which drilling activities were carried out.
The results confirmed the presence of a copper-gold-molybdenum-silver porphyry system. Drill holes intersected zones of potassic and phyllic alteration, stockwork quartz veining and mineralization associated mainly with pyrite and chalcopyrite. Kobrea also reported that the intensity of hydrothermal alteration and the presence of sulphides increase with depth, while the main core of the system may not yet have been reached.
The Projects Following El Perdido
The remainder of the portfolio is at earlier stages of exploration. Among the progress reported by Kobrea is El Destino, where the company is working to generate the information required to prepare for future drilling.
At El Destino, the company has advanced environmental baseline studies and an airborne magnetic survey as part of planning for the next stages of exploration. This work forms part of the target definition and advancement process that Kobrea has been carrying out across the district’s properties.
The portfolio also includes other targets where Kobrea has identified evidence consistent with copper and copper-gold porphyry systems. The information available in the company releases considered for this article does not allow the individual status of each of these assets to be established with the same level of detail, although Kobrea reports hydrothermal alteration, geochemical anomalies, quartz stockworks, breccias and porphyry intrusions across the broader portfolio.
From Seven Projects to a Potential Selection of Four
The initial stage of the agreement with BHP will be aimed precisely at generating additional information across this portfolio. Once the initial two-year period has been completed, BHP will be able to select up to four projects to advance through individual earn-in agreements.
For each selected project, BHP will have the option to acquire a 75% interest by funding at least US$40 million in exploration over eight years. Once those conditions have been met, the two companies will form a joint venture in which BHP will hold 75% and Kobrea 25%.
As this exploration stage begins, Kobrea is simultaneously continuing the contractual process to consolidate its interest in the properties. The US$500,000 payment and issuance of 300,000 shares form part of its path toward acquiring 100% of the seven-project portfolio that now serves as the foundation of its alliance with BHP in Mendoza.
