Canadian Critical Minerals

Overview

Canadian Critical Minerals (TSXV:CCMI,OTCQB:RIINF) is a mineral exploration company with two advanced copper projects in tier 1 mining jurisdictions in Canada. The main project is the 100 percent owned Bull River Mine near Cranbrook, British Columbia, which has a mineral resource containing 135 million pounds (Mlbs) copper. CCMI also owns a 34 percent interest in the Thierry mine at Pickle Lake, Ontario, which has a mineral resource base containing 1.3 billion pounds (Blbs) copper, along with other metals, including nickel, silver, palladium, platinum and gold.

The near-term focus is restarting the Bull River mine and returning it to production. The project is currently under care and maintenance. CCMI is in the process of securing permits to restart the mine at its designed capacity of 700 tons per day (tpd). In the meantime, CCMI has begun selling pre-concentrated copper, gold and silver ore from the surface stockpiles at Bull River through an ore purchase agreement with New Afton. In April 2024, the company transported 362 wet metric tons (wmt) of mineralized material to New Afton and received a payment of US$72,445 for the shipment. The sale of stockpiles should provide near-term cash flow, which will be used to restart the Bull River mine. The current stockpile at Bull River is estimated at 180,000 tons (or 6.14 Mlbs copper equivalent) valued at approximately C$30 million.

The outlook for copper remains bullish. The transition towards green energy, electric vehicles and artificial intelligence (AI) are driving demand, causing the price of this industrial metal to surge towards a new record high. S&P Global estimates copper demand to double by 2035 to 50 million metric tons. On the other hand, supply is estimated to touch 30 million metric tons by 2036, according to Statista. This clearly implies a shortfall that is likely to support prices in the long term.

Canadian Critical Minerals offers several unique value propositions which make it attractive for investors looking to participate in the copper market. It has an assured revenue stream for the next 15 to 18 months from the sale of stockpiles to New Afton. It is working to secure permits to get the Bull River mine back into production. Bull River is a fully developed underground mine which can be restarted with minimal capital expenditure. Additionally, a 34 percent stake in the Thierry mine offers optionality to investors to participate in any exploration and development success of the project.

Company Highlights

• Canadian Critical Minerals is a Canada-based exploration and development company focused on the battery and critical minerals space.
• Two advanced Copper projects in Canada – the 100 percent owned Bull River mine in British Columbia and a 30 percent interest in the Thierry mine in Ontario which is owned by Cuprum Corp.
• Focused on restarting the past-producing Bull River mine, currently under care and maintenance.
• The mine has a current surface stockpile, which is generating revenue for the company, estimated at 180,000 tons (or 6.14 Mlb copper equivalent), valued at ~C$30 million.
• The Thierry Project is a past-producing copper and nickel mine with excellent infrastructure and year-round access. The current mineral resource estimate indicates 1.3 billion pounds of copper.
• Thierry mine has a PEA study indicating after-tax NPV @6 percent of C$488 million with an IRR of 36 percent.
• Given its 34 percent interest in Thierry mine, CCMI can benefit from any positive assay results from the drilling program at Thierry mine completed last year and future exploration.
• Copper remains in a long-term secular bull market. The demand for copper is forecast to exceed the current supply. CCMI, with its two advanced copper projects, is well positioned to benefit from future growth opportunities.