Narryer Metals is buying the Redhill Copper Project in southern Chile from 29Metals, gaining an existing 4.3Mt inferred resource and a much larger conceptual exploration target. The deal also brings a A$1 million strategic investment from 29Metals at a 54% premium to Narryer’s pre-announcement share price.
- 100% acquisition of Redhill Copper Project in southern Chile
- Existing inferred resource of 4.3Mt at 1.7% copper
- Conceptual exploration target of 16.1Mt to 48.9Mt
- A$1 million 29Metals placement at A$0.10 a share
- Three-stage drilling program planned at Cutters Cove
Narryer adds Chilean copper project with strategic vendor support
Narryer Metals Limited (ASX:NYM) is shifting its exploration centre of gravity towards copper, agreeing to acquire 100% of the Redhill Copper Project in southern Chile from 29Metals Limited (ASX:29M). The transaction gives Narryer an inferred JORC resource of 4.3 million tonnes grading 1.7% copper, 33 grams per tonne silver and 0.3 grams per tonne gold, alongside a far larger exploration target that remains untested at resource level.
The vendor is not simply exiting. 29Metals will subscribe for A$1 million of new Narryer shares at A$0.10 each, described by Narryer as an approximate 54% premium to its pre-announcement market price. The placement will fund further Redhill exploration and working capital, while 29Metals will also receive 20 million Narryer shares as upfront acquisition consideration. Both share parcels are subject to 12-month escrow.
Redhill combines an inferred resource with substantial exploration upside
The most consequential number in the announcement is not the existing resource but the scale of what Narryer hopes to define around it. Redhill’s Cutters Cove area carries an exploration target of 16.1Mt to 48.9Mt at 1.2% to 2.6% copper, 34 to 55g/t silver and a reported 1.8% to 3.3% copper equivalent. That estimate includes extensions to known veins, new vein systems and sedimentary-contact mineralisation.
That target is conceptual, not a mineral resource, and has not been subjected to detailed economic analysis. Narryer explicitly cautions that there has been insufficient exploration to estimate a resource and that further work may not achieve that outcome. The copper-equivalent figures are illustrative calculations based on assumed recoveries and metal prices, rather than recoverable copper grades.
Cutters Cove offers historic production and open mineralisation
Redhill is not a pure greenfields bet. Cutters Cove produced 212,000 tonnes of ore grading 1.72% copper between 1970 and 1975, and historic underground workings extend across several areas including Cristina, Cutter, Gorda and Ingleses. The current resource is spread across five deposits, with Cristina and Franceses providing the largest tonnage contributions.
Narryer says mineralisation remains open across a current strike length of roughly 5km. Previous drilling and channel sampling have identified high-grade sections, including 1m at 5.2% copper and 160g/t silver at Cutter, as well as broad copper zones at Franceses. Those results are exploration evidence rather than a mine plan, and several of the highlighted intersections are down-hole lengths rather than confirmed true widths.
Three-stage drilling plan points to the next valuation test
The company plans a staged program over three years, beginning with roughly 7,000 metres of diamond drilling across areas corresponding to 5Mt to 15Mt of the exploration target. Later stages may test an additional 5Mt to 20Mt each, with the sedimentary-hosted zones receiving particular attention because they could provide broader mineralised intervals than the narrower vein systems.
Near-term work is more modest: Narryer intends to progress drilling approvals, prepare for the next field season, and use short-hole drilling and structural mapping at Ingleses and Franceses to refine targets. The company also plans to review historic mining and metallurgical studies before advancing the project further.
Deal completion and resource milestone remain ahead
The acquisition remains conditional on customary regulatory conditions being satisfied by 31 December 2026. Narryer will owe a further A$1 million milestone payment, payable in cash or shares, if it delineates a 12Mt JORC resource grading at least 2% copper equivalent. Any milestone shares would require shareholder approval.
Dean Hildebrand, the Head of Investments at major Narryer shareholder Mimaro, is also due to join the board as a non-executive director once the acquisition completes. For shareholders, the immediate attraction is a funded entry into a historic copper district with vendor participation; the unresolved question is whether the conceptual scale implied by the exploration target can survive systematic drilling, permitting and economic scrutiny.
Bottom Line?
Narryer has secured a copper platform and a premium strategic investor, but the investment case now depends on converting a conceptual target into a compliant resource without outrunning the evidence.
Questions in the middle?
- Can the planned drilling convert a meaningful portion of the 16.1Mt to 48.9Mt exploration target into a JORC resource?
- Will regulatory approvals and the 2027 field program proceed on the timetable outlined by Narryer?
- How will Narryer fund later-stage drilling and any future development studies beyond the A$1 million placement?