Edge Copper unveils PEA results for Arizona project
Edge Copper Corp. [EDCU-TSXV] has announced positive results from a NI 43-101-compliant preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for its 100%-owned Zonia Copper Project in Arizona. The PEA envisions an open pit mining and heap leach solvent extraction, electrowinning (SX-EW) processing operation with initial capital costs pegged at $44.3 million, plus $81.2 million in contingency for a total of $524.5 million.
Mining operations are based on a large-scale conventional drill, blast, load and haul open pt mining methods. A total of 354 million tons of material is expected to be mined, consisting of 218 million tons of resource and 136 million tons of waste, for an average strip ratio of 0.6 (waste to resource). With an average mined copper grade of 0.25% total contained copper mined is expected to be 1.1 billion pounds of copper.
The SX-EW circuit consists of two extraction stages to recover copper from the leach solution and a single strip stage to produce electrowinning feed. The EW circuit is designed to produce London Metal Exchange grade A cathodes on site with the commitment to contribute a refined copper supply in the U.S.A. The leach SX/EW circuit is designed as a close-circuit, zero-discharge facility with all solutions being recirculated within the process.
The company believes that the potential exists to increase the 10-year mine life by improving recoveries by crushing finer and increasing resources through continued exploration. Additional metallurgical testwork and exploration is currently underway and is planned through 2026.
The PEA is based on an indicated resource of 194 million tons of grade 0.25% copper or 964 million pounds. On top of that is an inferred resource of 86 million tons of grade 0.20% copper or 341 million pounds.
The company said it intends to incorporate the drill results from a 54,000-foot drill program that commenced in January, 2026, into an updated mineral resource estimate in the fourth quarte of 2026. Concurrently, the company will continue to advance metallurgical testwork, engineering, geotechnical and hydrogeological testing and environmental and baseline monitoring. The company then plans to complete a pre-feasibility study in 2027.
Edge Copper, formerly Plata Latina Minerals Corp., announced the completion of the acquisition of the Zonia Copper project from World Copper Ltd. [WCU-TSXV, WCUFF-OTCQB, 7LY0-FSE] in October, 2025. Under the transaction, World Copper received $10.5 million in cash and 37.8 million Edge Copper shares on a post consolidated basis (amounting to a 31.3% stake in Edge Copper).
“Zonia represents a remarkable opportunity to apply our technical expertise and moder mining approaches to a project with strong fundamentals,’’ said Edge Copper Chair and CEO Gil Clausen. “With exceptional near-term exploration potential and development upside, existing infrastructure, private land tenure and a supportive regulatory environment, our team sees potential to advance Zonia toward development efficiently and responsibly.’’
On Friday, Edge Copper shares were unchanged at 93.5 cents. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $1.00 and $0.007.