Rinehart expands South America exposure with 'bullish' copper move in Titan deal

Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart has shown a "bullish" attitude to copper in Ecuador, despite the country's recent instability, via a new deal with Titan Minerals Ltd., said Melanie Leighton, CEO of the exploration company.

Titan inked a term sheet April 18 granting Hanrine Ecuadorian Exploration and Mining SA, a subsidiary of Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting Pty. Ltd., the option to acquire up to 80% of the Linderos copper project in southern Ecuador by spending up to $120 million on the development.

The move comes after Hanrine signed a commercial agreement April 4 with Ecuadorian state-owned miner Empresa Nacional Minera (Enami EP), whereby the Hancock subsidiary will also spend $120 million to explore 28,276 hectares across six concessions in the Imbabura province.

Melanie Leighton, CEO of Titan Minerals. Source: Titan Minerals.

"They've been very active in South America," Leighton told an April 19 investor webinar on Hanrine's strategy. "In Ecuador, they're after the copper; [in] other parts of South America, it looks like rare earths and other critical metals of any type.

"Mrs. Rinehart has clearly got her eyes on the future and being a part of that, so it's great that she's been a first mover in Ecuador, and is really bullish about copper in Ecuador."

This month Hancock has taken an interest in two of the main rare earths producers outside China, acquiring 5.3% of Nevada-based MP Materials Corp. and 5.82% of Australia's Lynas Rare Earths Ltd. Last year Rinehart also bought 6.4% of Brazilian Rare Earths Ltd. in the Australian Securities Exchange's largest metals and mining initial public offering in 2023.

Social unrest in Ecuador

Ecuador has grappled with social unrest since January, when the government reinforced security at mines, ports and power as it struggled to control a crime wave.

Leighton sees President Daniel Noboa, who took office in November 2023, as being "very proactive and very vocal about stamping out ... illegal mining or potential drug trafficking that has been an issue and dogged Ecuador in the past."

The country's southern region where Titan operates is "quiet" and "business as usual," Leighton said.

Ecuador holds about 20 undiscovered Tier 1 copper porphyry discoveries, according to Leighton's analysis of US Geological Survey estimates. Ecuador's government now wants its "immature" mining sector to account for up to 12% of the country's GDP in the "coming 15 years or so" from the 1% to 2% that the Fruta del Norte and Mirador copper mines currently represent, the CEO said. Both mines started in 2019.

Thus with government support and Hanrine's established in-country team, Titan is confident of Linderos progressing at a "rapid rate," Leighton said.

With Hanrine's funding in place for Linderos, Titan will now focus on the development-ready Dynasty project, its most advanced asset 20 km east of Linderos in the Loja province. Dynasty has 3.1 million ounces of gold and 22 million ounces of silver in indicated and inferred resources. A resource update on the project is due later this quarter, with a pre-scoping study expected in the third quarter.

Titan is also in advanced talks with strategic partners for the Copper Duke project 24 km east of Dynasty and expects more partnerships and project-level investments for its three other large-scale copper projects in southern Ecuador following the Hanrine deal, Leighton said.

Hancock declined to comment for this story.