Atico Reports Multiple High-Grade Intercepts up to 8.70m of 11.44% Cu, 14.65 g/t Au and 6.16m of 13.32% Cu, 2.79 g/t Au and Continues to Extend the Ore Body at El Roble Mine in Colombia
None
The most recent news, dated November 24, 2025, announces multiple high-grade copper and gold intercepts from the ongoing underground drilling program at its operating El Roble Mine in Colombia. Key highlights include intercepts of 8.70 meters of 11.44% Copper (Cu) and 14.65 g/t Gold (Au), and 6.16 meters of 13.32% Cu and 2.79 g/t Au. The company states that these results extend the main ore bodies and have discovered a new sulfide body adjacent to the main one. The CEO expressed increased confidence that additional high-grade mineralization exists, with the deposit remaining open at depth and along strike.
To understand the impact of these drill results, we must analyze the company's performance over the past year. Atico has been navigating a period of significant distress and transformation.
The year began with the company losing a major royalty arbitration dispute with the Colombian Government on March 10, 2025, resulting in a liability of approximately $29 million USD. This news was catastrophic, causing the stock to collapse from $0.14 to a low of $0.03.
Following this, the company's sole producing asset, the El Roble mine, reported a series of weak quarters. Q1 2025 production (announced May 6) was down significantly due to "challenging rock quality conditions," with copper grades falling 22% year-over-year. Q2 production (announced August 5) was also poor, with copper production and grades down 42% and 33% year-over-year, respectively. Most recently, Q3 production (announced October 21) continued this trend, with copper production down 23% year-over-year. Management attributed the Q3 results to a revised mine plan to process lower-grade material that became economic due to higher metal prices.
This operational weakness culminated in very poor Q3 financial results released on November 18, 2025. The company reported a net loss of $4.1 million and a staggering All-in Sustaining Cost (AISC) of $4.87 per pound of copper. While the loss was explained by a delayed concentrate shipment pushing sales into Q4, the high costs and persistent production issues are a major concern. The company continues to operate with a significant working capital deficit of $13.5 million.
In this context, the November 24 drill results are highly material and positive. The primary risk at El Roble has been its declining grades, high costs, and a short mine life (previously stated to end in Q1 2027). The reported intercepts are exceptionally high-grade and directly address these concerns. They provide tangible evidence that the mine's life could be extended with high-grade, profitable ore. This news offers a crucial counter-narrative to the recent string of poor operational and financial reports, suggesting a path to improved profitability and sustainability for their main cash-flowing asset.
While the results do not solve the immediate and severe balance sheet risks, they are a critical first step in demonstrating that the underlying asset can perform better than it has throughout 2025. This improves the long-term outlook and may restore some investor confidence that was shattered by the operational struggles and dire financials.
Atico Mining is a Canadian-based copper and gold producer. Its primary asset is a 90% interest in the producing El Roble mine in Colombia, a high-grade underground volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit. El Roble is the company's sole source of revenue. Atico's key growth asset is the La Plata project in Ecuador, a high-grade gold-copper VMS development project which is currently in the final stages of permitting.