Record Margins, Shrinking Supply: Why Capital Is Chasing Copper Right Now

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Issued on behalf of Salazar Resources Ltd.

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Equity-Insider.com News Commentary — The International Energy Agency confirmed in March that copper prices have blown past $13,000 per metric ton^[1]. That alone would be notable, but the real story is what happened on the supply side: smelter processing fees fell to zero, meaning refiners are now working for free just to keep the lights on. ING Group puts the 2026 refined copper deficit at 600,000 tons, the widest gap in two decades, as mine disruptions and tariff-driven stockpiling continue to drain inventories outside the United States^[2]. In that environment, capital is rotating toward producers who can actually deliver pounds into a tight market, and five names sit at the center of that rotation: Salazar Resources (TSXV: SRL) (OTCQB: SRLZF), Ero Copper (NYSE: ERO) (TSX: ERO), Capstone Copper (TSX: CS) (OTCPK: CSCCF), Taseko Mines (NYSE-A: TGB) (TSX: TKO), and Hudbay Minerals (NYSE: HBM) (TSX: HBM).

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Fastmarkets analysts warn that the concentrate squeeze is not easing; negative treatment charges are forcing further smelter cuts, which only tightens refined supply into a market that is already short^[3]. Skillings Mining Intelligence calls this the deepest structural deficit in a generation, with AI data center buildouts and rising global defense budgets creating a demand floor that rewards producers with near-term production catalysts over speculative exploration stories^[4].

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Salazar Resources (TSXV: SRL) (OTCQB: SRLZF) has identified a high-priority copper-gold porphyry target at its wholly owned Monja Project in Ecuador. Surface mapping defined a two-kilometer by one-kilometer mineralized core within a metallogenic belt that already hosts multiple significant copper deposits in southern Ecuador. The 9,088-hectare concession benefits from year-round exploration access and sits near Sunstone Metals’ Bramaderos porphyry project.

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Rock chip sampling at Monja returned grades worth a closer look. The best sample came in at 4.77% copper, 1.12 g/t gold, 19.5 g/t silver, and 74 ppm molybdenum. Field crews also documented hydrothermal breccias with pyrite-chalcopyrite matrix, quartz-sulphide stockwork veining, and traces of bornite, all recognized indicators of porphyry fertility at depth.

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“We are very pleased to be advancing our 100%-owned Monja concession,” said Fredy Salazar, CEO of Salazar Resources. “The identification of a complete copper-gold porphyry system through our own fieldwork highlights the strength of Salazar’s exploration team.”

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Monja is not the only project gaining ground. Salazar recently completed the acquisition of four copper-gold exploration properties from Silvercorp Metals (NYSE-A: SVM) (TSX: SVM), taking full ownership of the Santiago, Pijilí, Tarqui, and Quimi projects. Silvercorp transferred its subsidiary interests in exchange for a 1.5% net smelter return royalty on each property. At Santiago, historical drilling by Newmont intersected 323 metres grading 0.25% copper and 0.40 g/t gold. Tarqui and Quimi sit within the Zamora Metallogenic Belt alongside the producing Mirador Mine and Fruta del Norte Mine.

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On the development side, Salazar holds a 25% carried interest in the El Domo copper-gold mine, where Silvercorp is funding construction on a US$284 million budget with production targeted for July 1, 2027. Over 2.6 million cubic metres of material have been moved, a 600-bed construction camp is now operational, and an improved flowsheet delivered a 5.4% increase in copper recovery and a 6.2% increase in gold recovery over the original feasibility design.