Gunnison Copper Project PEA Technical Report Reporting Post-Tax NPV8 of ~US$2.0 Billion and IRR of 22.5% is now Filed
NEWS RELEASE
Gunnison Copper Project PEA Technical Report Reporting Post-Tax NPV8 of
~US$2.0 Billion and IRR of 22.5% is now Filed
March 31, 2026
Gunnison Copper Corp. (TSX: GCU) (OTCQB: GCUMF) (FSE: 3XS0) (“Gunnison” or the “Company”) has
filed the National Instrument 43-101 technical report (the “Technical Report”) with an effective date of
March 18, 2026 for the updated Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA” or “2026 PEA”) on its 100%-
owned Gunnison Copper Project located in the Cochise Mining District, Arizona, United States (the
“Project”). The Technical Report is available on SEDAR+ ( www.sedarplus.ca) under the Company’s issuer
profile and on the Company’s website. All dollar amounts are in US dollars and "tons" refer to U.S. short tons
(1 short ton equals approximately 0.91 metric tonnes or 2000 lbs).
Per the Company’s press release dated February 25, 2026, the PEA outlines a large-scale, long-life copper
project utilizing open-pit mining and heap leach SXEW processing to produce copper cathode onsite for an
impactful contribution to refined copper supply in the United States. The Project has robust economics,
including an after-tax NPV8 of approximately US$2.0 billion, an internal rate of return of 22.5%, and a
payback period of 3.9 years at a base case copper price of $4.60/lb.
Highlights:
Conventional open pit, heap leach, SX/EW operation producing 99.999% pure copper cathode
intended to supply United States energy, data center, manufacturing, and defense supply chains
Straightforward mine plan consists primarily of oxide copper mineralized material with a life of
mine material placed on the leach pad of 541 million tons at 0.43% total copper grade, including
25 million tons at 0.85% total copper grade from the Strong & Harris satellite deposit
Primary crushing on all, and secondary crushing on some material to improve copper recoveries
Average annual copper cathode production of 174 million pounds (“lbs”) (87 thousand tons) for the
first 15 years; enough to potentially supply over 11% of the current United States domestic refined
copper metal production from mineralized material1. Total copper produced 3.2 billion lbs over a
21 year mine life.
Cash costs of $1.70, Sustaining Cash Costs of $2.00, and All-In Sustaining Cash Costs of $2.05
per pound of copper produced are in the lower half of the cost curve for copper mines globally
Robust project economics in a variety of copper price environments, including $4.60/lb base case:
Copper Price Assumptions $4.60/lb Cu Consensus $5.75/lb Cu SPOT2
Net Present Value @ 8% (after-tax) $M 1,959 3,227
Internal Rate of return (after-tax) % 22.5% 31.8%
Payback Period # years 3.9 2.6
Av Annual Free Cash Flow (Y1-Y15) $M 366 514
1 Based on USGS reported 2025 primary refined copper production of 790Ktons; 2 COMEX spot price at Feb 22, 2026
2
Significant economic impact to Cochise County, State of Arizona, and the United States nationally
through creation of over 112,744 job years, $558 million in state and local county taxes, $1.43
billion in federal taxes, and $21.9 billion in total economic output, based on an Independent
Economic Impact Study conducted by the Eller Partnerships Office at the University of Arizona.
The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative
geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized
as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the conclusions reached in the PEA will be realized. Mineral
resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
Table 1: Key Valuation Metrics at $4.60/lb Copper Price Base Case
Valuation Metrics (Unlevered) Unit 2026 PEA
Net Present Value @ 8% (after-tax) $ millions 1,959
Net Present Value @ 10% (after-tax) $ millions 1,419
Internal Rate of return (after-tax) % 22.5%
Payback Period # years 3.9
EBITDA1 (annual average Y1-Y15) $ millions 486
EBITDA1 (annual average Y1-Y21) $ millions 435
Free Cash Flow1 (annual average Y1-Y15) $ millions 366
Free Cash Flow1 (annual average Y1-Y21) $ millions 329
1. Non-IFRS financial measure; see “Non-IFRS Financial Measures”.
Table 2: Key Project Metrics
Project Metrics Unit 2026 PEA
Construction Period # months 24
Life of Mine # years 21
Strip Ratio Waste : Feed 2.56
Mineralized Material Mined millions tons 641
Limestone Mined millions tons 133
Alluvium-Gravel waste millions tons 1,007
Hard-Rock waste millions tons 501
Copper Grade placed on Heap % CuT 0.43%
Average Annual Crusher Throughput (Max) millions tons 40
Recoveries % CuT 68%
Oxide / Enriched Recoveries % CuTSol 90.2%
Primary Sulfide Recoveries (years 10 to 21) % CuSu 59.9%
Recovered Copper Cathode millions lbs 3,187
Average Annual Copper Production (years 1-15) millions lbs 174
Initial Capital (including contingency) $ millions 1,556
Initial Capital Excluding Acid Plant $ millions 1,273
Capital Intensity1 $/ton Cu Capacity 17,609
Capital Intensity Excluding Acid Plant $/ton Cu Capacity 14,411
Profitability Ratio $/ton Cu Capacity 1.26
Expansion Capital (including contingency) $ millions 682
Sustaining Capital2 $ millions 587
Cash Cost (C1)3 $/lb Cu 1.70
Sustaining Cash Cost4 $/lb Cu 2.00
All-In Sustaining Cash Cost5 $/lb Cu 2.05
3
1. Capital intensities are calculated as initial capital, divided by maximum annual copper cathode plant capacity of
88.3 Ktons. Expansion capital is expenditures to either build new facilities, for example the cement plant built in
years 4-5, or to expand the capacity of initial facilities, for example increased capacity of leach pad
2. Sustaining Capital are expenditures to maintain initial facilities. Includes $186 million in deferred stripping costs.
Includes sustaining capital for both the copper plant and the cement plant
3. Cash Cost includes mine operating, crushing and leaching, process plant operating, and general and
administrative costs ("G&A")
4. Sustaining Cost includes Cash Cost, Sustaining Capex, Deferred Stripping, and Royalties
5. All-In Sustaining Cost (AISC) includes Sustaining Cost, Property Taxes, Severance Taxes, and Closure Costs. It
excludes expansion and initial capital, and income taxes
Table 3: Report Sensitivities to the Copper Price
Copper Price
Sensitivities Units $4.25/lb $4.60/lb $5.00/lb $5.50/lb $6.00/lb $6.50/lb $7.00/lb
NPV8 M$ 1,566 1,959 2,403 2,953 3,500 4,043 4,586
IRR % 19.55% 22.51% 25.81% 29.84% 33.73% 37.47% 41.12%
Project Payback years 5.2 3.9 3.3 2.8 2.5 2.2 2.0
LOM Cu Gross
Revenue M$ 13,364,882 14,484,547 15,764,165 17,363,687 18,963,209 20,562,731 22,162,253
LOM EBITDA M$ 13,520,441 14,588,504 15,808,666 17,333,310 18,857,478 20,381,280 21,904,794
FCF - Unlevered
(post-tax) M$ 9,031,003 9,867,503 10,818,120 12,005,261 13,192,045 14,378,553 15,564,846
Mineral Resource Estimate
The Gunnison Deposit Mineral Resources are classified in order of increasing geological and quantitative
confidence into Inferred, Indicated, and Measured categories in accordance with the “CIM Definition
Standards – For Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves” and therefore Canadian National Instrument 43-
101.
Table 4: Combined Oxide, Transitional, and Sulfide Resources
Total Resources (Oxide + Transitional + Sulfide)
Resource Class
Short Tons
(millions)
Total Cu
(%)
Cu Pounds
(millions)
Measured 191.5 0.37 1,423
Indicated 654.5 0.31 3,768
Measured + Indicated 846.1 0.33 5,190
Inferred 94.0 0.21 397
Notes:
1. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
2. Mineral Resources are reported within an optimized pit at a 0.05% total copper cut-off for oxide and
transition material, and 0.1% cut-off for sulfide.
3. Rounding may result in apparent discrepancies between tons, grade, and contained metal content.
4. The Effective Date of the Mineral Resource estimate is January 23, 2026.
4
The Strong & Harris project resources are summarized in
Table Error! No text of specified style in document.-1.
Table Error! No text of specified style in document.-1: Strong & Harris Mineral Resources
(0.07% Cu cutoff)
Classification
Short
Tons
(millions)
% Cu %
CuOx % Zn oz Ag/
ton
Cu lbs
(millions)
CuOx lbs
(millions)
Zn lbs
(millions)
Ag oz
(millions)
Inferred 76.070 0.49 0.32 0.56 0.12 740.0 482.691 855.707 8.971
1. The Effective Date of the mineral resources is January 23, 2026.
2. The project mineral resources are shown in bold and are comprised of all model blocks at a 0.07%
Cu cutoff that lie within optimized resource pits.
3. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
4. The estimate of mineral resources may be materially affected by geology, environmental, permitting,
legal, title, taxation, sociopolitical, marketing, or other relevant issues.
5. Rounding as required by reporting guidelines may result in apparent discrepancies between tons,
grade, and contained metal content.
The estimate of mineral resources may be materially affected by geology, environmental, permitting, legal,
title, taxation, sociopolitical, marketing, or other relevant issues. Potential risk factors include changes in
metal prices, increases in operating costs, fluctuations in labor costs and availability, availability of
investment capital, infrastructure failures, changes in government regulations, community engagement and
socio-economic community relations, civil disobedience and protest, permitting and legal challenges, and
general environmental concerns. However, the author is not aware of any such factors that may materially
affect the Gunnison or Strong & Harris mineral resources as of the date of the Report. The impact of taxation
was taken into consideration when establishing cut-off grade.
The Mineral Resources presented herein are inclusive of the economic analysis presented in the report
which therefore represents a subset of the Mineral Resources under slightly different economic inputs, most
notably lower copper price.
Updated Preliminary Economic Assessment Summary
The Project is in Cochise County, Arizona, approximately 65 miles east of Tucson and is held or controlled
100% by GCC. GCC has a successful track record of permitting and community relations. This, along with
the fact that the Gunnison open pit has no federal permitting nexus, on flat ground with no identified
endangered or threatened species or habitat, and no historical, archaeological, or Native American artefacts
identified in prior studies, indicates the Company's prior permitting track record can be maintained.
Financial Model – Key Inputs
2
Financial Model – Key Inputs
3
Financial Model – Cash Flows by Year
TECHNICAL REPORT AND QUALIFIED PERSONS
The Technical Report was prepared under the supervision of John Woodson, PE, SME-RM, of M3 Engineering
& Technology Corporation, Tucson, Arizona, who is a Qualified Person that is independent of the Company.
The Technical Report also received contributions from the following additional Qualified Persons, who are
also independent of the Company:
Mr. John Woodson, of M3 Engineering & Technology Corporation, Tucson, Arizona (capital and
operating costs, and economic analysis).
Mr. Jeffrey Bickel of RESPEC of Reno, Nevada (geology and mineral resource).
Mr. Jacob Richey, of IMC of Tucson, Arizona (mining methods).
Mr. Tom Ryan, of CNI of Tucson, Arizona (pit slope angles)
Dr. Terence P. McNulty of T.P. McNulty & Associates of Tucson, Arizona (metallurgy).
Dr. Abyl Sydykov of M3 Engineering & Technology Corporation, Tucson, Arizona (mineral recovery)
Mr. R. Douglas Bartlett, of Clear Creek and Associates of Phoenix, Arizona (hydrology, mining
method, permitting and environment).
Mr. Tyler Peck, of Burgex Mining Consultants, Sandy, Utah (Limestone and cement)
Each of these Qualified Persons has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this
news release that is relevant to their area of responsibility and verified the data underlying such technical
information.
ABOUT GUNNISON COPPER
Gunnison Copper Corp. is a multi-asset pure-play copper developer and producer that controls the Cochise
Mining District (the district), containing 12 known deposits within an 8 km economic radius, in the Southern
Arizona Copper Belt.
Its flagship asset, the Gunnison Copper Project, has a Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource containing
over 846.1 million tons with a total copper grade of 0.33% (Measured Mineral Resource of 191.5 million tons
at 0.37% and Indicated Mineral Resource of 654.5 million tons at 0.31%), and a preliminary economic
assessment ("PEA") yielding robust economics including an NPV8% of $2 billion, IRR of 23%, and payback
period of 3.9 years. It is being developed as a conventional operation with open pit mining, heap leach, and
SX/EW refinery to produce finished copper cathode on-site with direct rail link.
The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative
geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized
as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the conclusions reached in the PEA will be realized. Mineral
Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
In addition, Gunnison's Johnson Camp Asset, which is now in production, is fully funded by Nuton LLC, a Rio
Tinto Venture, with a production capacity of up to 25 million lbs of finished copper cathode annually.
Other significant deposits controlled by Gunnison in the district, with potential to be economic satellite
feeder deposits for Gunnison Project infrastructure, include South Star, and eight other deposits.
For more information on the Company, please visit our website at www.GunnisonCopper.com.