Castillo Copper Ltd (ASX: $CCZ) announcement highlights

Castillo Copper Ltd (ASX: $CCZ) has appointed geological consultant Global Ore Discovery to carry out imminent development activities at the Big One Deposit, located within the Company's NWQ Copper Project in Mt Isa's copper belt. The exploration campaign, in alignment with the Company's surface sampling campaign strategy, is expected to commence this week, subject to securing approvals and access. The Big One Deposit holds a JORC 2012 compliant inferred Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 2.1Mt @ 1.1% Cu for 21,886t contained copper metal, making it a key area of focus within the project. The Queensland government's commitment to inject funds into the region further emphasizes the timeliness of progressing development work at the Big One Deposit.

Chairman's perspective on the appointment and strategic direction

The Board is delighted to appoint Global Ore Discovery as the lead geological consultant to spearhead our exploration efforts at the Big One Deposit. The first priority is to complete a surface sampling campaign that should, once analyzed and reconciled with known geophysical anomalies, identify targets for test drilling that can potentially extend known mineralization. Having successfully unlocked value from selling the BHA West Project to RIM, the Board is optimistic that once the right partners are secured, this can be repeated with the remaining three non-core assets in NSW & Zambia.

Outlook and strategic focus

Castillo Copper's appointment of Global Ore Discovery and the imminent development activities at the Big One Deposit demonstrate the Company's commitment to advancing its exploration projects. The focus on reconciling geochemical and geophysical data to identify targets for test drilling aligns with the Company's objective to extend known mineralization and grow the known resource. The strategic approach to unlocking value from non-core assets through partnerships and joint ventures is proving successful, as evidenced by the increase in value of shares received in return for selling the BHA West Project. The Company's ambitions to replicate this performance with the remaining non-core assets in NSW & Zambia, coupled with the progress at the NWQ Copper Project, position Castillo Copper for potential future growth and value creation.