Copper Giant Resources Corp. (TSX Venture Exchange: CGNT) (OTCQB: LBCMF) (Frankfurt: 29H0) has signed a binding term sheet for a $30,999,996 CAD non-brokered private placement led by Denarius Metals Corp. (Cboe Canada: DMET) (OTCQX: DNRSF), alongside a separate 10-year offtake agreement with commodities trader Trafigura covering copper and molybdenum concentrate from Copper Giant’s Mocoa Project in the Putumayo department of southern Colombia. Both companies announced the transactions on August 6, 2026.

Under the financing, Copper Giant will issue 43,055,550 common shares at $0.72 CAD per share. Denarius Metals is subscribing for 40,000,000 of those shares for $28.8 million CAD, giving it a 15.6% equity interest in Copper Giant on closing. Frank Giustra, already a significant shareholder in Copper Giant, is subscribing for 2,777,775 shares, resulting in a 15.8% stake on a partially diluted basis, while Ian Harris, Copper Giant’s president and chief executive officer, is subscribing for 277,775 shares. On closing, Copper Giant will have 256,429,248 common shares issued and outstanding. Because Giustra and Harris are insiders, their participation is classified as a related-party transaction under Multilateral Instrument 61-101, though Copper Giant said it expects the participation to be exempt from that instrument’s formal-valuation and minority-approval requirements, as the value of the insiders’ subscriptions is not expected to exceed 25% of the company’s market capitalization. Denarius, Giustra and Harris have each agreed to two-year lock-up arrangements, and the financing is expected to close on or about August 21, 2026.

A separate offtake, and a related financing at Denarius

Separately, Trafigura has agreed to purchase 20% of the copper concentrate and 20% of the molybdenum concentrate produced at Mocoa for 10 years from the start of commercial production, under arm’s-length market terms that include minimum delivered volumes; Trafigura may elect to extend the term if those minimums are not met.

“This transaction changes the trajectory of Mocoa. Denarius’s investment gives us the capital to move through the PEA and accelerate the next phase toward a construction decision, while Trafigura provides a long-term route to global markets. Together, these partners bring Colombian operating experience, market reach and long-term alignment at a pivotal moment for copper and for Colombia.”
— Ian Harris, President and Chief Executive Officer, Copper Giant Resources Corp.

The Copper Giant financing runs alongside a related but separate transaction at Denarius: Trafigura has agreed to acquire 67,000,000 Denarius common shares at $0.43 CAD per share, plus 12,500,000 warrants exercisable at $0.60 CAD per share for three years, raising approximately $28.8 million CAD for Denarius and giving Trafigura an approximate 14.9% stake in the company. That financing is also expected to close on or about August 21, 2026, and its proceeds fund Denarius’s investment in Copper Giant.

Serafino Iacono, Denarius’s executive chairman, said the company was investing in Copper Giant for the long term: “We know Colombia and we know what it takes to move a project from resource to operation. Mocoa stands out for its scale, its copper-molybdenum endowment and its potential importance to Colombia’s mining future. We are investing as a long-term partner because we believe Copper Giant has the asset and the team to advance it responsibly.”

Edmundo Vidal, Trafigura’s director for Latin America, linked the offtake to Colombia’s push to develop copper as a strategic mineral: “Colombia has the geological conditions and the opportunity to become an important copper producer. We are pleased to see projects like Mocoa develop, especially given the country’s recognition of copper as a strategic mineral. Our long-term offtake at Mocoa reflects both our confidence in the project, and our strategy of working with producers to bring new supply to customers around the world.”

Colombia’s Agencia Nacional de Minería (National Mining Agency, or ANM) has designated copper among the minerals it considers strategic for the country’s energy transition, a designation Vidal referenced in his remarks.

Board changes and the Mocoa resource

Copper Giant is also appointing Carlos Augusto Suárez Rojas to its board of directors, effective on closing of the financing and subject to approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. Suárez is a Colombian attorney and political strategist and the founder and chief executive officer of Bogotá-based public affairs firm Estrategia & Poder S.A.S., which led strategy for the presidential campaign of Colombian President Abelardo De La Espriella and advises several Colombian state governments. Separately, Copper Giant is appointing Federico Restrepo-Solano, Denarius’s chief executive officer, to its advisory board. Restrepo-Solano has more than 25 years of experience in the oil and mining sectors across Latin America and leads Denarius’s operations in Colombia and Spain. The board move follows Copper Giant’s 2025 prior consultation agreement with the Inga Condagua Indigenous Nation, a prerequisite the company cleared before advancing exploration permitting at Mocoa.

Mocoa, located in Putumayo department, holds an Inferred Mineral Resource of 1,120 million tons at an average grade of 0.51% copper-equivalent, comprising 7.6 billion pounds of copper at 0.31% and 1.0 billion pounds of molybdenum at 0.039%, according to the resource estimate Copper Giant filed with Canadian securities regulators. Copper Giant holds more than 132,000 hectares of district-scale tenure around the deposit, which the company says was first identified in 1973 through a regional geochemical survey conducted by the United Nations and the Colombian government, followed by exploration campaigns from 1978 to 1983 and further drilling by B2Gold in 2008 and 2012. The mineral resource estimate was prepared by Kevin Hon and Warren Black of APEX Geoscience, with an effective date of November 18, 2025, and peer-reviewed by APEX president and chief executive Michael Dufresne; a full technical report incorporating the estimate, also naming APEX Geoscience‘s Dufresne, Black and Hon alongside Chester de Leon of Consultec Limited, carries an effective date of December 23, 2025, and was filed January 8, 2026. The estimate’s economic assumptions include copper priced at $4.00 USD per pound and molybdenum at $20.00 USD per pound, copper and molybdenum recoveries of 90% and 95%, respectively, and a cutoff grade of 0.25% copper-equivalent. Copper Giant has continued drilling at Mocoa since that estimate was filed, including a third mineralized breccia corridor confirmed below the current conceptual pit, which the company has said points to a larger resource than the current estimate captures.

Copper Giant, part of the Vancouver-based Fiore Group, has focused on advancing Mocoa toward a preliminary economic assessment and eventual construction decision. Denarius Metals, based in Toronto, is producing gold and silver at its Zancudo Project in Colombia’s Cauca Belt, near Medellín, while completing construction of a processing plant there, and holds mineral projects in Spain, including the Aguablanca project, which the European Union has designated a Strategic Project. Trafigura, founded more than three decades ago and employee-owned, trades and moves commodities including metals, energy and minerals across a network operating in more than 150 countries.

Neither company has disclosed a timeline for the preliminary economic assessment the new capital is meant to fund.

Headline photo: Copper Giant field geologists during exploration work at the Mocoa copper-molybdenum project in Putumayo. (Photo courtesy Copper Giant Resources Corp.)

Colombia’s Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia (Financial Superintendency of Colombia, or SFC) has published for public comment a draft external circular that would give banks, insurers and other supervised financial institutions temporary instructions to assist consumers affected by the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck the country on August 10, 2026. The comment period, open since August 12, closes at 11:59 p.m. on August 14, 2026, giving industry and the public a two-business-day window to respond, according to the draft text and the SFC’s own consultation record.

The earthquake, with an epicenter in the municipality of San José del Palmar in Chocó department and a depth of 96 kilometers, triggered 991 additional seismic events within a 900-kilometer radius, according to figures cited in the SFC’s draft circular, including 115 in the magnitude 5.0-to-5.9 range, 18 between magnitude 6.0 and 6.9, and three exceeding magnitude 7.0. The national government declared a state of national disaster the following day, August 11, through Decree 1171, covering Antioquia, Caldas, Cauca, Chocó, Quindío, Cundinamarca, Risaralda, Huila, Valle del Cauca, Tolima, Putumayo, Norte de Santander and other affected territories for an initial 12 months, renewable for an equal term, as Finance Colombia reported at the time.

Death toll still climbing

As of the evening of August 12, Colombian President Abelardo De La Espriella cited a balance from the Unidad Nacional para la Gestión del Riesgo de Desastres (National Unit for Disaster Risk Management, or UNGRD) showing a toll that had continued to climb since the quake struck two days earlier.

“We have 25,872 affected families, 53,816 people, sadly 265 dead, 3,494 injured, and the number of missing has risen alarmingly to 496.”— Colombian President Abelardo De La Espriella, citing the UNGRD balance, August 12, 2026

The same balance reported 11,347 homes destroyed and 53,526 damaged, 140 buildings collapsed, and 1,819 schools and 631 community centers affected. Earlier counts from the same day had put the toll lower, underscoring that the figures remained provisional; international search-and-rescue teams, coordinated by UNGRD, were still arriving as of August 13 to assist Colombian personnel, and officials have cautioned the toll is likely to keep rising.

Colombia’s disaster management law, Ley 1523 de 2012, activates a special legal regime once a national disaster is declared, including articles 86 and 87, which allow affected debtors to seek refinancing of existing obligations. The SFC’s draft circular says it is exercising its instruction authority under the Estatuto Orgánico del Sistema Financiero (Organic Statute of the Financial System) and Decree 2555 of 2010 to translate that legal framework into binding instructions for the institutions it supervises.

Refinancing terms for affected borrowers

Under the draft measures, lending institutions would be required to adopt refinancing programs for borrowers affected by the disaster, subject to conditions drawn directly from the 2012 law: refinancing would apply only to obligations contracted before August 10, 2026, with payments due on or after that date; the new loan term could not exceed double the remaining term or 20 years, whichever is shorter; refinanced terms could not be more burdensome than the original ones; and borrowers would have to apply while the disaster declaration remains in force. No interest or late fees would accrue between the disaster declaration and the completion of the renegotiation, a period the draft caps at 90 days. Lenders could also offer additional voluntary relief, such as grace periods or special interest rates, provided the terms are no more burdensome for the consumer and the measures are not applied as a blanket restructuring practice rather than case-by-case review.

Credits refinanced under the program would keep the risk rating they carried before the disaster was declared, with credit-bureau reporting frozen for up to 12 months after the refinancing is completed, and the draft specifies the refinancing would not count as a modification or restructuring for prudential reporting purposes. Lenders would also be permitted to use alternative data sources to assess a borrower’s future repayment capacity, accounting for the likely economic recovery of the borrower’s sector.

Insurers, fund managers and severance withdrawals

Insurance companies would be required to establish expedited claims and payment channels for policyholders in affected areas, prioritize payment of healthcare providers’ invoices tied to the disaster, and adopt policies to facilitate premium payments, including for policies unrelated to credit operations. Trust companies and brokerage firms would be asked to evaluate mechanisms to speed redemptions from open-end investment funds without a minimum holding period, and to consider waiving early-redemption penalties for funds that carry one, for consumers affected by the disaster. Severance-fund administrators would be instructed to expedite housing-related severance withdrawals for affected members, within the bounds of Colombia’s existing severance-withdrawal rules.

The draft also directs supervised entities more broadly to maintain continuity of financial services where security conditions allow, disclose any changes to branch hours or closures, strengthen digital channels, and activate business-continuity plans in affected zones; to clearly publicize the terms of any relief programs; and to set up priority service channels for complaints and claims tied to the disaster. The SFC said it would establish its own priority contact channel to help affected consumers navigate complaints against supervised entities.

In its internal cost-benefit review, the SFC’s research and analysis unit found no reason to delay the proposal, concluding that reduced default risk, faster insurance payouts and improved liquidity access for affected consumers would outweigh the compliance costs institutions face in adapting systems, training staff and expanding service channels. The regulator said the draft requires no new budget appropriations and can be implemented with existing staff and technology. It also said a competition-impact questionnaire it completed under Colombia’s competition-advocacy rules returned entirely negative responses, meaning no referral to the Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio (Superintendency of Industry and Commerce) was required.

A two-day window, and a toll still being counted

The SFC set the unusually short two-business-day comment window under an exception in Colombian regulatory procedure that allows shortened public consultation periods when a rule responds to urgent, unforeseeable circumstances. The regulator said the scale of the disaster and the need for a prompt, uniform response from the financial sector justified the shortened timeline. Comments can be submitted using a standard form referencing filing number 2026182440, by email to normativa@superfinanciera.gov.co or in writing to the SFC’s deputy director of regulation. If adopted, the circular would take effect upon publication and would remain in force for as long as the national disaster declaration stands, though any relief already granted to consumers would continue on its own terms after the circular expires.

Colombia has also drawn $1.3 billion USD in international pledges since the earthquake struck. The comment window closes before search-and-rescue operations are expected to conclude, and the casualty figures the SFC cites as justification for the rule are themselves preliminary and likely to keep changing.

Above photo – Damage in Pereira, Colombia (Photo: Vance Campbell)

More than 600 students from indigenous, Afro-descendant, and campesino communities across Colombia have arrived at the EcoCampus of the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana (UPB) in Medellín for the in-person phase of the Licenciatura en Etnoeducación, the university’s ethnoeducation teaching degree.

The residency is run in partnership with the Instituto Misionero de Antropología (IMA). Students come from communities including the Awá, Embera, Kogui, Tikuna, and Wayuu peoples. UPB said more than 26 languages are represented among the participants, who take part in projects that focus on teaching their languages, traditions, cultural practices, and their communities’ own systems of governance.

“Through this degree program, the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana generates a real impact in the territories. We are proud to offer professional training to indigenous, Afro-descendant, and campesino teachers who, because of the geographic conditions of their communities, face greater barriers to accessing higher education.” — Olga Lucía Arbeláez Rojas, coordinator of the Licenciatura en Etnoeducación, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana

Participants come from departments including Cauca, Putumayo, Amazonas, Vichada, Guainía, Chocó, Sucre, Córdoba, and Antioquia, along with students from Venezuela and Kenya.

UPB is marking 53 years of the Licenciatura en Etnoeducación, which it describes as a program that has brought higher education to communities far from major urban centers and now counts more than 5,000 graduates.

The model combines academic work carried out in the students’ home territories with intensive in-person sessions in Medellín. Each semester, students travel to the UPB EcoCampus to strengthen skills, share experiences, and consolidate knowledge they later apply in their communities.

“Through this degree program, the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana generates a real impact in the territories. We are proud to offer professional training to indigenous, Afro-descendant, and campesino teachers who, because of the geographic conditions of their communities, face greater barriers to accessing higher education,” said Olga Lucía Arbeláez Rojas, coordinator of the program.

The degree integrates anthropology, linguistics, pedagogy, and the social sciences, training students to work as promoters of ethnodevelopment and community-led change in their own regions.

According to UPB, graduates of the program work as teachers, cultural managers, farmers, and directors of community organizations, and some serve as mayors, councilmembers, and secretaries of education in different regions of the country.

More information about the program is available on UPB’s ethnoeducation page.

A Hercules aircraft operated by the Colombian Air Force (FAC) crashed shortly after takeoff from Puerto Leguízamo, in southern Colombia’s Putumayo department, in a tragedy on Monday, March 23, that left dozens of victims among members of the security forces.

According to Jhon Molina, governor of Putumayo, “58 soldiers, six members of the Air Force and two police officers were among the victims who died in the accident.” A total of 128 people were on board the aircraft. One survived unharmed, and four others remain unaccounted for.

The aircraft, a US-built C-130 Hercules used to transport troops and supplies, went down about one and a half kilometers from the airfield just minutes after takeoff.

Defense Minister, Major General (ret.) Pedro Arnulfo Sánchez, said the crash occurred as the aircraft “was taking off from Puerto Leguízamo (Putumayo, near the border with Peru and Ecuador) while transporting troops from our security forces.”

Investigation underway

The national government authorities said that, based on the information available so far, there is no evidence of an attack by illegal armed groups. According to the defense minister, “the fire triggered the detonation of part of the ammunition being transported, which explains the sounds heard in videos circulating on social media.”

The minister said that “all response protocols for the victims and their families have been activated, along with the corresponding investigation.” In a message posted on X, he added: “I extend my deepest condolences to the families of those affected and, out of respect for their grief, I urge people to avoid speculation until official information is available.”

President Gustavo Petro also addressed structural limitations within the armed forces, noting that bureaucratic processes have delayed modernization efforts. “Renewing the armed forces’ equipment has been a decision of my administration for years. Bureaucratic obstacles in military administration have prevented the approval of the Conpes/Confis (Colombia´s public policy instruments) for over a year since I requested it,” he said.

Statement from the Colombian Air Force

The Colombian Air Force (FAC) expressed its condolences following the crash. We “deeply regrets the tragic accident involving the C-130 Hercules, a loss that brings mourning to our military forces and National Police. The aircraft and its crew were in optimal condition to carry out the mission, with the professionalism that characterizes them.”

The institution added that “the pain and helplessness caused by the unexpected loss of our heroes in this tragic air accident are immense. But that pain is transformed into determination: to honor their memory and legacy with an even greater commitment to the nation, doing what we love: protecting Colombia.”

Gen. Carlos Fernando Silva of the Colombian Air Force said a technical investigation will be conducted with support from the US Air Force to determine the causes of the crash “with transparency and rigor.”

Photos courtesy of the FAC.

Vancouver-based Copper Giant Resources Corp. (TSXV: CGNT) (OTCQB: LBCMF) (FRA: 29H0) has released analytical results from drill holes MD-056 and MD-057 at its Mocoa copper-molybdenum porphyry project in Putumayo, Colombia. The results include a 257-meter intercept grading 0.63% CuEq and identify higher-grade mineralization at depth along the southern margin of the existing resource footprint.

Figure 1. Plan view of the exploration targets and the Mocoa porphyry Cu-Mo deposit. *Black dots denotes drill pads. (CNW Group/COPPER GIANT RESOURCES CORP.)

The 2026 exploration program utilized “mother holes” to establish foundations for directional drilling. This technical approach allows multiple daughter holes to be initiated from a single platform, intended to improve drilling efficiency and minimize surface disturbance in the Amazonas region. Hole MD-056 was designed to test the southern edge of the Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) toward the La Estrella target. It intercepted 386 meters grading 0.39% CuEq starting at 307 meters, including a final 77-meter interval grading 0.49% CuEq.

“Hole MD-057 confirms the predictability of our current resource model, which is a key step as we increase drill density in selected areas of the deposit with the objective of upgrading resources and advancing Mocoa toward PEA-level evaluation.” — Edwin Naranjo Sierra, Vice-President of Exploration at Copper Giant Resources Corp.

Geological mapping of MD-056 indicates the presence of a microdiorite porphyry phase with potassic alteration. This intrusive phase is interpreted by technical staff to be associated with a recently identified third high-grade zone within the Mocoa system. The mineralization in this sector was previously categorized as waste in the current MRE block model due to a lack of historical deep drilling, suggesting potential for resource expansion in under-drilled southern sections.

Figure 2. Plan view of holes MD-055, MD-056 and MD-057 mentioned in this release. White shadow denotes position of the cross-section shown in figure 3 and 5. *Collar for MD-055 and MD-057 are 314014E, 137979N and 1,720 m.a.s.l. Collar for MD-056 is 313689E, 136976N and 1,514 m.a.s.l. Coordinates are UTM system, zone 18N and WGS84 projection. For MD-055: azimuth of 45-degrees and dipping 85-degrees. For MD-056: azimuth of 15-degrees and dipping 45-degrees. For MD-057: azimuth of 295-degrees and dipping 70-degrees. Note: Hole 55 did not reach its planned target. (CNW Group/COPPER GIANT RESOURCES CORP.)

Hole MD-057 served as an infill drill hole to increase data density in areas characterized by wider historical spacing. The hole returned 257 meters of 0.63% CuEq starting at 275 meters and 191 meters of 0.72% CuEq starting at 341 meters. These results were contained within a broader interval of 476 meters grading 0.43% CuEq. The objective of the infill campaign is to upgrade portions of the Inferred Mineral Resource to the Indicated category to support a future Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA).

Technical calculations for copper equivalent (CuEq) utilized metal prices of $4.00 USD per pound for copper and $20.00 USD per pound for molybdenum. The Mocoa project is situated approximately 10 kilometers from the town of Mocoa and consists of 132,499 hectares of tenure. The deposit is hosted within Middle Jurassic dacite and quartz-diorite porphyries that intrude the volcanics of the Cordillera Central.

Figure 4. Mineralization and hydrothermal alteration observed in hole MD-056. A). Strong sericite altered Intramineral porphyry with disseminated chalcocite and late iron oxides. B). Strong chlorite – sericite altered Intramineral porphyry with quartz-chalcopyrite-moly veining (B-type). C). Strong sericite altered brecciated porphyry with chalcopyrite as matrix in-fill. D). Potassic altered microdiorite porphyry with massive chalcopyrite and pyrite. (CNW Group/COPPER GIANT RESOURCES CORP.)

Copper Giant Resources Corp., part of the Fiore Group, reported that equipment malfunctions previously hampered hole MD-055, which was subsequently abandoned. However, two drill rigs remain active on-site to continue the 2026 program. The current Inferred resource at Mocoa stands at 1.12 billion tons grading 0.51% CuEq, containing an estimated 12.7 billion pounds of copper equivalent.

Figure 6. Mineralization and hydrothermal alteration observed in hole MD-057. A). Strong sericite altered microtonalite porphyry with quartz “eyes” texture, disseminated chalcocite and late chalcopyrite-pyrite veining. B). Strong sericite altered Intramineral porphyry with C-type veining (chalcopyrite dominant). C). Potassic altered Intramineral porphyry with molybdenite (Moly) disseminated and chalcopyrite veining. D). Strong sericite altered Intramineral porphyry with disseminated chalcopyrite and veining of molybdenite (Moly). (CNW Group/COPPER GIANT RESOURCES CORP.)

The Mocoa system was originally identified in 1973 through a geochemical survey by the United Nations and the Colombian government. It is part of a Jurassic porphyry belt that extends into Ecuador, containing other significant deposits such as Mirador and Warintza. Management maintains that the extended fertile magmatic window at Mocoa, spanning approximately ten million years, accounts for the scale of the system’s metal endowment.

Figure 5. Cross-section along the hole MD-057 and planned daughter holes with a section width of 100-meters, showing the 2026 MRE block model and the Cu and Mo grade intercepted. (CNW Group/COPPER GIANT RESOURCES CORP.)

Headline photo: Figure 3. Cross-section along the hole MD-056 and past holes mentioned in this release, with a section width of 100 meters, showing the 2026 MRE block model and the Cu and Mo grade intercepted. (CNW Group/COPPER GIANT RESOURCES CORP.)

The agreement was reached through direct negotiation between the Inga Condagua community and Libero Cobre Ltd., Copper Giant’s wholly owned Colombian subsidiary. The process was coordinated by the National Directorate of Prior Consultation under Colombia’s Ministry of Interior, and is recognized as the first full Prior Consultation completed at the exploration stage of a mining project in Colombia.

Inga de Condagua community, ANM, Ministry of Interior and Copper Giant team, after protocolization of agreements on September 20, 2025 (CNW Group/COPPER GIANT RESOURCES CORP.)

The Prior Consultation process, known locally as Consulta Previa, is mandated under Colombian law and international conventions such as ILO Convention 169. It ensures that Indigenous communities are consulted before any project that may affect their territories is initiated. The Inga Condagua Nation exercised its constitutional right to self-representation, conducting the process without intermediaries or external consultants.

The agreement follows a 2022 review by the Ministry of Interior confirming the applicability of Prior Consultation for the Inga Condagua. The formal consultation phase began in late 2024 and concluded with protocolization on September 20, 2025. The process included ten official sessions and additional dialogue spaces, with participation from the Mocoa Mayor’s Office, Corpoamazonia, and the National Mining Agency.

The agreement outlines joint initiatives to be implemented in 2026 and 2027, including:

• Intercultural education in the Inga language.
• Strengthening Indigenous governance through support for Cabildo authorities and the Indigenous Guard.
• Integration of ancestral ecological knowledge into biodiversity monitoring.
• Preservation of medicinal and spiritual heritage, including sacred plant cultivation.
• Collaborative water conservation research.
• Youth engagement and community cohesion through cultural and recreational spaces.

These initiatives align with Colombia’s 2024–2025 decrees recognizing Indigenous communities as environmental authorities, granting co-management rights over ancestral territories.

Copper Giant (Libero Cobre) Ranking in the 2025 Brujula Minera (Mining Compass) for Reputation with Government (CNW Group/COPPER GIANT RESOURCES CORP.)

The agreement provides legal clarity for Copper Giant’s operations in Mocoa. In June 2025, the company clarified that Resolution 0631, which was later suspended by the Third Civil Court of Mocoa due to procedural faults in consultation, did not apply to its existing titles. The court’s decision reinforced the importance of direct consultation with recognized Indigenous authorities.

Copper Giant previously signed a similar agreement with the Montclar community in 2022, securing formal partnerships with the two communities closest to the Mocoa project.

Copper Giant’s Colombian subsidiary, Libero Cobre Ltda., was ranked among the top 15 companies for government reputation in the 2025 edition of Brújula Minera, an annual mining-sector study led by the Centro Nacional de Consultoría, Arteaga, and the Colombian Mining Association (ACM). Notably, Copper Giant is the only non-producing company in the ranking aside from AngloGold Ashanti.

Copper Giant Resources Corp. is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on advancing the Mocoa copper-molybdenum deposit in southern Colombia. The company is part of the Fiore Group and was formerly known as Libero Copper & Gold Corporation. Its headquarters are located in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Photos courtesy Copper Giant.

Figure 1 – Molybdenite liberation on sample (CNW Group/COPPER GIANT RESOURCES CORP.)

The test work, conducted and supervised by SGS del Perú S.A.C., an independent ISO/IEC 17025-accredited laboratory, represents the first phase of a comprehensive metallurgical program. This program aims to establish a conceptual processing flowsheet to support a future Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA). The company cautions that these results are based on a single 130 kg composite sample and may not be representative of the entire deposit. Further variability and locked-cycle testing are required.

The metallurgical program involved a series of staged tests, including comminution, flotation, and mineralogical characterization, on a composite sample sourced from three drill holes.

Mineralogical characterization confirmed that copper is predominantly hosted in chalcopyrite, a common and easily processed copper sulfide mineral. Molybdenum is present exclusively as molybdenite. Analysis using X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and a TESCAN Integrated Mineral Analyzer (TIMA-X) showed that minerals containing deleterious elements like arsenic were not detected in significant quantities, suggesting the potential for producing clean concentrates.

Liberation studies indicated that both chalcopyrite and molybdenite are effectively liberated at a relatively coarse grind size with a P80 (80% passing) of 150–180 micrometers (µm). At this grind size, 97% of the molybdenite was observed as free grains.

The flotation testing process was optimized for grind size, pH levels, and reagent suites.

Grind Size: A grind size of P80 150 µm was identified as the preferred condition, balancing recovery and processing costs. At this size, copper recovery reached 88.1% and molybdenum recovery was 96.2%.

pH Level: Tests conducted across a pH range of 9 to 11 showed robust flotation performance. A pH of 11 was selected as the base case for subsequent tests, yielding a copper recovery of 88.9%.

Reagent Optimization: The highest recoveries were achieved during reagent optimization tests. The addition of PAX (Potassium Amyl Xanthate) as a secondary collector (Test 01) resulted in a copper recovery of 92.2% and a molybdenum recovery of 97.4%.

Figure 2 – Copper-bearing mineral on sample. (CNW Group/COPPER GIANT RESOURCES CORP.)

The Mocoa project is situated approximately 10 kilometers from the town of Mocoa in southern Colombia. Copper Giant holds granted titles and applications for over 790 square kilometers in the region, which is part of the Jurassic porphyry belt, a geological formation that extends into Ecuador.

The deposit was first discovered in 1973 through a regional survey by the United Nations and the Colombian government. Subsequent exploration was carried out between 1978 and 1983, with additional drilling conducted by B2Gold Corp. (NYSE: BTG, TSX: BTO) in 2008 and 2012. The deposit remains open for expansion in all directions.

The results from this initial program will inform the design of the next phase of metallurgical testing. Copper Giant has outlined that future work will focus on developing an integrated flowsheet, optimizing regrind and reagent schemes to maximize recovery, and testing for concentrate quality and marketability. These advanced studies will provide the technical basis for a PEA.

The 15-year-old who shot Uribe on June 7 in Bogotá has been sentenced to seven years in a juvenile detention center for attempted homicide, the Attorney General’s Office reported on August 27.

The teenager pleaded guilty before Uribe died of his injuries on August 11, which prevented prosecutors from upgrading the charge to homicide, since Colombian law prohibits changes to charges once a formal accusation is filed against a minor. Five adults have also been arrested in connection with the case.

Authorities have suggested that the Second Marquetalia, a dissident faction of the demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – FARC), could have had a hand in Uribe’s killing, but have yet to present concrete evidence. National Police Director Carlos Fernando Triana first suggested a connection to the group in July, and Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez Suárez repeated the claim in August after Uribe’s death.

SEE ALSO: Colombia-Venezuela Border Killing Hints at Growing Guerrilla Conflict

The link to the group is vague, and via one of the five people arrested in connection with Uribe’s murder.

That’s Elder José Arteaga Hernández, alias “El Costeño,” who allegedly began working as a hired assassin after meeting a former FARC fighter known as “Daniel” in prison in 2019, according to police sources cited by Colombian newspaper El Espectador.

Daniel, once a member of the Teófilo Forero Mobile Column, an elite FARC unit behind some of the group’s most notorious attacks, has reportedly been helping rebuild the column within the Second Marquetalia in southern Huila and northern Caquetá, according to Colombian newspaper El Colombiano. Therefore, he would serve as a potential bridge between the Second Marquetalia and the Uribe assassination.

Two other suspects currently in custody also appear tied to Caquetá, where the Teófilo Forero Column is allegedly reorganizing. Katerine Andrea Martínez Martínez, alias “Gabriela,” who supplied the minor with the weapon to shoot Uribe, was arrested in Florencia in June, while Carlos Eduardo Mora González has faced an arms trafficking case before a Florencia court since 2024.

Nearly three months after the shooting of Turbay, investigators have yet to clarify who ordered the crime. The arrests point to a network of low- and mid-level operatives with ties to FARC dissident circles, but no clear political motive has emerged.

However, the available evidence suggests the focus on the Second Marquetalia may be misplaced. Once a feared rebel faction, the group is now among Colombia’s weakest armed organizations, having had its leadership decimated over the past five years.

Luciano Marín Arango, alias “Iván Márquez,” the group’s leader, was seriously injured in a 2022 attack, prompting repeated reports of his death. He resurfaced in 2024 through a video and later a public appearance, confirming he was alive, though widely believed to be in poor health.

Other senior figures have also been eliminated. Seuxis Pausías Hernández Solarte, alias “Jesús Santrich,” who co-founded the Second Marquetalia with Márquez after rejecting the 2016 peace deal, was killed in 2021. That same year, commanders Hernán Darío Velásquez, alias “El Paisa,” and Henry Castellanos Garzón, alias “Romaña,” were killed in Venezuela’s Apure state. Most recently, in August 2025, José Manuel Sierra Sabogal, alias “Zarco Aldinever,” one of Márquez’s key lieutenants, was also killed in Venezuela.

SEE ALSO: Who Was Behind the Attempted Hit on a Colombian Presidential Hopeful?

As well as these losses, the Second Marquetalia suffered a major rift in November 2024. The Border Command (Comandos de la Frontera – CDF) and the Pacific Guerrilla Coordinating Committee (Coordinadora Guerrillera del Pacífico – CGP), two of its most influential factions operating in Nariño and Putumayo, announced they were breaking away after disagreements over the group’s stance in peace talks with the government.

Given the group’s fragile internal state and mounting competition from rival criminal actors, authorities have yet to present evidence of any clear motive for the Second Marquetalia to order such an assassination.

Nonetheless, the lack of clarity about the attack underscores the risks heading into Colombia’s elections next year. Uribe’s assassination sets a precedent that could embolden other armed groups to use targeted political violence as leverage. With organized crime interests tied to the continuation of peace talks and possible judicial benefits stemming from negotiations, the next electoral cycle may see criminal actors intervening more directly in politics through violence.

This article, written by Henry Shuldiner, was originally published by InSight Crime, a Medellín-based foundation dedicated to the investigation and analysis of crime and security in Colombia and Latin America. It has been generously shared with Finance Colombia under a Creative Commons license.

In line with the objectives of the National Reindustrialization Policy, this guide incorporates a methodology that supports any territorial entity seeking to develop a productive policy tailored to its specific territory and reality, with the participation of public, private, academic, and organized civil society actors.

The construction of this guide was led by the firm Technopolis Group, through a participatory and rigorous process that included the review of conceptual and practical developments, both national and international; semi-structured interviews with key actors from Colombia and other countries, and regional workshops held in several departments, which allowed testing and adjusting the proposed guidelines.

The result is a practical and accessible tool that proposes a clear path, structured into nine steps, which guides entities through the stages of preparing, designing, and implementing productive development strategies. Additionally, each stage is supported by specific sources of information and tools that facilitate its application in the territory.

This tool was presented on May 21 to representatives of the departments of Amazonas, Caquetá, Guaviare, Guainía, Putumayo, Vaupés, Vichada, and Tolima, and national entities such as the National Planning Department, the National Federation of Departments, and the Ministry of Labor.

The methodological guide is projected as a support input for territorial entities, by facilitating the construction of roadmaps aimed at closing gaps, promoting economic growth, strengthening regional competitiveness, and contributing to the improvement of the quality of life of the population in the territories.

This tool was presented to representatives of the departments of Amazonas, Caquetá, Guaviare, Guainía, Putumayo, Vaupés, Vichada, and Tolima, and national entities such as the National Planning Department, the National Federation of Departments, and the Ministry of Labor.

Photo credit: MINCIT.

Health authorities are urgently calling on everyone in Colombia to get vaccinated against yellow fever starting at nine months of age, including individuals over 59 years old. Between September 2024 and now, 75 confirmed cases and 34 deaths have been reported nationwide, representing a cumulative fatality rate of 45.3%.

Confirmed cases are distributed across nine departments: Tolima (59 cases), Putumayo (7), Nariño (2), Caquetá (2), Huila (1), Vaupés (1), Cauca (1), Meta (1), and Caldas (1). Fatalities associated with the disease have been recorded in eight departments: Tolima (23 deaths), Putumayo (5), Caquetá (1), Nariño (1), Caldas (1), Cauca (1), Huila (1), and Meta (1).

Yellow fever is a viral illness transmitted through the bite of infected mosquitoes. Initial symptoms within the first 24 hours can include fever, headache, and general malaise. In the subsequent 72 hours, symptoms often intensify with gastrointestinal manifestations such as vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. From the fifth day onwards, signs like jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes) and bleeding may occur, which can be fatal in unvaccinated individuals. The disease is highly preventable through vaccination, with a reported fatality rate ranging between 40% and 50%.

Colombia is implementing an urgent, free, door-to-door vaccine program to prevent the gruesome disease from spreading via mosquitos.

Since September 2024, the National Government has implemented a series of strategic actions to control the spread of yellow fever and protect public health:

• Intensified Vaccination Strategy: The age range for immunization has been expanded to include individuals from 9 months of age and older, with mass mobilization efforts in affected municipalities.
• Strengthened Epidemiological Surveillance: Over 20 rapid response teams have been deployed for active community case finding and field investigations. Entomovirological, pathological, and laboratory surveillance has also been reinforced through the national reference laboratory of the National Health Institute (Instituto Nacional de Salud).
• Expanded Primary Care: More than 100 Basic Health Care Teams (Equipos Básicos de Atención en Salud – EBAS) have been activated in municipalities with confirmed virus presence.
• Coordination with Health Promotion Entities (EPS) and Vaccination Networks: Health Promotion Entities (Entidades Promotoras de Salud – EPS) have been instructed to establish and operate vaccination teams in coordination with the public and private healthcare network in all affected territories.
• Territorial Coordination through Unified Command Posts (PMU): Twenty-two PMU sessions have been held in the department of Tolima, one in Caldas, and one at the national level, involving local, departmental, and national authorities. Additionally, an extraordinary session of the Risk Management Committee was convened in Huila.
• National Communication and Education Campaign: An information and education strategy has been activated to promote vaccination, self-care, and vector control nationwide.
• Clear Technical Guidelines for the Health System: Circulars with precise instructions for all actors in the national and territorial health system have been issued, disseminated, and technically supported.

The outbreak has demonstrated a progressive expansion, particularly in areas of the Amazon basin, the Magdalena River valley, and departments such as Meta, within a short period. Cases have also emerged in territories with no historical records of the disease, such as the municipality of Neira in Caldas, located in the coffee-growing region.

While urban transmission of yellow fever has not been reported in Colombia since 1929, there is a potential risk of re-emergence due to the frequent entry of individuals into enzootic areas—where the virus circulates in its sylvatic cycle through Sabethes and Haemagogus mosquito species—and their subsequent movement to urban zones below 2,200 meters above sea level, inhabited by urban cycle transmitting species such as Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus.

Epidemiological monitoring has identified cases in populated centers and urban peripheries of municipalities with low population density, indicating a risk of expansion into larger urban centers. Given this scenario, vaccination remains the most effective tool for controlling yellow fever. Analysis of fatal cases has shown that the deceased individuals were unvaccinated, underscoring the urgency of increasing vaccination coverage. Territorial entities must prioritize immunization of the entire population over 9 months of age in high-risk municipalities and strengthen the intensification strategy in the rest of the country.

The Minister of Health and Social Protection (Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social), Dr. Guillermo Alfonso Jaramillo, stated, “With the declaration of the yellow fever emergency, we are intensifying actions to protect the entire population. Our Basic Health Teams, totaling more than 10,000, continue to travel to vaccinate all people in the most remote areas of the country, especially in high-risk zones. The vaccine is free, safe, and administered in a single dose, at least 10 days before entering risk areas.”

The Minister also added that door-to-door campaigns, vaccination drives in educational institutions, transportation terminals, military and police facilities, and other collective spaces will be strengthened. Furthermore, mosquito control measures will be reinforced, and immediate access to healthcare services without barriers will be guaranteed.

Considering the above, and within the framework of the declared health emergency, the following measures are adopted at the national level to contain the yellow fever outbreak, protect the lives of the population, and ensure a coordinated response from the health system:

• Mass Vaccination: A national mass mobilization will commence in high-risk municipalities and extend to the rest of the national territory. The vaccine is free, safe, administered in a single dose, and should be received 10 days before entering risk areas. Strategies will include door-to-door campaigns and vaccination in educational institutions, transportation terminals, military and police facilities, and other collective spaces.
• Integrated Vector (Mosquito) Control: Actions to control mosquitoes in homes, communities, healthcare facilities, and high-traffic areas such as market squares and terminals will be intensified. Mosquito nets will also be distributed in high-risk rural areas.
• Immediate Deployment of Basic Health Teams and Rapid Response Teams: These teams will play a crucial role in case identification, community education, epidemiological monitoring, and vaccine administration, bringing services closer to the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations.
• Centralized Management of Health Services: Regional Emergency and Disaster Centers (Centros Reguladores de Urgencias y Emergencias – CRUE) will assume control of the availability of Intensive Care Units (ICU) and patient transfers.
• Obligations of Health Promotion Entities (EPS): EPS are required to allocate all necessary technical and financial resources through their public, private, and mixed networks to guarantee vaccination, prevention, and care for their entire affiliated population. Prior authorization from EPS for the provision of health services is not required.
• National Hospital Alert: A yellow hospital alert is activated throughout the public, private, and mixed healthcare network nationwide. This will be elevated to orange alert in municipalities with human cases and, if justified, to red alert, based on the analysis conducted by the territorial entity with the support of the Ministry of Health and the National Health Institute.
• Mobility Restrictions: Local authorities may implement access restrictions to areas with active virus transmission, following established protocols and in coordination with police forces. The protection of medical personnel during these operations will be guaranteed.
• Requirement of International Vaccination Certificate for Travelers: In compliance with the International Health Regulations, international travelers entering the country may be required to present a yellow fever vaccination certificate. The vaccine must have been administered at least 10 days before entering risk areas. (This measure will be adjusted based on World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations to avoid impacting tourism and trade).
• Culture of Prevention: Citizens are urged to adopt self-care measures, eliminate mosquito breeding sites in their surroundings, and seek timely vaccination. In particular, residents of municipalities located below 2,200 meters above sea level are advised to use insect repellent, mosquito nets, and clothing that covers the skin as personal protection measures against the yellow fever transmitting mosquito.
• Risk Management Committees: Departmental, district, and municipal territorial entities located in high-risk areas will convene risk management committees to adopt comprehensive control and risk management plans.

The director of the National Health Institute, Diana Marcela Pava, reiterated the duty to protect the health and lives of Colombians. “The measure to declare a health emergency was subjected to a rigorous risk assessment exercise, which is an internationally validated process to establish the level of risk the country is facing,” explained the director, adding that “thanks to this exercise, the measures announced by the Ministry of Health were taken.”

The Vice Minister of Public Health, Jaime Urrego, stated, “This emergency has a preventive emphasis. The vaccine saves lives, and this emergency reminds us that we must take extreme precautions. There are two key points: the change in the behavior of the disease and the risk of urbanization, especially in municipalities below 2,200 meters where we must vaccinate the entire population. We are not seeking to generate fear but to act jointly with experts to stop yellow fever.”

The General Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Rodolfo Salas, affirmed, “Colombia is a social state governed by the rule of law, where the right to life and health prevails. According to Article 69 of Law 1753 of 2015, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection is the competent governing body to declare a health emergency in the event of epidemics that endanger the public health of the country. This virus is showing rapid transmission, so we call on the competent authorities to take the necessary measures to prevent its spread.”

The Ministry of Health and Social Protection calls for the shared responsibility of all actors in the health system, territorial authorities, and the community in general to confront this emergency and protect lives.

Information for Travelers and Individuals in Risk Areas:

Yellow fever is transmitted by the bite of infected Aedes and Haemagogus mosquitoes. These mosquitoes typically bite during the day. For travelers and residents in areas below 2,200 meters above sea level, especially those in the departments with reported cases, the following precautions are recommended:

• Vaccination: The yellow fever vaccine is highly effective and provides lifelong protection with a single dose. It is recommended to receive the vaccine at least 10 days before traveling to or residing in risk areas. The vaccine is available free of charge in affected municipalities for individuals over 9 months of age.
• Insect Repellent: Use insect repellent containing DEET.  Follow the instructions on the product label.  
• Protective Clothing: Wear long-sleeved shirts, long pants, socks, and shoes when outdoors, especially during peak mosquito biting times.
• Mosquito Nets: Use mosquito nets (bed nets), especially if sleeping outdoors or in unscreened accommodations. Permethrin-treated nets offer additional protection.
• Eliminate Mosquito Breeding Sites: Regularly empty and clean containers that can hold water, such as flowerpots, tires, buckets, and pet water dishes, around your home to prevent mosquito breeding.
• Seek Medical Attention: If you develop symptoms such as fever, headache, body aches, nausea, vomiting, or jaundice, especially after being in a risk area, seek medical attention immediately. Early diagnosis and supportive care can improve outcomes.
• International Travel Requirements: Travelers entering Colombia from countries with a risk of yellow fever transmission may be required to present an international certificate of vaccination against yellow fever, as per the International Health Regulations. It is advisable to check the latest requirements before traveling. Similarly, travelers departing from Colombia to certain countries may also need proof of vaccination.

The current health emergency underscores the importance of vaccination and preventive measures to mitigate the risk of yellow fever transmission in Colombia. Residents and travelers in affected areas should adhere to the recommendations of health authorities to protect themselves and prevent further spread of the virus.

Photos © Loren Moss