Aldebaran Builds a Bigger Copper Story After Second CEM Top Pick

• Aldebaran’s Altar project now has a 2025 PEA showing an after-tax NPV8% of US$2.0 billion, a 20.5% IRR and a four-year payback at base-case prices of US$4.35/lb copper and US$2,500/oz gold.
• The latest resource estimate outlines 22.01 billion pounds of copper in Measured and Indicated resources, plus 9.83 billion pounds Inferred, placing Altar among the largest undeveloped copper projects held by a junior.
• Aldebaran is now funded toward pre-feasibility work, with drill results, an updated resource estimate, a planned Argentina’s RIGI large-project incentive application and a PFS targeted for Q2/Q3 2027.

“The Altar project is by far the longest life development asset out there in the copper space”
— Adam Greening, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Aldebaran Resources

When Aldebaran Resources Inc. was first selected as a CEM Top Pick in June 2025, the story was driven by scale.

Its Altar copper-gold project in San Juan, Argentina, had just emerged as one of the largest undeveloped copper deposits still controlled by a junior company. The updated resource estimate showed more than 30 billion pounds of copper, alongside significant gold and silver credits, giving investors exposure to a deposit large enough to draw attention in a copper market increasingly worried about future supply. 

Now, after another Top Pick recognition at the 2026 CEM Scottsdale Capital Event, Aldebaran is telling a more advanced story.

The scale is still the foundation. But the company now has economics around Altar, a clearer mine plan, a defined pre-feasibility path and a stronger jurisdictional argument in Argentina.

“We were at a mineral resource stage last year. Now we’ve wrapped economics around that resource,” said Adam Greening, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Aldebaran Resources.

That is the key shift.

Aldebaran is no longer asking investors to value Altar mainly on size. It is asking them to look at what the asset could become as the company moves through the next stages of development and de-risking.

The 2025 Preliminary Economic Assessment gave the market its first full look at that potential. Using base-case prices of US$4.35 per pound copper and US$2,500 per ounce gold, the PEA outlined an after-tax NPV8% of US$2.0 billion, a 20.5% internal rate of return and a four-year payback. 

At spot prices of US$5.66 copper and US$4,780 gold, the NPV85 rises to US$4.6 billion, with a 34.8% IRR and a 1.73-year payback. Under the 12-month-high case, US$6.15 copper and US$5,414 gold, the NPV8% rises to US$5.5 billion, with a 39.9% IRR and a 1.31-year payback. 

That gives Aldebaran strong leverage to copper and gold prices at a time when long-life copper assets are becoming harder to find.

“If you use spot metal prices there’s a lot of leverage to commodity prices,” said Greening.

Altar’s scale remains central to the story.

The April 2026 corporate presentation lists 22.01 billion pounds of copper in the Measured and Indicated category, grading 0.42% copper, plus 9.83 billion pounds of copper Inferred at 0.37% copper. The same resource estimate includes 5.08 million ounces of gold and 93.76 million ounces of silver in Measured and Indicated, plus 1.71 million ounces of gold and 49.04 million ounces of silver Inferred. 

The company ranks Altar as the fourth-largest copper project held by a junior, based on combined Measured, Indicated, and Inferred copper-equivalent resources. 

That scale matters because copper markets are no longer just about price cycles. They are increasingly about supply security.

Power grids, electrification, artificial intelligence infrastructure, data centres, defence, robotics, and industrial expansion all require large amounts of copper. Yet large new deposits are rare, and many of the most important undeveloped assets sit in jurisdictions where permitting, politics, and capital access remain major hurdles.

Altar combines three things the market wants, scale, longevity, and a province that wants mining investment, Greening said.

“Aldebaran’s Altar project is by far the longest life development asset out there in the copper space,” he said.

The 2025 PEA outlines a 45-year mine life, while the company describes Altar as having a 48-year mine life when the three-year construction period is included. 

The production profile is also meaningful. Altar shows average annual production of 121,445 tonnes of copper-equivalent over the first 20 years, with estimated direct cash costs of US$1.71 per pound copper and all-in sustaining costs of US$2.25 per pound. Over the life of mine, average annual production is estimated at 101,413 tonnes copper-equivalent, with direct cash costs of US$2.02 per pound and all-in sustaining costs of US$2.59 per pound.

The cash-flow profile gives the story added weight. The company estimates average annual EBITDA of US$571 million and free cash flow of US$368 million over the first 20 years. Over the full life of mine, it shows average annual EBITDA of US$436 million and free cash flow of US$263 million. 

Aldebaran is now working to turn the PEA into a stronger pre-feasibility package by tightening the technical work, upgrading confidence in the resource, and reducing the questions that typically surround a project of this size.

De-risking work includes infill drilling, geotechnical work, water wells, engineering, and resource conversion with an updated mineral resource estimate expected in Q3 2026. The PFS is targeted for Q2/Q3 2027. 

“Since the last mineral resource estimate that we put out in 2024, we’ve done over 40,000 metres of infill drilling,” management said. 

Aldebaran also has the balance-sheet runway to keep that work moving.

“We raised $45 million that should effectively take us through to the pre-feasibility study,” management said. 

Another major change from the 2025 story is the role of Argentina.

A year ago, Argentina was part of the upside. Today, it is a more central piece of the thesis.

Aldebaran describes San Juan as an emerging mining district with strong government support, a clearer permitting process, social licence, and an exceptional geological setting. It also points to larger mining investment in the province, including BHP and Lundin’s acquisition of Filo Corp. and the Los Azules RIGI approval. 

Argentina’s RIGI incentive regime could also become material for Altar. The regime includes a 25% corporate tax rate instead of 35%, 30 years of tax, customs and foreign-exchange stability, export-duty exemptions after three years from approval, accelerated depreciation, and improved access to foreign exchange markets. Aldebaran’s project timeline shows a planned RIGI application for Altar in Q1 2027. 

“Now that that’s drastically improved, it’s kind of game on in Argentina, and San Juan in particular,” management said. 

“Our business model is still the same. We’re not going to build this. We’re ultimately going to sell this,” Greening said, pointing to his team’s history with Antares Minerals, which acquired the Haquira copper-molybdenum project in Peru, advanced it through exploration and sold it to First Quantum Minerals for C$650 million. 

Aldebaran is also preparing the Centauri Minerals spinout, which is expected to hold several northern Argentina projects that were not getting full attention inside Aldebaran. Centauri raised about $5.5 million privately and is expected to go public around the end of Q2 2026, with a portion of Aldebaran’s shares to be distributed to existing Aldebaran shareholders, said Greening.

That could sharpen Aldebaran’s identity as a cleaner Altar-focused copper vehicle while preserving optionality in other Argentine assets.

“It is a good time to be sitting on a large-scale copper asset,” Greening added. 

Charting Aldebaran Resources

TSXV: ALDE | OTCQX: ADBRF

1. As of market open on Wednesday, May 6, 2026.
2. As of market open on Monday, April 13 after being selected as a Top Pick at the 2026 CEM Scottsdale Capital Event.

We caught up with Adam Greening after Aldebaran’s second Top Pick selection in Scottsdale for an update.

Investors already know Altar is big. What do you still need to prove?

Size gets people’s attention, but it doesn’t finish the job. The next step is showing how that scale converts into a stronger, cleaner development case. That’s where the current work program comes in. We’re doing the drilling, technical studies, and resource conversion needed to support the pre-feasibility study. The goal now is to keep reducing risk and give the market more confidence in how Altar could actually be developed.

We’ve already done more than 40,000 metres of infill drilling since the last resource estimate, so the next update is really about improving confidence in the resource and strengthening the mine plan.”

Large copper projects often come with big capital numbers. How do you answer investors who focus on that risk?

“You can’t separate capital from scale. A project like Altar is big because it has the potential to produce copper for decades. That’s exactly what the market is looking for, because the world needs large, reliable sources of supply.

So, the question isn’t just, “What is the capex?” The better question is, “What does that capital build?” In Altar’s case, the PEA shows a very long-life project, a four-year payback at base-case prices and strong leverage to copper and gold prices.

At higher metal prices, the economics improve quickly. That’s important because large copper assets are scarce, and Altar gives investors real exposure to that scarcity.”

What has changed most since Aldebaran was first named a Investor Breakout Top Pick in 2025?

The biggest change is that Altar now has an economic study around it. A year ago, the story was about the size and quality of the resource. Today, we can point to a PEA, a mine plan, production numbers, cash-flow estimates, and a clear path toward pre-feasibility.

That changes the conversation with investors. They’re no longer looking only at how big Altar is. They’re looking at what it could become, how it can be de-risked, and what kind of strategic value it could have in a copper market that needs more long-life supply.

The timing also helps. Argentina has become a much stronger part of the story, San Juan remains one of the best mining provinces in the region, and copper M&A is picking up. For a company sitting on a large-scale copper asset, that’s a much better backdrop than we had a few years ago.”

Our View

• Aldebaran has moved into the next valuation lane.
  The 2025 story was about resource size. The 2026 story is about economics, confidence and catalysts. The PEA gives investors a framework to value Altar beyond pounds in the ground.
• The PFS is the next major test.
  The market will now watch how the company converts more of the resource into higher-confidence categories, tightens the mine plan, and advances the technical work needed for pre-feasibility.
• Argentina is becoming a bigger part of the upside.
  San Juan’s pro-mining stance and Argentina’s RIGI regime could strengthen the financing and strategic case for Altar. If that policy backdrop holds, jurisdiction may become part of Aldebaran’s re-rating story.

Upcoming

Bermuda Capital Event — over 80% sold out!

June 12–14, 2026

CEM now turns to the 3rd Annual Bermuda Capital Event, which will be held June 12–14 at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess & Beach Club. The event will once again connect growth-stage issuers in resources, technology, biotech, and special situations with active senior capital markets professionals through a full day of scheduled one-on-one meetings.

Warm Regards and Happy Investing,
Fabian Dawson

Weekly Insight

Each week, CEM Partner and Portfolio Manager Ryan Iverson spotlights the ideas and companies sparking investor interest from emerging growth stories to the Top Picks featured across CEM’s Capital Events. This series brings real insights from the innovators shaping tomorrow’s markets and reveals where investors are finding the next breakout opportunities.

Stay informed. Stay ahead. Stay with the Investor Breakout Exchange:
X | Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok