Interview with Rupert Verco, CEO & Managing Director of Cobra Resources PLC

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/cobra-resources-lsecobr-unveiling-new-ionic-rare-earth-mineral-discoveries-at-boland-prospect-3851

Recording date: 27th August 2025

Cobra Resources PLC (LSE:COBR) is positioning itself at the forefront of the critical minerals supply chain through its innovative dual-asset strategy targeting both heavy rare earth elements and copper. The South Australian-focused explorer has secured two complementary projects that address key supply security concerns in the global energy transition.

The company's flagship Boland project represents a potentially transformative approach to rare earth extraction, targeting dysprosium and terbium through proprietary in-situ recovery (ISR) technology. Managing Director Robert Verco explains the breakthrough: "We are planning on defining a bottom quartile cost source of dysprosium and terbium through a mining process called in-situ recovery. We have fantastic metallurgy - we're getting high recoveries at a pH of five which is the equivalent of a black coffee."

This innovative approach has already demonstrated exceptional results at bench scale, producing mixed rare earth carbonate containing 63% total rare earth oxides with minimal acid consumption. The company's unique ionic mineralization enables ISR processing typically associated with uranium extraction, offering significant environmental and economic advantages over conventional rare earth mining methods.

Complementing its rare earth strategy, Cobra recently secured an option over the Manilla copper project, featuring historic high-grade intersections of 48 meters at 2.2% copper and 78g/t gold from just 8 meters depth. The porphyry-style system offers potential to extend existing 1.6km mineralization by over five times, with geological characteristics analogous to Australia's most profitable mine, Cadia.

The company's strategic positioning addresses growing institutional demand for supply diversification from Chinese-dominated markets. With China controlling 90% of global heavy rare earth supply, Western governments and corporations are actively seeking alternative sources. Cobra's ISR technology for rare earths and near-surface copper-gold mineralization in Australia's stable regulatory environment provides exactly this opportunity.

Financial strength underpins the company's development strategy, with recent gold asset divestment generating up to AUD $15 million in non-dilutive funding. This positions Cobra to advance both projects simultaneously while maintaining disciplined capital allocation through structured option agreements that reward discovery success.

View Cobra Resources' company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/cobra-resources

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