Diamond Equity Research Initiates Coverage on Idaho Copper Corporation (NYSE American: COPR, COPR WS)
New York, July 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Diamond Equity Research LLC, an equity research firm with a focus on small capitalization public companies has initiated coverage of Idaho Copper Corporation (NYSE American: COPR, COPR WS). The research summary below is from a report commissioned by Idaho Copper Corporation and produced by Diamond Equity Research.The in-depth 38-page initiation report includes detailed information on Idaho Copper Corporation's business model, services, industry overview, financials, management profile, and risks.
The full research report is available below.
Idaho Copper Corporation Initiation of Coverage
- Large-Scale Multi-Metal Resource Base with Long-Life Potential: The CuMo Project geologic resource hosts approximately 2.27 billion short tons of Measured and Indicated resources and an additional 2.56 billion short tons of Inferred resources at a $5.00/ton RCV cut-off, positioning it among the larger undeveloped copper and molybdenum assets in North America. The project also contains meaningful rhenium, tungsten, and silver credits, supporting a diversified revenue profile. Importantly, current drilling does not cover the entire interpreted mineralized system, indicating potential for additional resource expansion through future exploration.
- Ore Sorting Optimization Could Materially Improve Project Economics: A key catalyst for Idaho Copper is the ongoing updated 2026 PEA, which is focused on integrating proven ore sorting and advanced grade control technologies into the development plan. Management has indicated that this optimization strategy could reduce initial capex from approximately $3.1 billion in the 2020 PEA to a target of around $1.2 billion, while also improving projected NPV, payback period, and IRR. The proposed shift from a 150,000 tpd (tonnes per day) mill to a more capital-efficient 25,000–30,000 tpd mill configuration, largely via ore sorting, represents the central targeted value inflection point for the project.
- Structural Copper Supply Deficit Supports Long-Term Commodity Outlook: Global copper demand is projected to increase from approximately 28 million tonnes currently to around 42 million tonnes by 2040, driven by electrification, renewable energy, AI infrastructure, and grid expansion. At the same time, the market faces significant structural constraints, including declining ore grades, limited discoveries, and development timelines of 15–20 years. Industry estimates suggest a potential supply shortfall of approximately 10 million tonnes by 2040, data supportive for favorable long-term pricing environment for scalable copper assets such as CuMo.
- Copper Molybdenum and Silver Exposure Alongside Rhenium Tungsten and Sulfuric Acid By-Product Credits Support Diversified Project Economics: The CuMo Project benefits from substantial exposure to copper, molybdenum, and silver, supporting a diversified multi-metal revenue profile over the life of mine. Based on our scenario-modeled assumptions, molybdenum could contribute approximately $31.6 billion of life-of-mine revenue, compared to approximately $12.1 billion from copper and approximately $3.7 billion from silver. In addition, rhenium, tungsten, and sulfuric acid are expected to provide supplementary by-product credits that may further enhance overall project economics. Collectively, this diversified commodity exposure may improve project resilience across commodity cycles while reducing reliance on a single revenue stream.
- Strategic Relevance Within U.S. Critical Minerals Supply Chain: The CuMo Project is positioned within an increasingly strategic segment of the U.S. mining sector, as the United States remains heavily reliant on imported refined copper and associated critical minerals. Import dependence for copper has increased from approximately 37% in 2019 to approximately 57% in 2025, with further increases expected. Given the scarcity of large-scale domestic copper development projects, CuMo could benefit from policy initiatives linked to critical mineral security, including the IRA, Infrastructure Act, FAST-41, and Defense Production Act frameworks.
- Progression Along the Development Curve Represents a Major Re-Rating Opportunity: The company remains at the pre-feasibility stage, with the updated PEA expected in mid-2026 and completion of the PFS targeted by the end of 2027. Advancement through these milestones could materially improve technical confidence, financing visibility, and institutional investor interest. Historically, mining projects can potentially experience valuation re-ratings as they progress from conceptual economic studies toward feasibility-stage validation and permitting de-risking.
- Significant Valuation Sensitivity to Commodity Prices and Lower Capex Assumptions: The project exhibits substantial leverage to both commodity prices and capex optimization. The 2020 PEA estimated an after-tax NPV (8%) of approximately $356 million using significantly lower long-term commodity prices and approximately $3.1 billion of initial capex. Under a potential revised framework incorporating higher long-term metal prices and reduced capex assumptions (~$1.2 billion), we derive a risk-adjusted equity valuation of approximately $414.11 million despite applying a 15% probability of success factor. This highlights the project’s strong economic sensitivity to successful optimization and supportive commodity pricing.
- Valuation: Our valuation of Idaho Copper is based primarily on a risk-adjusted NPV framework, reflecting CuMo’s life-of-mine cash flow potential, discounted at 10.0% with no terminal value. While the 2020 PEA estimated LOM revenue of $29.1 billion, after-tax NPV8 of $356 million, and IRR of 9%, our bottom-up model yields higher LOM revenue of $47.39 billion, primarily driven by a more constructive long-term price deck for copper, molybdenum, and silver. We also assume a materially lower initial capex of $1.2 billion, broadly aligned with management’s target reduction in the upcoming 2026 PEA, while maintaining LOM sustaining capex of $972 million and closure cost of $150 million. Given CuMo remains at a historical PEA stage with limited technical and economic certainty, we apply a very conservative 15% probability of success, resulting in a risk-adjusted equity value of $414.11 million under our NPV approach. We complement this with a GPCM-based price-to-mine plan tonnage methodology, applying peer-derived multiples to CuMo’s LOM mill feed and similarly risk-adjusting the output. With a 75% weighting to NPV and 25% weighting to GPCM, our blended valuation framework derives an illustrative valuation of $22.75 per share, contingent on continued project de-risking, financing access, and successful execution.
About Idaho Copper Corporation
Idaho Copper Corporation is a U.S.-based mineral development company advancing the CuMo Project, a large-scale copper–molybdenum–silver deposit located in Boise County, Idaho. The company is focused on developing a long-life multi-metal resource positioned to benefit from electrification-driven commodity demand and evolving U.S. critical mineral supply chain priorities.
About Diamond Equity Research
Diamond Equity Research is an equity research and corporate access firm focused on small capitalization companies. Diamond Equity Research is an approved sell-side provider on major institutional investor platforms.
For more information, visit https://www.diamondequityresearch.com.
Disclosures:
Diamond Equity Research LLC ("DER") is being compensated by Idaho Copper Corporation (the "Company") for producing research materials regarding the Company and its securities, which is intended to subsidize the costs associated with the preparation of the report and the ongoing monitoring of the security; however, the views expressed in the report reflect those of Diamond Equity Research. As of 07/09/26 the issuer had paid us $50,000 for our company sponsored research services, which commenced 04/16/26 and is billed annually upfront, which could present a conflict of interest. Additional compensation may be received in future years if the engagement is renewed. Diamond Equity Research LLC may be compensated for non-research related services, including presenting at Diamond Equity Research investment conferences, press releases and other additional services. The non-research related service cost is dependent on the company, but usually do not exceed $5,000. The issuer has not paid us for non-research related services as of 07/09/2026. Issuers are not required to engage us for these additional services. Additional fees may have accrued since then. Although Diamond Equity Research company sponsored reports are based on publicly available information and although no investment recommendations are made within our company sponsored research reports, given the small capitalization nature of the companies we cover we have adopted an internal trading procedure around the public companies by whom we are engaged, with investors able to find such policy on our website public disclosures page. This report and press release do not consider individual circumstances and does not take into consideration individual investor preferences.This report is based on information we consider reliable, including the subject of the report.This report does not explicitly or implicitly affirm that the information contained in this document is accurate and/or comprehensive, and as such should not be relied on in such capacity. All information contained within this report is subject to change without any formal or other notice provided. Statements within this report may constitute forward-looking statements, these statements involve many risk factors and general uncertainties around the business, industry, and macroeconomic environment. Investors need to be aware of the high degree of risk in small capitalization equities including the complete potential loss of their investment. Investors can find various risk factors in the initiation report and in the respective financial filings for Idaho Copper Corporation, which may not be comprehensive. Please review initiation report attached for full disclosures.
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