Copper Fox Metals is a Canadian resource company focused on advancing a portfolio of copper exploration and development projects in North America. Its flagship Schaft Creek project in northwestern British Columbia anchors a portfolio of assets located in established mining districts across Canada and the United States.
You’ve spent nearly five decades in mineral exploration, spanning commodities from uranium and gold to copper. What first drew you into geology, and what continues to keep that passion alive today?
I went into university as a chemistry major and found that the career path meant pursuing a much higher degree, which wasn't my plan. So I took a geology course and, because I was raised on a small farm in Atlantic Canada, I liked being outdoors and found it fascinating. When I graduated, I moved into mineral exploration, and from then on my passion for the industry just kept growing.
I've been in the industry for 49 years. I went back to school and earned a master's degree in economic geology, studied carbonate-hosted lead-zinc deposits, spent 10 years in the uranium industry, then moved into gold, and now copper.
What still excites me is the hunt for mineral deposits. It's almost like being a CSI investigator.
You use clues to determine whether something has enough legs underneath it to be significant and, if it does, where it's located. Every day is different, and finding deposits, understanding how they form and demonstrating their economic value remains a passion for me.
Copper Fox has remained focused on building its portfolio in North America for more than a decade. What has driven that strategy?
I spent a substantial part of my career working in foreign jurisdictions across Africa, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, the Philippines and Australia. When I joined Copper Fox, we took a conservative approach. We're focused on copper, but we like copper deposits that also contain metals such as gold, silver and molybdenum.
It's all about geopolitical stability. We built a portfolio in proven mineral districts in northern British Columbia and Arizona. From both a logistics and geopolitical standpoint, you're exploring in proven mining districts. Having worked in jurisdictions where stability wasn't what it is in Canada and the United States, we adopted a strategy to build the company in North America 15 or 16 years ago. Politics has become a bigger part of the mineral industry, but our focus has remained the same. My job is to find copper and advance projects. Stability was a major factor in our strategy long before it became the broader conversation it is today.
Canada has significant mineral resources and growing demand for critical minerals, but many projects still face obstacles to development. What changes would most improve Canada's ability to develop its resource potential?
Talent is always an issue. It's hard to find people who are dedicated, focused and genuinely want to be in the business, although we've been fortunate to build a team that works well together. The bigger issue is regulation. There's not much use talking about needing these metals if the process supporting exploration remains cumbersome. Exploration is exceptionally risky, and companies need a framework where they can move forward knowing the process won't continually be interrupted.
I'd like to see a more streamlined process. Canada has a fairly good regulatory system and it's quite inclusive, but timelines need to be set and enforced. We're currently in the middle of a permitting process in British Columbia and don't know when a decision will come. Because northern British Columbia has a short exploration season, if we don't receive a permit by mid-to-late June, the chances of mounting a meaningful program become very limited. More definitive timelines would help companies plan and allocate capital with greater certainty. Governments can also support exploration funding and technologies that allow us to explore deeper and assess targets before moving into expensive drilling programs. Everybody says we need critical minerals, but putting together a framework that actually gets them out of the ground and into society is another matter.
Schaft Creek remains the cornerstone asset of the company and one of the largest undeveloped copper projects in North America. What makes the project so strategic?
First and foremost, it's located in northern British Columbia, which we believe is a safe jurisdiction. We also have a joint venture with Teck Resources, which I think is one of the best arrangements a junior company can have. It's one of the largest undeveloped porphyry copper systems in the world and produces copper, gold, molybdenum and silver. In the last technical report, approximately 64% of the revenue came from copper, with most of the balance coming from gold and molybdenum. The technical work has demonstrated a business case to move forward, and Teck continues to advance the project from technical, environmental, infrastructure and social perspectives.
The spin-off effect would probably be about three-to-one or four-to-one. For every person working directly at the mine site, another three or four people would likely be employed in supporting industries such as transportation, fuel supply and electrical services. The workforce could be in the order of 1,000 to 1,200 people, with perhaps 3,600 additional people supporting the operation. The project would also generate federal, provincial and mineral taxes that could support hospitals, schools, infrastructure and social programs. I believe roughly 22% of gross revenue would flow through those tax streams.
Copper demand is expected to remain strong over the long term, while developers face the challenge of bringing new supply online. How is Copper Fox positioned to capitalize on that opportunity, and what are your key priorities for 2026?
The industry will have difficulty supplying future copper demand, even if only half the forecasts prove correct. The world needs to expand energy infrastructure dramatically, while AI data centres, electric vehicles, consumer electronics and countless other applications continue to drive demand. EVs consume roughly four times as much copper as a conventional vehicle. The question isn't demand—it's whether the industry can supply enough copper. Higher metal prices are helping previously uneconomic projects move forward, but bringing a deposit into production still requires permitting, financing and a thorough understanding of the project.
For Copper Fox, the core message is that the Schaft Creek joint venture continues to advance, with the major decision being whether the project transitions into the pre-feasibility stage. At the same time, we're advancing the Van Dyke in-situ copper recovery project in Arizona and updating the PEA following significant work completed between 2021 and 2025. We've completed drilling at Mineral Mountain, we're in the permitting stage at Eaglehead, and we're preparing to enter permitting at Sombrero Butte. The way you build value in this business is by finding copper and demonstrating that projects have the potential to become economically viable operations.
