Interview with Jonathan Egilo, President and CEO of AXO Copper Corp.

Recording date: May 30, 2025

AXO Copper offers an attractive investment opportunity in high-grade copper, combining proven mineralization with near-term development potential. Following the successful completion of the IPO process, the company’s stock market debut is imminent. This allows investors to participate in a systematic resource definition program for the La Huerta copper project in Jalisco, Mexico.

Production-Proven Asset Base
Unlike typical exploration stories, AXO’s flagship project has an established production history, significantly reducing geological and metallurgical risk. The local population successfully operated the deposit for three to four years using a 250-ton-per-day sulfide flotation plant, consistently mining ore with a copper content of 4-5%. This operational track record provides important evidence of ore continuity and processing characteristics that most junior companies in early development stages lack. President and CEO Jonathan Egilo emphasized this advantage: “They have successfully completed a three to four-year risk mitigation process for bulk sampling for us. The next step is to examine how the process should be resumed.”

Exceptional Grade Profile and Geological Potential
AXO’s drilling program confirmed the high ore quality of the deposit with impressive intersections, including 9.4 m at 4.4% copper and a 3.2 m section at 21.4% copper. The mineralization extends over a strike length of 5 kilometers, with drilling to date reaching only 200 meters below the surface. The geological system consists of steeply dipping copper sulfide veins with high-grade cores of 3 to 6 meters, surrounded by alteration halos. This allows for both high-grade and large-tonnage mining.

The company has traced mineralization over a length of five kilometers along the surface, but the family’s original operation extended only 200 meters along strike and reached only 40-50 meters in depth. This limited use of a significantly larger system offers substantial expansion potential for systematic exploration.

Strategic Acquisition and Capital Structure
AXO secured around $9.5 million in 2023 to finance the initial drilling program and 5 million shares over five years without ongoing royalties. This royalty-free structure improves the project’s economics, as AXO can achieve the full production value without ongoing payments. The company has raised additional capital through pre-IPO financing rounds to adequately fund the planned 15,000-meter drilling program.

Systematic Exploration Strategy
The upcoming drilling program allocates 70% of the 15,000 meters to a priority 1.5-kilometer zone, focusing on strike extension and depth exploration down to 350-400 meters below the surface. The systematic approach aims at resource definition while testing the hypothesis that current mining sites represent only the upper part of a larger copper system. Regional targets offer additional potential with copper grades of up to 6% at the surface in various geological environments.

Infrastructure and Development Advantages
The project is located just 7 kilometers from ArcelorMittal’s main iron ore operation and benefits from established infrastructure, skilled workforce, and supply chains. Access to Pacific shipping and Mexican industrial centers is available from the port of Manzanillo, just 1.5 hours away via paved highways.

The management’s development strategy focuses on building a project suitable for advancement by junior companies, rather than requiring acquisition by large mining companies. Egilo noted: “One of our key differentiating factors is that we – I don’t know how big the project will ultimately be – won’t be receiving a $3 billion porphyry bill.”

Investment Outlook
AXO Copper offers investors access to high-grade copper discoveries with reduced geological risk, a systematic exploration approach, and a clear development path. The combination of production history, exceptional qualities, excellent infrastructure, and an experienced management team creates a compelling value proposition in the favorable supply and demand environment of the copper sector.