Kodiak Copper Corp. has opened a new phase of exploration at its MPD copper-gold project in southern British Columbia, launching a 5,500-metre drill program aimed at incorporating three additional zones into a forthcoming National Instrument 43-101 resource estimate. The company’s fully funded 2025 field season follows the release of a maiden resource in June that covered four zones and outlined 1.676 billion pounds of copper and 1.21 million ounces of gold in the combined indicated and inferred categories.
The current campaign, announced on 18 June 2025, will focus on the West, Adit and South zones—areas where earlier work identified higher-grade, near-surface mineralization that remains open laterally and at depth. Results from the 39 planned drill holes are expected to feed into a complete mineral resource estimate scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2025.
Management changes and a series of technical appointments over the past year have strengthened the exploration team charged with advancing the 344-square-kilometre MPD project, located between Merritt and Princeton on British Columbia’s prolific southern Quesnel Terrane. Kodiak Copper, listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol KDK, closed an oversubscribed C$5.5 million private placement in March, providing the capital required for the 2025 program.
Strengthened leadership and technical expertise
Kodiak Copper was established by Chairman Chris Taylor, best known for founding Great Bear Resources, which was acquired by Kinross Gold in 2022 for US$1.8 billion. Chief Executive Officer Claudia Tornquist, formerly a general manager in Rio Tinto’s copper division and a past director of Kennady Diamonds, leads day-to-day operations. Her tenure at Kennady included the company’s C$176 million sale to Mountain Province Diamonds.
On 12 March 2025 the company promoted Dave Skelton to Vice-President Exploration, replacing Jeff Ward, who has transitioned into an advisory position. Baykan Aksu joined at the same time as Senior Geologist. Two weeks later, on 26 March, Kodiak brought in Peter Holbek as a technical advisor. Holbek served as Vice-President Exploration at Copper Mountain Mining Corp. from 2007 to 2022, guiding resource growth at the operating Copper Mountain mine, which lies south of MPD and shares similar alkalic porphyry characteristics.
Additional appointments include Mike Westendorf as Metallurgical Advisor and Alan O’Connor as Senior Exploration Manager. Westendorf, a professional engineer with more than 18 years’ experience, oversaw the Copper Mountain operation through feasibility, construction, expansion and its eventual transaction with Hudbay Minerals. O’Connor, a registered professional geologist with over 35 years in the field, has managed exploration programs for a range of commodities across the Americas.
Strategic setting in British Columbia’s primary copper belt
MPD sits in the southern segment of the Quesnel Terrane, the province’s principal copper-gold producing belt. The 344 km² land package benefits from paved highway access, nearby power infrastructure and a climate that permits year-round field activities. Geologically, the property exhibits the same alkalic porphyry style seen at Hudbay’s Copper Mountain mine to the south and New Gold’s New Afton mine to the north, both long-life producers.
Proximity to established operations offers logistical advantages and underscores the exploration potential at MPD. The project area hosts multiple historical prospects and has been tested by more than 200 legacy drill holes, many of which intersected copper mineralization but were never followed up with systematic modern exploration until Kodiak acquired the ground.
Details of the maiden NI 43-101 resource
On 24 June 2025 Kodiak Copper reported the first component of its maiden NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate, covering the Gate, Man, Dillard and Ketchan zones. Using open-pit constrained shells and a 0.20 % copper-equivalent cut-off grade, the estimate outlined:
• Indicated: 56.4 million tonnes grading 0.42 % copper-equivalent, containing 385 million pounds of copper and 250,000 ounces of gold.
• Inferred: 240.7 million tonnes grading 0.33 % copper-equivalent, containing 1.291 billion pounds of copper and 960,000 ounces of gold.
Mineralization remains open in several directions and at depth in all four zones. Kodiak noted that the higher-grade cores identified so far display strong continuity and sit near surface, characteristics that could translate into favourable economics under an open-pit development scenario.
The company plans to integrate the pending results from West, Adit and South into an updated estimate in the fourth quarter, creating a comprehensive resource across seven mineralized zones.
2025 drilling: targets, methodology and objectives
The current 5,500-metre campaign combines one diamond drill rig with a reverse-circulation (RC) rig, a configuration designed to accelerate metre production and reduce per-metre costs. The program includes:
• 39 drill holes distributed among the West, Adit and South zones.
• Twinning of selected historical holes to verify legacy data for NI 43-101 compliance.
• Infill drilling to tighten spacing in zones with sparse coverage.
• Step-outs aimed at expanding known mineralization laterally and at depth.
Parallel mapping and prospecting are being carried out around the resource areas to refine geological models, prioritize new drill targets and support future extensions. Field teams are also evaluating targets generated during the 2024 season, including VRIFY-identified Areas of Interest that have yet to be drilled.
Financial position and capital structure
Kodiak Copper has 85.8 million shares outstanding, giving the company a market capitalization of approximately C$54.8 million based on the closing price of C$0.64 recorded on 30 July 2025. The C$5.5 million private placement completed in March was oversubscribed, ensuring full funding for the 2025 exploration program and associated resource work.
Next steps and anticipated news flow
Assay results from the ongoing drilling are expected to be released in batches as they become available, providing incremental updates through the summer and early autumn. Once all data have been received and interpreted, Kodiak’s technical team will move to finalize the full seven-zone resource estimate in the fourth quarter.
Further work programs, including potential additional drilling or metallurgical studies, will be outlined after the updated resource is published. The company has indicated that the large land position hosts numerous untested targets, leaving room for continued exploration beyond the current zones.
Thank you for reading our coverage. We appreciate your time and interest in staying informed with accurate, timely news reporting.
