By Robb M. Stewart

Ero Copper's shares jumped after the Canadian miner hit an important milestone in its efforts to develop another big copper mine in Brazil, with the first preliminary economic assessment for the Vale-owned Furnas project.

In early trading Tuesday, the shares were 7.8% higher at C$45.98, outpacing a slight dip in the broader market in Toronto. The gain widened the advance for the stock over the last three months to 42%.

The Vancouver, British Columbia, company's assessment of the project outlines the potential for a large-scale copper mine with an initial life of 24 years, which Eros said could be opened further. Average annual production is forecast at about 108,000 metric copper-equivalent tons in the mine's first 15 years, including some 70,000 tons of copper, 110,000 troy ounces of gold and 532,000 ounces of silver.

Initial capital for the mine, which the assessment indicates will have an after-tax present value of $2 billion, is estimated at roughly $1.3 billion.

Ero in 2023 struck a deal with Vale to secure a 60% stake in the Furnas copper project in exchange for funding exploration and engineering work. The arrangement, which the companies clinched the following year, is based on the completion of several exploration, engineering and development milestones over a period of five years.

Furnas is located about 190 kilometers, or 118 miles, northeast of Ero's Tucuma copper operation that began commercial production last July. Ero's flagship operation is its Caraiba copper asset in Brazil's Curaca Valley.

Eros completed nearly 50,000 meters of exploration drilling on the Furnas find last year and it has plans for a further 50,000 meters of drilling in 2026 to support accelerated engineering studies.

The company is targeting copper production this year of between 67,500 and 77,500 metric tons, up from 64,307 tons in 2025, and has ambitions to lift output to 80,000 to 90,000 tons by 2028.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 24, 2026 10:55 ET (15:55 GMT)

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