Episode Details

Interview with Andrew Cox, President & CEO of Rio2 Ltd.

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/growth-stories-winning-teams-that-know-how-to-find-gold-get-it-out-of-the-ground-9290

Recording date: 28th September 2026

Rio2 Limited (TSX:RIO) has made the leap from developer to dual-asset producer in 2026. It brought its Fenix Gold Mine in Chile's Atacama region into production and acquired the Condestable copper-gold underground mine in Peru in February. The transition has not been smooth. President and CEO Andrew Cox detailed how two exceptional winter storms disrupted Fenix during its ramp-up year.

Fenix is a high-altitude heap leach operation designed to stack 20,000 tpd and produce around 100,000 ounces of gold a year. Production rose from about 4,500 ounces in Q1 to about 9,000 ounces in Q2, and the mine averaged its 20,000 tpd target in early July. A mid-July storm then dropped around one metre of snow over five days, followed by a second storm on August that delivered around two metres. Cox described the season as something like two 20-year events in three weeks. Each storm halted stacking, and the leach pad was buried during the second event.

As a result, Rio2 now expects around 40,000 ounces for 2026, down from the 60,000 ounces the company regarded as its success case. Formal guidance remains withheld, and the company warns that unseasonal snow may persist through December. Commercial production nonetheless remains on track for Q4.

The operational signals beneath the headline shortfall are more encouraging. Freezing on the leach pad, which affected several cells in May, has been resolved with double-layer covers. Fenix recently stacked a record 30,000 tpd over two days, and Cox expects sustained 20,000 tpd operation from October, with 25,000 tpd by year-end described as an attractive goal. Mining has expanded from Fenix South into Fenix Central, with access to Fenix North under way. Ore is also arriving wetter than modelled, at around 4% moisture rather than 1%. That cuts added water needs by about 30% and could allow up to 30% more tonnes on the same water budget, a potential lever for the 2027 plan.

Condestable provides a steadier base. The mature IOCG mine produces about 25,000 tonnes of copper equivalent a year, around 80% of it from copper. Its EIA modification to lift throughput from 8,400 tpd to 10,000 tpd was approved last month. Rio2 is finalising engineering for 12,000 tpd plant capacity at an estimated cost of around $50 million, with construction planned from the second half of 2027 and ramp-up in the second half of 2028. A 16,000-metre surface drilling programme around two historic open pits is under way, with 17,000 metres more planned for 2027 and a maiden surface resource targeted for late 2027.

Further optionality comes from the Fenix expansion BFS, which awaits the selection of a water provider expected within about a month, and a Yukon tungsten project with a 2,000-metre drilling permit for 2027. Investors should watch for the commercial production declaration, the water provider decision and the BFS. The key risks are weather through December and execution on the expansion programme.

View Rio2's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/rio2-limited

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