The Northern Miner has compiled the top 10 copper drill results reported between June 17 and July 15, ranking drill holes by interval width multiplied by copper grade — the same methodology applied to its gold and silver rankings. The rankings surface the period's most significant exploration intercepts across copper districts in Chile, Mexico, and Namibia, three jurisdictions with established but distinct mining profiles.

Atex Resources' (TSX: ATX) Valeriano project in Chile claimed the top spot with a width × grade score of 498. Torex Gold Resources' (TSX: TXG) Morelos complex in Mexico ranked second at 256, followed by Koryx Copper's (TSXV: KRY) Haib project in Namibia at 186.

Valeriano — Atex Resources

Atex completed 28,400 metres of drilling in its latest program, surpassing its 25,000-metre target, and traced the high-grade B2B breccia over approximately 600 metres of strike.

Hole ATXD23C returned 692 metres grading 0.72% copper starting at 916 metres downhole, yielding the top-ranked width × grade score of 498. Within that interval, a 310-metre section from 1,074 metres graded 1.02% copper, and a 124-metre section from 1,236 metres graded 1.67% copper. A 20-metre sub-interval within the latter assayed 2.53% copper, 1.39 grams gold per tonne, and 9.3 grams silver.

The Valeriano project, located in Chile's Atacama region — the country's core copper-producing belt and home to some of the world's largest copper operations — hosts 475 million indicated tonnes grading 0.58% copper and 0.25 gram gold per tonne, containing approximately 2.76 million tonnes of copper and 3.82 million ounces of gold. Inferred resources stand at 1.51 billion tonnes grading 0.50% copper and 0.2 gram gold per tonne, representing roughly 7.55 million tonnes of contained copper and 9.71 million ounces of gold.

"These results continue to strengthen our confidence in the continuity of the high-grade B2B breccia," interim CEO Chris Beer said in a July 8 release.

Morelos — Torex Gold Resources

At Media Luna North, hole MLND-010 intersected 38.4 metres grading 6.67% copper, 5.29 grams gold, and 183.9 grams silver per tonne from 177.5 metres downhole, achieving a width × grade score of 256. The hole also returned a separate 33.4-metre interval grading 4.4% copper and 5.68 grams gold from 127 metres.

Media Luna North is part of Torex's producing Morelos complex in Guerrero state, meaning these intercepts sit within an operational mining district rather than a greenfield target. The company has scheduled 11,500 metres of drilling at Media Luna North this year to refine the geological model and support the first planned production stopes. The broader Morelos program encompasses 113,500 metres of drilling at a cost of $43 million (C$60.2 million).

"The latest round of drilling at Morelos continued to yield excellent results, providing further optimism for ongoing resource expansion and mine life additions," CEO Andrew Snowden said in a July 13 statement.

Haib — Koryx Copper

Hole HM153 returned 714 metres grading 0.26% copper, 101 parts per million (ppm) molybdenum, and 0.018 gram gold per tonne from surface, producing a width × grade score of 186. Notable sub-intervals included 68 metres grading 0.43% copper, 263 ppm molybdenum, and 0.021 gram gold from 294 metres, along with 82 metres at 0.32% copper, 204 ppm molybdenum, and 0.023 gram gold from 386 metres.

Koryx reported HM153 among 15 holes totalling 5,351 metres from its infill and expansion program at the Haib copper-molybdenum porphyry in southern Namibia. More than 140,000 metres have been drilled into the deposit since the 1970s, underscoring its long exploration history. The company intends to complete a prefeasibility study by year-end, a standard industry milestone that would move Haib closer to a potential development decision.

"Very wide intersections at good grades exceeding 0.3% CuEq, and mostly starting from surface, indicates the potential for further improvements of our mineral resource," CEO Heye Daun said in a June 29 release.