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Why This New Copper Spinout Has Huge Upside

VRIC Media Jul 7, 2026

Summary

Cambria Gold Mines will spin its Mount Margaret deposit — a historical 570-million-ton resource at 0.72% copper equivalent — into a new US company, Freedom Copper.

Abandoned after the Mount St. Helens eruption, the porphyry (a large copper system) remains open in every direction, and every 2010 hole ended in mineralization.

Cambria shareholders keep 49.9% exposure plus a 15% dividend in the spinout, while Cambria focuses on restarting the Premier gold mine in British Columbia.

The restart plan feeds one 2,500-tonne-per-day mill from four deposits, led by high-grade Red Mountain — 544,000 measured ounces near 9 grams per tonne.

A planned $100 million raise funds about 100,000 meters of drilling toward a modern resource estimate, a PEA (early economic study), and US permitting.

Key points on Barrick Mining

  • According to the guest, Cambria recruited its incoming vice president of exploration out of Barrick, and he lists Barrick among the gold majors for which a deposit like Mount Margaret is the type of project they want to have.

Key points on Evolution Mining

  • The guest points to Evolution Mining's Cowell mine in Australia — described as one of its best mines, with similar geology and a similar start from high grade — as the analog behind Cambria's plan to capture lower-grade material through a phase-two expansion.

Key points on KGHM Polska Miedz

  • The guest says the previous management team at the Premier restart came primarily out of KGHM, a company specializing in large open pits, and argues that open-pit habits — less infill drilling and easier multi-mine supply — contributed to the failed underground operation.

Key points on Kinross Gold

  • The guest notes Kinross operated Buckhorn, the last mine built in Washington State, and says a new project is being looked at in eastern Washington State.

Key points on West Red Lake Gold Mines

  • The host names West Red Lake Gold Mines as one of the Fiore group's mine restart and development companies alongside Cambria and Selkirk Copper.

Rob McLeod's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Argues Mount Margaret is a long-overlooked copper-gold porphyry in Washington State — a historic estimate of over 570 million tons at about 0.72% copper equivalent, roughly one square kilometer of outcropping mineralization, and open in all directions — and credits its BLM co-ownership for Cambria's White House invitation.
  • Points to the 2010 confirmatory drilling (10 holes, all ending in mineralization) and 10-15% higher copper grades versus the 1970s assays as evidence the system is open at depth, and argues modern porphyry science points to an untested potassic core with major expansion potential.
  • Frames the Freedom Copper spin-out as found money for Cambria shareholders: Cambria retains 49.9% after financing, current holders get 15% of Mount Margaret's value as a zero-cost dividend, and a US-domiciled team is meant to attract copper-focused capital.
  • Lays out a plan to raise $100 million for about 100,000 meters of definition drilling, a new resource estimate (targeted for later in 2026, subject to the QP), a PEA, and then straight into US federal permitting — funding he expects can carry the project through to feasibility.
  • Diagnoses the failed Premier restart as an execution problem rather than a geology one, and argues the fix is Red Mountain — the gem of the four deposits, averaging about 10.5 g/t over roughly 25 meters of thickness in the first two years — feeding a hub-and-spoke mill, with $4,000-5,000 gold supporting lower cutoffs and a phase-two study that may move feasibility to mid-2027.

Jay Martin's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Says he is a very happy shareholder of Cambria and closes by expecting both Cambria and Freedom Copper to have news-rich quarters ahead, naming drilling results as the next milestone he wants to see.
  • Argues that one company holding two flagship assets leaves investors discounting one of them — his stated premise for why spinning Mount Margaret out into a separate company makes sense.
  • Presses that the 1980 historic resource estimate cannot be relied on and that investors, himself included, need to see current results before trusting the story.
  • Suggests Mount Margaret went undeveloped partly because it came of age in an era when supporting mine development was not politically palatable, noting mining has been among the most vilified industries for roughly 15 years.