Might Trump Administration Focus On Sourcing Copper Lead To Approval Of U.S. Investor Control Of Copper, Gold, And Silver Operations Of Australia Company?
Bowral, Australia-based Antilles Gold Limited (2026 assets approximately US$21 million) entered the Republic of Cuba in 2020 to develop copper, gold, and silver mining projects. Link: https://antillesgold.net/
Sierra Maestra Copper Belt: “A highly prospective area of outcropping copper-gold-molybdenum mineralization has been discovered by Antilles Gold within the Sierra Maestra copper belt in south east Cuba. As a result, the 3,600ha La Cristina concession was delineated and issued to Minera La Victoria for geological investigation. The copper belt is +200km terrain of Cretaceous arc geology intruded by Eocene stocks which are the source of widespread gold, and base-metals mineralization. The concession incorporates a series of copper-gold-molybdenum zones that display significant footprints of hydrothermal alteration normally associated with potentially large porphyry systems, and show high prospectivity for associated epithermal gold-silver base metal systems. The Sierra Maestra belt is a large (+200km long) east-west trending island arc terrain of Cretaceous age geology that is intruded by Eocene age stocks which are the source for the widespread gold and base-metal mineralization that characterizes the underexplored belt which hosts the large El Cobre copper-gold-base metals deposit which is along strike from the concession. El Cobre has been mined since 1540 and is ongoing, making it the oldest copper mine in the Americas. The La Cristina concession hosts the same geological sequence as El Cobre and is located immediately to the south and further along strike to the west of this major mineralized system.”
El Pilar Copper-Gold Porphyry System: “A 752ha concession in central Cuba is held by Minera La Victoria, and covers the Nueva Sabana gold-copper oxide deposit, and the El Pilar porphyry copper system. The site is flat, unoccupied, and ideally located adjacent to a major highway, high tension power, and a 60km rail link to Palo Alto port. Antilles Gold has identified surface exposure as the leached phyllic caps to underlying copper-gold porphyry intrusives in the El Pilar system. The extent of surficial hydrothermal alteration indicates the porphyry intrusions have large dimensions, and potential depth greater than 1,000m. Ground magnetics and Induced Polarisation surveys in early 2023 identified a cluster of three porphyry intrusives (El Pilar, Gaspar, and Camilo) within the concession.”
“Key Risk Factors: Prospective investors should be aware that subscribing for Securities involves a number of risks and an investment in the Company should be considered as highly speculative. The future performance of the Company and the value of the Securities may be influenced by a range of factors, many of which are largely beyond the control of the Company and the Directors. The key risks associated with the Company’s business, the industry in which it operates and general risks applicable to all investments in listed securities and financial markets generally are set out in Section 5. In particular, prospective investors should have regard to the U.S. Department of State’s sanctioning of Minera La Victoria S.A., the Company’s 50% owned Cuban joint venture mining company, which is a significant risk relating to the Company and the Offer. Further details are set out in Section 5.2.”
“U.S. Sanction of Cuban Joint Venture Company: On 4 June 2026, the U.S. Department of State (DoS) sanctioned Minera La Victoria S.A. (MLV), a Cuban joint venture mining company in which the Company's wholly owned Cayman Islands registered subsidiary, Antilles Gold Inc (AGI), holds a 50% shareholding, for operating in the Cuban mining sector. As a result of the sanction, MLV suspended construction of its Nueva Sabana mine and AGI suspended its management of MLV. Following informal discussions between Mr Brian Johnson (as Chairman of AGI) and senior executives of the DoS, it appeared that a potential pathway to have the sanction lifted would involve U.S. entities acquiring control of AGI, being a minimum of 51% of its shares. On 25 August 2026, the Company signed a binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with GEM Global Yield LLC SCS (GEM) to advance that pathway (refer to the Company's ASX announcement of 27 August 2026). Under the MOU, GEM will incorporate a new U.S. subsidiary which will initially subscribe for a 25% shareholding in AGI, as the first step towards a minimum of 51% of AGI's shares being held by U.S. entities by no later than 30 June 2028. GEM will also approach the DoS to seek permission for the parties to negotiate the commercial arrangements and commitments that could result in the sanction being lifted and MLV being licensed by the U.S. Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to transact with U.S. entities. AGI has agreed to certain governance and operational commitments in support of that pathway, including the reconstitution of AGI's board. While the steps contemplated by the MOU, together with future negotiations between MLV, AGI, GEM and the DoS, may result in the sanction being lifted and construction of the Nueva Sabana mine resuming, there is no certainty of that outcome. If the sanction is not lifted through the actions described above, the Company, AGI and MLV will have no option other than to maintain the suspension of activities in Cuba until the sanction is lifted as a result of geopolitical developments, the timing of which cannot be determined. In any event, AGI will retain its 50% shareholding in MLV.”
Link To Announcement
Link To Presentation
Link: Cuba: And Now There Are Two… Antilles Gold Has Until 25 January 2027 And Sherritt International Has Until 12 October 2026 August 27, 2026
Link: Can Antilles Gold Of Australia Convince The Trump-Vance Administration And Government Of Cuba To Restructure Company Operations And Assets In Cuba? July 31, 2026
Thomson Reuters
London, United Kingdom
10 September 2026
White House copper tariff plan stalls amid affordability concerns, sources say
White House has yet to decide on refined copper tariffs amid concerns over higher manufacturing costs
Copper prices have hit record highs as buyers stockpile metal ahead of possible tariffs
Tariffs could boost US mining and refining but raise costs for manufacturers and tighten global supplies
Sept 10 (Reuters) - The White House has not yet made a decision on refined copper tariffs as officials juggle concerns that higher prices for the red metal could raise manufacturing costs against the potential benefits of encouraging more domestic mining, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The hesitation comes as the administration is increasingly focused on affordability ahead of November's midterm elections, with President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers facing pressure to demonstrate that their economic policies are lowering — rather than raising — costs for American consumers and businesses. Copper prices have surged to record highs amid expectations that Trump would impose tariffs on refined copper products such as cathode, as well as copper concentrate produced at mine sites. Traders and industrial buyers have been rushing to build inventories in the United States to get ahead of any new duties, creating one of the world's largest stockpiles of the metal.
A White House official said the administration had not made a final decision on the tariffs and confirmed that the Commerce Department provided an update to Trump by a June 30 deadline set by the White House. "The administration continues to evaluate all options to reshore copper and other critical manufacturing back to the United States," the official said.
The comments suggest tariffs are not a foregone conclusion, despite the market's expectation that the United States could extend existing duties to refined copper. The administration has been considering tariffs on refined copper as part of Trump's broader push to rebuild U.S. manufacturing and reduce reliance on foreign supplies of critical materials. Copper is used in construction, transportation, electronics and many other industries. S&P Global expects growth in the to boost global copper demand 50% by 2040.
The U.S. imports roughly half of its copper needs each year and only has two operational copper smelters, owned by Freeport-McMoRan and Rio Tinto, respectively.
The proposed tariffs could make imported copper more expensive and improve the economics of U.S. mining, smelting and refining projects. A Rio executive, for example, told Reuters earlier this year "the current set of mechanisms and tariffs around copper" do little to offset the challenging economics of its U.S. smelter.
But broader copper tariffs could also raise costs for manufacturers that rely on the metal, including producers of electrical equipment, automobiles, construction products and other industrial goods.
That tension has complicated the administration's efforts to use tariffs to encourage domestic production without adding to inflation or undermining Trump's political message on lowering the cost of living.
The tariff uncertainty is also preventing copper from flowing to markets outside the U.S., further tightening global supply. "As long as (tariff) policy remains unresolved, that possibility reduces the incentive to return metal to international markets," said Jacob White, a minerals analyst at Sprott Asset Management, which invests in copper producers.
U.S. RELIANT ON GLOBAL COPPER MINERS
The expectation for a copper tariff echoes 2025, when the market expected a blanket tariff on all products containing the metal. Trump, however, stopped short in July 2025 of such a sweeping tariff and instead imposed levies on pipes, wiring and other semi-finished products, much to the chagrin of companies that mine copper itself. Trump tasked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick with updating him by June on copper markets and recommending whether to impose a 15% tariff starting on January 1, 2027, that would rise to 30% in 2028. It was not immediately clear what Lutnick recommended to Trump.
U.S. refined copper imports have jumped 16-fold since 2015, even as production slipped 20%, according to U.S. Geological Survey data. The country has nearly 30 years' worth of supply within its borders. Trump has pushed in the past year to bolster U.S. copper projects, including the Resolution Copper project in Arizona from BHP and Rio, and the Twin Metals project in Minnesota from Antofagasta. Trump also has moved to ban the export of electronic waste, which contains copper.
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