Gruvaktiebolaget Viscaria (VISC) Q1 2025 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Viscaria is advancing one of Europe's largest copper projects, focusing on responsible mining and sustainability, with preparations for mine restart including water treatment plant construction and contractor agreements.

• The environmental permit gained full legal force in April 2025 after a Supreme Court decision, enabling full-scale project preparations.

• The Q1 2025 resource update shows a 16% increase in total mineral resources and an 18% increase in contained copper compared to November 2022, with Mineral Resource now at 108 Mt at 0.90% copper.

• Exploration success added 28.3 Mt of new Inferred resources, with significant upside remaining both near-mine and district-wide.

• Feasibility Study indicates a 17-year Life of Mine, NPV of SEK 4.4bn after tax, and IRR of 17.3%.

Financial highlights

• Q1 2025 capitalized exploration and evaluation expenses: SEK 84m, up from SEK 58m in Q1 2024.

• Net loss for Q1 2025: SEK -18m, compared to SEK -12m in Q1 2024; no production revenue yet.

• Cash and cash equivalents at March 31, 2025: SEK 382m, up from SEK 196m a year earlier.

• Total investments since June 2020: SEK 1,482m; capitalized investments in exploration assets: SEK 1,368m at March 31, 2025.

• SEK 314m net cash flow from financing activities in Q1, mainly from shareholder loans.

Outlook and guidance

• Focus areas for 2025 include completing permitting, further resource updates, finalizing the feasibility study, and advancing financing workstreams.

• The company targets a mid-term resource base of 140–160 Mt and aims to extend mine life by one year for each year of production.

• Funding requirement for the business case is SEK 5,410m (unlevered), with active exploration of debt financing options at 50–60% gearing.

• Shareholder loan of SEK 315m agreed in Q4 2024, with intention to convert to equity in a future rights issue.

• Copper prices have risen 50% in five years; EU demand for responsibly produced copper is expected to increase.