Ann: DRILL CONTRACT AWARDED FOR MAIDEN DRILLING PROGRAM AT PEARL, page-24

Copper futures rose to above $4.85 per pound on Thursday, a nine-month high, and more than $0.4 higher than comparable contracts at the LME amid expectations that US President Trump will impose tariffs on copper, a move that would pressure the limited capacity for local smelters. The President signed an executive order to initiate a review on copper imports after noting he would tariff the metal in an earlier speech before Congress. The signals suggested that levies would be imposed later in the year, but the escalation on base metal tariffs on Canada sporadically announced by the White House ramped up concerns that barriers on copper may be expedited. Such a move would increase dependency on domestic capacity, which is limited to only two major smelters, as the US imports nearly half of its copper.