Gunnison Copper Appoints U.S. Defense Sector Executive as Chief Financial Officer
TSX: GCU | OTCQB: GCUMF | FSE: 3XS0
Overview
Gunnison Copper Corp. announced the appointment of Jennifer Hays as Chief Financial Officer, effective October 12, 2026, according to the company. Mr. Fabio Rocha, who has served as the Company's Interim Chief Financial Officer, will be promoted to Senior Director, Accounting and Reporting, from his previous role as Director, Accounting and Reporting, the company stated.
According to the company, Ms. Hays is an accomplished American finance executive with approximately 20 years of experience spanning the U.S. defense industrial base, government contracting, public companies, manufacturing, strategic investment, capital allocation, financial planning and reporting, and enterprise growth.
Key Highlights
- Jennifer Hays will assume the role of Chief Financial Officer effective October 12, 2026, according to the company.
- Fabio Rocha, the Company's Interim Chief Financial Officer, will be promoted to Senior Director, Accounting and Reporting, from his previous role as Director, Accounting and Reporting, the company stated.
- Ms. Hays most recently served as Chief Financial Officer of PacSci EMC, an operating company within Ralliant Corporation (NYSE: RAL), a U.S. defense and space company whose products support major defense customers, according to the company.
- During her tenure as CFO of PacSci EMC, the company stated that Ms. Hays helped lead a significant expansion of the business, with substantial revenue growth and booked backlog increasing to US$1 billion.
- According to the company, Ms. Hays helped PacSci EMC secure a US$27 million Defense Industrial Base Consortium award to expand production capacity.
- Prior to Ralliant, Ms. Hays spent approximately 17 years with Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) in senior finance positions across government contracting, growth and incubation, manufacturing, global supply chain, M&A integration and divestitures, and risk and controls, the company stated.
- Ms. Hays holds a Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science in Finance from Arizona State University, according to the company.
Strategic/Operational Context
Craig Hallworth, President and CEO of Gunnison Copper, commented that Ms. Hays "is an exceptional addition to our executive team at an important point in Gunnison's growth," bringing "a rare combination of CFO leadership, public company finance experience and direct experience within the U.S. defense industrial base." He added, "As we advance Gunnison as a major new source of domestically produced copper, Jennifer's background is exceptionally well aligned with our strategy. Her experience securing government-supported investment, working within strategically important U.S. supply chains and managing capital-intensive businesses will be highly valuable as we advance the Gunnison Project."
Ms. Hays commented, "I am excited to join Gunnison at such an important stage in the Company's development. Copper is increasingly critical to U.S. economic growth, manufacturing, infrastructure and national security, and Gunnison has an opportunity to become a nationally significant producer."
About Gunnison Copper
Gunnison Copper Corp. is a multi-asset pure-play copper developer and producer that controls the Cochise Mining District (the district), containing 12 known deposits within an 8 km economic radius, in the Southern Arizona Copper Belt.
Its flagship asset, the Gunnison Copper Project, has a main pit Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource containing over 846 million tons with a total copper grade of 0.33% containing 5.19 billion pounds of copper (Measured Mineral Resource of 192 million tons at 0.37% containing 1.42 billion pounds of copper and Indicated Mineral Resource of 655 million tons at 0.31% containing 3.77 billion pounds of copper).
The Strong & Harris satellite deposit, located approximately 1.9 miles from the Gunnison processing facilities, is also included in the mine plan and hosts an Inferred Mineral Resource of 76 million tons grading 0.49% total copper (0.32% CuOx) at a 0.07% cutoff, 0.56% zinc and 0.12 oz/ton silver, containing approximately 740 million pounds of copper, including 483 million pounds of oxide copper, as well as zinc (856 million pounds) and silver (9.0 million ounces).
A preliminary economic assessment ("PEA") was completed in March 2026 for the Gunnison Project yielding robust economics including an NPV8% of $2 billion, IRR of 23%, and payback period of 3.9 years. It is being developed as a conventional operation with open pit mining, heap leach, and SX/EW refinery to produce finished copper cathode on-site with direct rail link. The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the conclusions reached in the PEA will be realized. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
In addition, Gunnison's Johnson Camp Asset, which is now in production, is fully funded by Nuton LLC, a Rio Tinto Venture, with a production capacity of up to 25 million lbs of finished copper cathode annually.
Other significant deposits controlled by Gunnison in the district, with potential to be economic satellite feeder deposits for Gunnison Project infrastructure, include South Star, and eight other deposits.
For more information on the Company, please visit the company's website at www.GunnisonCopper.com.
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