By November, SolGold will have completed 145,000m of drilling at the already large Cascabel project in Ecuador, with a resource update due for the Alpala deposit then.

Speaking at the Precious Metals Summit in Colorado, Mather said the company was targeting 10 million tonnes of copper and 25 million ounces of gold in the updated resource.

"That's around double what we put out in December," he said.

Mather said the updated resource should lead to a re-rating and would extinguish any doubt people had about the project.

Earlier this month, BHP paid US$35.2 million for a 6.1% stake in SolGold after unsuccessfully proposing a joint venture over Cascabel in 2016.

"It was unsolicited - they didn't even call us," Mather said.

"That's really good for us and it augers well for the future."

Newcrest Mining is the company's largest shareholder with 14%.

"It's important to note, they can't block any change of control transaction," Mather said.

"Our register is very open and we're able to do business with any other corporates."

Despite currently being "vulnerable", Mather said SolGold could still develop Cascabel on its own without the help of majors.

"This is a tier one, intergenerational, world-class project that will ride over the top of any metal price cycle," he said.

The company is a first-mover in Ecuador and has other projects in the country.

"Ecuador is our project," Mather said.

"Alpala is just one of 11 projects that run down the spine of Ecuador."

The company has 86 geologists working in Ecuador.

"Someone told me today that's about double what BHP has looking for copper," Mather said.

Mather said Fortescue Metals Group was the second-most active explorer in Ecuador, with Hancock Prospecting also ramping up activities.

"For Gina Rinehart and Andrew Forrest, copper is the new iron ore."