Firm advances DRC copper exploration after drill results

Copper Intelligence is pushing ahead with exploration at its Butembo Copper Project in the Democratic Republic of Congo after initial drilling delivered the grades the company had hoped to find.

The US-listed explorer said its first six holes confirmed strong near-surface mineralisation. The results included 7.55 metres grading 5.39% copper from the surface and extended the known mineralised structure to more than 300 metres along strike.

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We are very excited about the copper grades so far. The first six holes have proved up what we thought all along. We get grades of five per cent, 18 per cent, and 30 per cent, but when you composite over each of the holes, we are running at about 2.96 per cent of the 16 metres each hole.

Andrew Groves, the company’s chairman, said in an interview with CNBC Africa’s Power Lunch East Africa that another six drill results were expected during the week. He said the mineralised strike length had already reached about 1,400 metres, while the zone could widen to roughly 75 to 100 metres.

“We are very excited about the copper grades so far. The first six holes have proved up what we thought all along. We get grades of five per cent, 18 per cent, and 30 per cent, but when you composite over each of the holes, we are running at about 2.96 per cent of the 16 metres each hole,” Groves said.

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And the good news is that we will be announcing the next six holes this week, which seem to be not too dissimilar to the last six. We have extended the strike length to about 1,400 metres, which we are very pleased about.

He said the company initially worked with an estimated width of about 25 metres, but angled drilling suggested a much wider ore body. Copper Intelligence also sees potential to extend the system toward seven or eight kilometres of strike. Groves described the project as potentially world-class, while acknowledging that substantial work remained.

The project lies about 30 to 40 kilometres from the Ugandan border. Groves said road access into Uganda could allow production to move toward the Port of Mombasa for export. He also pointed to surplus power in eastern Congo as a possible advantage if the company later builds processing facilities, including solvent extraction-electrowinning or smelting infrastructure. On security, he expressed confidence in current operating conditions and cited cooperation between the Congolese and Ugandan governments.

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So, this can potentially be a world-class deposit going forward. Obviously, there is a lot of work that needs to be done between now and then, but as I said, we are very excited about it all, good grades, near surface, big open pit, and good access for exports.