On April 20 (Monday), the chairman of the board of US exploration enterprise Copper Intelligence stated that the company plans to commence drilling operations within the next four to six weeks, targeting a copper mining area in eastern Congo that has been largely untouched by major miners. The company believes the region represents an unexplored copper belt.
The DRC is the world's second-largest copper producer, behind only Chile. Last year, the country supplied approximately 4.8 million mt of copper, metals used in EV batteries and the clean energy transition. Previous exploration activities were primarily concentrated in the country's southern copper belt, covering Lualaba and Haut-Katanga provinces, where Glencore and others operate around Kolwezi and Lubumbashi.
By contrast, parts of eastern Congo are better known for gold, tin, tantalum, and tungsten, with operators including Barrick, Alphamin, and artisanal gold producers.
Andrew Groves, chairman of the board of Copper Intelligence, stated that the company has completed the acquisition of the Butembo copper mine permit. The mine is a near-surface, high-grade exploration target discovered after artisanal gold miners identified shallow layered oxide copper mineralization. Groves said soil samples and surface outcrops have identified a copper deposit extending approximately 7 kilometers to the boundary of Virunga National Park, indicating district-scale potential for the area. The permit covers an area of approximately 70 to 80 square kilometers.
He added that drilling is needed to determine the depth and thickness of the primary ore body. Rock samples have returned copper grades of up to 18%, and if this grade is confirmed over a larger area, it would rank among the highest grades globally. The company plans to drill in phases to establish an initial resource estimate. Annual exploration expenditure is expected to be approximately $1 million to $1.5 million.
Groves stated that the project is approximately 50 kilometers from the Ugandan border and can be connected by rail to the port of Mombasa in Kenya, offering a shorter export route compared to the Katanga copper belt.
He added that Copper Intelligence plans to sell copper exclusively to the US market. "Our goal is to become a pure-play US copper supplier."
(Wenhua Consolidated)
