COPPER
Over the next two-to-three years, Arc Minerals’ focus is to discover and develop at least one Tier 1 copper resource.
Aeriel view of the asset in Zambia.
corridor in search of copper mineralisation.” Further to this, is the copper mineralisation intersected during the company’s first drilling campaign two years ago. The programme was curtailed by funding constraints, but with capital in place, Arc Minerals can now fully pursue the opportunity and return to the project with a much more ambitious exploration programme. Latest developments at the Virgo Project A maiden drilling programme (~3 000 m) completed in 2024 intersected both the target horizon and associated mineralisation, including 3 m @ 1.29% CuEq within 6 m @ 0.82% CuEq.
low-carbon solar power. Against this backdrop, Arc Minerals believes it is uniquely positioned as the only junior explorer with tenure within this proven discovery corridor, offering rare early-stage exposure to a highly fertile mineral system. “A key lesson from the Kalahari Copper Belt is that all major copper discoveries and producing mines follow the same geological model: copper mineralisation occurs along the contact between the D’Kar and Ngwako Pan formations. That holds true whether you’re looking at a small discovery, a large deposit or an operating mine. For an early-stage explorer, the objective is therefore to define that contact as accurately as possible.” Arc Minerals is building a detailed
Drilling to date has only tested a limited portion of the licence, leaving significant upside potential across largely untested strike. The current focus is on refining
understanding of the geology to establish where the prospective horizon runs across its licence and, importantly, how much of it the company controls. The greater the extent of this favourable contact, the greater the opportunity to identify drill targets with the potential to host copper mineralisation. According to Welschinger, Arc Minerals is fortunate to have this contact between the two formations running through its licence.
and extending the DKF/NPF contact zone using integrated geophysics and geological modelling ahead of further drilling. “We are preparing to launch our drilling campaign in Botswana. To date, we have completed a comprehensive geophysical survey—an essential
The global shift towards electrification is significantly
increasing copper demand, while the rapid expansion of AI and the massive build-out of data centres are creating additional sources of long-term consumption.
step in refining drill targets. The work has identified a much longer prospective contact, precisely the type of geological feature that hosts significant copper mineralisation in the Kalahari Copper Belt, giving us greater confidence in the programme. Importantly, we have also secured sufficient funding to execute a meaningful exploration campaign over the next 12 to 18 months. With the capital in place and the geophysical work completed, we’re well positioned to begin drilling in the coming weeks.” Arc Minerals has selected the drilling contractor with drilling imminent.
“Initially, we believed we had around four kilometres of prospective contact, extending from the Mawana Fault area towards MMG’s ground on the other side. However, the work
completed this year has delivered a major milestone: we have now established that the contact continues through our licence, turning and extending almost to the far corner of the project area. As a result, what we previously thought was around four kilometres of prospective exploration ground has expanded to almost 18 kilometres. That represents a significant increase in our exploration potential, with our upcoming drilling campaign now set to test targets along this much larger prospective
18 MODERN MINING www.modernminingmagazine.co.za | OCTOBER 2026
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