Cobre Accelerates Botswana Copper Push with Equinor Collaboration

Cobre (ASX: CBE) has signed a collaboration agreement with Norwegian multinational energy company Equinor to evaluate leaching solution performance and in situ copper recovery (ISCR) parameters at its wholly owned Ngami copper project in Botswana.

The research will test copper recovery under dynamic flow conditions and support development of a model intended to further optimise the Ngami ISCR design.

Commissioning of the project’s well-field has started with initial water injection and flow testing, while community engagement for a proposed ISCR demonstration plant has been completed as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment.

Cobre has also started follow-up drilling at the Okavango copper project with Sinomine, and completed seismic interpretation and targeting with earn-in partner BHP (ASX: BHP) across Kitlanya West, Kitlanya East, and Ngami.

Stronger Ngami Development Case

The Ngami well-field represents the first stage of the planned demonstration plant, with initial results to support hydrogeological test work and project de-risking before Cobre progresses to active copper-silver recovery using the same infrastructure.

Five new diamond holes at the Cosmos target confirmed copper-silver mineralisation across 800 metres of strike, returning broader intervals of 4.74m to 5.84m at 0.5% to 0.73% copper and 10.3 grams per tonne to 17.4g/t silver.

Every hole included a higher-grade zone above 1% copper, supporting continuity within the broader Ngami exploration target and the potential to assess both conventional underground mining and a wider ISCR pathway.

Cosmos forms part of an Exploration Target estimated at 205 million tonnes to 308Mt grading 0.31% to 0.46% copper and 5.5g/t to 8.3g/t silver, about 8km along strike from the Comet deposit.

The latest Cosmos program drilled 1,110m of diamond core from the footwall side, improving intersection angles through the steeply dipping to overturned units and mineralised contact compared with earlier campaigns.

Okavango Targets Move to Testing

Phase three drilling at Okavango intersected anomalous copper mineralisation in five of nine completed holes across the project’s 1,363 square kilometres of prospective ground northeast of the Zone 5 production hub and surrounding deposits.

The results identified three priority areas along strike from Zone 5 North, Zone 5, and Plutus.

Follow-up drilling will test whether the anomalous mineralisation represents the halo of a larger copper-silver system and seek vectors towards higher grades.

Sinomine’s initial A$1.5 million investment has been extended to a second round of target drilling after the campaign encountered chalcocite and native copper, including a standout 0.43m intersection grading 1.42% copper.

Parallel Exploration Programs

Processing and first-pass interpretation of seismic data across Kitlanya West and Kitlanya East have been completed through Cobre’s earn-in arrangement with BHP, with targets being prepared for further drill testing.

The two Kitlanya projects are funded under a US$25m earn-in option worth about A$40m, which is intended to map the Kalahari Copper Belt basin structure and identify structural traps capable of hosting significant copper-silver mineralisation.

Together with the Equinor research, Sinomine drilling, and Ngami commissioning, the work gives Cobre several parallel development and exploration programs across its Botswana portfolio.

“Cobre’s portfolio now provides exposure to two globally significant copper districts combining established copper production, near-term development opportunities, and high-impact exploration upside,” chief executive officer Adam Wooldridge said.

“Importantly, these workstreams further advance Cobre’s wholly owned Ngami ISCR production opportunity, while leveraging partner-funded research and exploration across the broader portfolio to provide significant discovery upside.”