The US exploration company Copper Intelligence plans to begin drilling within four to six weeks in what it considers a previously unexplored copper district in eastern Congo, an area largely overlooked by major mining companies, its president said.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is the world’s second-largest copper producer after Chile, having supplied approximately 4.8 million metric tons of the metal last year, a key component in electric vehicle batteries and the clean energy transition.
Exploration activities have so far been concentrated in the southern Copperbelt, which spans the provinces of Lualaba and Haut-Katanga, where the Chinese companies CMOC and Glencore have operations, around Kolwezi and Lubumbashi.
In contrast, eastern Congo, parts of which are embroiled in a conflict linked to the M23, is better known for its gold, tin, tantalum, and tungsten, with operators such as Barrick, Alphamin, and artisanal gold producers.
Copper Intelligence has finalized the acquisition of the Butembo copper license, a high-grade deposit located near the surface, discovered after artisanal gold miners unearthed shallow oxidized copper mineralization, its president, Andrew Groves, told Reuters.
Copper deposits have been identified in soil samples and surface outcrops extending approximately seven kilometers toward the boundary of Virunga National Park, suggesting district-wide potential, Groves said.
The license covers approximately 70 to 80 square kilometers.
Drilling is required to determine the depth and thickness of the main deposit. Rock samples have revealed copper grades of up to 18 percent, which, if confirmed on a larger scale, would place the deposit among the richest in the world, he added.
The company plans incremental drilling to establish an initial resource estimate. Annual exploration expenditures are expected to be between $1 million and $1.5 million, he said.
The project is located about 50 km from the Ugandan border and benefits from a rail link to the Kenyan port of Mombasa, providing a shorter export route than the Katanga Copperbelt, Groves said.
Copper Intelligence’s board of directors includes former CIA officer Enrique Prado. Groves said security around Butembo is coordinated under a joint Congolese-Ugandan military agreement to combat insurgents.
Copper Intelligence intends to sell its copper exclusively on the US market, he added.
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