By: Reuters

U.S. explorer Copper Intelligence AFDG.PK plans to begin drilling within four to six weeks at what it believes is a previously unexplored copper district in eastern Congo, an area largely overlooked by major miners, its chairperson said.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is the world's second-largest copper producer behind Chile, supplying about 4.8 million metric tons of the metal needed for electric-vehicle batteries and clean‑energy transition last year.

Exploration has previously focused on the southern Copperbelt, spanning Lualaba and Haut-Katanga provinces, home to China's CMOC 603993.SS and Glencore GLEN.L around Kolwezi and Lubumbashi.

By contrast, eastern Congo, parts of which are embroiled in M23-linked conflict, is better known for gold and tin, tantalum and tungsten, with operators including Barrick ABX.TO, Alphamin AFM.V and artisanal gold producers.

Copper Intelligence has completed the acquisition of the Butembo copper licence, a near-surface, high-grade prospect discovered after artisanal gold miners exposed shallow oxidised copper mineralisation, its chairperson Andrew Groves told Reuters.

Copper deposits have been identified in soil samples and surface outcrops extending about seven kilometers toward the boundary of Virunga National Park, suggesting district-scale potential, Groves said.

The licence covers roughly 70 to 80 square kilometres.

Drilling is needed to determine the depth and thickness of the primary ore body. Rock samples have returned copper grades of up to 18%, which, if replicated at scale, would rank among the highest globally, he added.

The company plans phased drilling to define a maiden resource. Annual exploration spending is expected to be about $1 million to $1.5 million, he said.

The project lies about 50 km from the Ugandan border and has access to rail links to Kenya's Mombasa port, offering a shorter export route than the Katanga copperbelt, Groves said.

Copper Intelligence's board includes former CIA officer Enrique Prado. Groves said security around Butembo is coordinated under a joint Congolese-Ugandan military framework targeting insurgents.

Copper Intelligence intends to sell copper exclusively into the U.S. market, he added.

"The plan is to be a pure American copper (supplier). We're not selling any of the copper to China."

(Reporting by Maxwell Akalaare Adombila; Additional reporting by Fiston Mahamba; Editing by Bate Felix and Chizu Nomiyama )