By: African Mining Market

Rome Resources Plc the tin and copper explorer focused on the Democratic Republic of Congo, is pushing into a new tin play in eastern Canada and pressing ahead with exploration at its flagship DRC project, following a year in which it delivered its first mineral resource estimate.

The company has entered an option agreement over several claims in the tin, tungsten and indium play of southwest New Brunswick, near the historical Mount Pleasant tungsten mine.

Fieldwork is planned for summer 2026, ahead of a possible drilling programme in 2027, subject to exercising the option.

Chief executive Paul Barrett described New Brunswick as a resource-friendly jurisdiction with exceptional mineral potential.

In the DRC, exploration has continued into 2026 with a further 3,250 metre drilling programme at the Bisie North project and an airborne geophysical survey designed to identify additional targets along the tin trend.

Work has also begun on a small-scale mining operation at the Kalayi deposit, which will produce tin from near-surface workings and provide technical data to support conversion to a full exploitation licence.

The activity follows the year’s central achievement, a maiden mineral resource estimate for Bisie North.

Barrett said the estimate laid down a marker for the company, with strong tin grades from surface at Kalayi and significant copper, zinc and silver alongside tin at the Mont Agoma deposit forming a basis for resource growth.

The successes were tempered by the death of co-founder and chief operating officer Mark Gasson, whose guidance Barrett credited with bringing the company to its current position.

Rome raised £2.1 million in equity funding for its DRC operations during 2025 and a further £1.6 million in the first half of 2026.

Cash at bank stood at £1.42 million at 31 December 2025, down from £4.33 million a year earlier.

During the year, the company conducted extensive drilling at Bisie North and issued the project’s inaugural resource estimate.

Since the year-end, it has also executed non-binding term sheets to potentially acquire further interests in the existing Bisie North licences, and broadened intercepts from 2026 drilling that have verified its geological model at Kalayi.

The board was strengthened with the appointment of Stephane Irung and Edward Loye as non-executive directors.

Barrett said that by the end of the current reporting period the company should be in a strong position, having added value to its projects in both the DRC and Canada.