By: Mining.com

The Kalahari Copper Belt extends over an 800km stretch running from central Namibia through to northern Botswana and is regarded as one of Africa’s most prospective mining regions.

Renowned for its sedimentary copper-silver discoveries, the Kalahari Copper Belt hosts significant development projects with majors like MMG (HKEX:1208), Sandfire Resources (ASX:SFR), and BHP Group (ASX:BHP) with active projects in the region.

On the junior side, we’re also seeing an influx of exploration, with Belararox (ASX:BRX) and Leviathan Metals (TSX-V:LVX), among others, leading the way.

MMG’s Khoemacau copper mine sits in the northwest of Botswana and is a copper-silver mine with an expected mine life of more than 20 years. The company completed the US$936 million ($1.32 billion) expansion project Feasibility Study in 2025, which outlines a plan to boost production from 60,000 tonnes per annum to 130,000 tonnes per annum in copper metal concentrate, with additional silver output to exceed 4 million ounces.

MMG broke ground on the expansion project in February 2026, starting on the construction of a new 4.5-million-tonne per annum processing plant and expanding mining operations through Zone 5 North, Mango, and the Zeta North-East deposits.

The expansion is set to grow Khoemacau’s total milling capacity to above 8 million tonnes per annum and first copper concentrate is expected in the first half of 2028.

Belararox sees MMG’s expansion project as a positive for exploration work in the region, highlighting the key opportunities that exist within the Kalahari Copper Belt.

Belararox positioned along strike from MMG’s Khoemacau

Belararox’s Kalahari Copper Belt Project (KCP) is surrounded by landholdings from global majors and is along strike from MMG’s regional hub.

In April 2026, Belararox’s new technical team completed a full reassessment of the KCP and have now identified the northeastern part of the project as the most prospective. The team has implemented a widespread airborne electromagnetic survey across these leases.

CEO Will Dix notes that this survey was designed to highlight the key parts of the Kalahari stratigraphy that will enable Belararox to build a 3D geological model to better locate drill targets.

“The work on that interpretation and the modelling of the data is almost complete,” Dix says.

“From there, we will design a drill program targeting the most prospective areas with the current plan to commence that in July.”

Looking at the Kalahari Copper Belt itself, Dix explains that the belt is aligned northeast-southwest and has two major stratigraphic units, which are the key to copper mineralisation there, the Ngwako Pan sediments and, stratigraphically above those, the D’Kar formation.

“The copper mineralisation in the belt is associated with this contact,” Dix says.

“The contact has undergone a couple of periods of deformation resulting in the remobilisation of copper metal into structurally amenable locations, such as fold closures, secondary structures, etc.

“Several companies have had success previously including Hana Mining (now the MMG hub at Khoemacau) and MOD Resources, which was bought by Sandfire in October 2019 and now operates the Motheo Project. These are both world-class deposits and we are hoping to identify similar mineralisation.”

Dix notes that Belararox benefits from significant infrastructure and other benefits that come by being surrounded by industry majors within the Kalahari Copper Belt, including excellent road infrastructure and a significant production hub at Khoemacau only 40–50km away, and Motheo to the south.

For now, Belararox is focused on completing its geophysical interpretation and modelling and from there its drill targeting and the commencement of drilling in July 2026.

Leviathan Metals expands landholding in Botswana

Leviathan Metals is a Canadian company also driving exploration growth across the Kalahari Copper Belt, led by the Central Project in Botswana.

Acquired in November 2025, Leviathan’s land package in the region spans over 2,000km2 along the Kalahari Copper Belt.

Similarly to Belararox, Leviathan’s proximity to MMG’s Khoemacau operations are a key benefit. Leviathan notes that Khoemacau “exemplifies the district’s scale and opportunity, producing in excess of 60,000 tonnes of copper concentrate annually — with plans to ramp up to over 130,000 tonnes, making it potentially one of the lowest cost producers globally.”

Leviathan’s Central Project is directly adjoining MMG’s landholding, falling within the southern extension of MMG’s copper-silver corridor.

Leviathan affirms that the Kalahari Copper Belt is one of the world’s most prospective regions for undiscovered sediment-hosted copper deposits. With industry leaders such as MMG and Sandfire Resources active in the belt, Leviathan has recently expanded its land package in the region through a new prospecting licence near its Central Project.

With MMG’s multibillion-dollar expansion at Khoemacau underscoring the scale of opportunity, juniors like Belararox and Leviathan Metals are positioning themselves to capture the upside of one of the world’s most prospective copper-silver corridors.

Surrounded by majors and backed by infrastructure, both companies are advancing exploration programs that could deliver the next generation of discoveries in the Kalahari Copper Belt — a region fast emerging as Africa’s premier copper frontier.