Mari Energies Limited has announced a significant copper and gold discovery in the Chagai district of Balochistan. The discovery was made at the East Siah Diq (ESD-1) exploration target by Mari Minerals, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mari Energies.
The discovery area is located approximately 50 kilometres east of the Reko Diq copper and gold project and 25 kilometres northwest of Nokkundi in the Koh-i-Sultan area adjacent to the Siah Diq Project. The company identified a new porphyry copper system beneath approximately 100 metres of surface sediments across an area of about 1.4 square kilometres.
To reach these results, Mari Minerals completed approximately 25,000 metres of exploration drilling in two phases. Results from the first phase of drilling showed promising concentrations. The strongest copper result was recorded from drill hole ESD-1-DD-017, which showed 0.50 percent copper over an interval of 400.25 metres, with 0.11 grams of gold per ton. Another drill hole recorded 0.45 percent copper over 392.7 metres with a gold grade of 0.14 grams per ton. The highest gold concentration in the first-phase results was 0.19 grams per ton, recorded in two separate drill holes.
The mineralization also contains molybdenum. Mari Energies stated that copper mineralization was mainly associated with chalcopyrite, though other copper-bearing minerals were also identified.
The company has finished the first phase of testing, while laboratory analysis of samples from the second phase is currently underway. Mari Energies expects these results in the first quarter of 2027.
Mari Energies plans to conduct more drilling to test mineralization at greater depths, which could reach 1,000 metres below the surface. The company will also prepare an initial geological model and resource estimate using results from both drilling phases.
The company noted that further drilling, geological interpretation, metallurgical test work, resource estimation and technical studies will be required before the scale, grade continuity, economic significance and development potential of mineralisation can be determined. The technical information was reviewed and approved by John Mortimer, PhD, of JM Geoscience Pty Ltd.
Mari Minerals, formerly known as Mari Mining Company (Pvt) Limited (MMC), was established in July 2023 to undertake mineral mining projects in Pakistan. One day prior to the announcement, Mari Minerals signed an agreement with mining giant Ivanhoe Atlantic to explore copper and gold deposits in Chagai to assess the region's mineral potential and identify development opportunities.
