Botswana Minerals (AIM:BMIN), the AIM- and Botswana Stock Exchange-listed copper and diamond exploration company, has confirmed copper mineralisation on its Botswana licences after an AI review of historical drilling data identified chalcopyrite, a primary copper sulphide, in core from holes originally drilled for uranium and diamonds.
The AI analysis processed more than a gigabyte of legacy exploration reports, some spanning back over 50 years and across multiple separate campaigns, that had not previously been integrated into a modern copper model.
Alongside the chalcopyrite, historical records also show altered copper minerals including malachite and chrysocolla, as well as nickel-bearing minerals in favourable host rocks, pointing to a concealed mineralised corridor beneath shallow Kalahari cover.
"The copper was not sitting in one neat modern database," said chairman John Teeling. "AI helped us find, connect and understand that evidence in its proper geological context, which simply would not have been practical to do by hand."
The company said next steps are fully funded and will include field checks over the highest-priority copper, zinc, lead and nickel corridors, re-logging of available historical core with handheld XRF screening, and integration of results to refine drilling targets.
Fieldwork on the northern licences will be accelerated, with analysis continuing across the southern licences.
