Midas Minerals is preparing to accelerate drilling at its Otavi Copper Project with the arrival of a seventh drill rig this month, as the company works towards a significantly updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for the high-grade T-13 copper-silver deposit by the end of 2026.
The additional drilling capacity comes after the latest round of infill drilling continued to deliver high-grade copper and silver intersections, particularly at the T-13 West Zone, where results suggest the existing resource substantially understates the area’s potential.
The company currently has six rigs operating across the Otavi Project, generating a steady stream of resource definition and exploration results throughout the second half of 2026.
The arrival of the seventh rig is expected to accelerate further drilling across the broader project area, allowing Midas to expand resources and test new exploration targets simultaneously.
The drilling campaign is focused on strengthening confidence in the T-13 resource before publishing an updated MRE later this year.
The revised estimate is expected to incorporate hundreds of new drill intersections completed since Midas acquired the project, replacing an earlier resource that relied largely on much wider-spaced historical drilling.
The existing April 2026 MRE for the entire T-13 deposit stands at 10.5 million tonnes grading 1.6% copper and 21g/t silver, containing 169,000 tonnes of copper and 7.1 million ounces of silver, or 211,000 tonnes of copper equivalent.
However, recent drilling indicates that the figure could increase both in grade and geological confidence.
The strongest evidence comes from the West Zone, which accounted for only about 20% of the current resource and was previously drilled on approximately 200-metre spacing.
Recent infill drilling on 80-metre spacing has identified a much higher-grade core than previously recognised.
Among the latest results were 31.4 metres grading 2.58% copper equivalent, including 15 metres at 3.87% copper equivalent, and another intersection of 22 metres grading 2.70% copper equivalent, including 6 metres at an exceptional 5.90% copper equivalent.
The current resource model for the West Zone averages just 0.99% copper and 6.6g/t silver, highlighting the potential impact the new drilling could have on the forthcoming resource estimate.
Managing director Mark Calderwood said the new drilling continued to outperform expectations.
“Infill drilling on the T-13 Main Zone continues to exceed expectations as the very high-grade portion exhibits strong continuity,” Calderwood said.
He added that the West Zone, located about 500 metres from the Main Zone, was also delivering strong copper and silver grades that were likely to materially improve what is currently a relatively low-grade component of the resource.
Beyond increasing tonnage and grade, the company is also developing a better understanding of the deposit’s geology.
According to Calderwood, drilling is revealing a consistent zonation pattern in which silver-rich chalcocite and bornite occupy the high-grade core, grading outward into chalcopyrite and eventually pyrite along the margins.
That geological model could become an important exploration tool as Midas searches for additional high-grade centres across the broader 4.6-kilometre-long T-13 prospect, where much of the western half remains comparatively underexplored.
The updated MRE for T-13 is expected by the end of this year, followed by a maiden resource estimate for the nearby Deblin deposit in the first quarter of 2027.
