Australian-listed Jacaranda Natural Resources is preparing to begin drilling at its Globe Gold Project in Botswana within days after raising approximately P78 million (A$8 million) through an initial public offering (IPO), giving the company funding to explore its gold and copper-nickel projects in the country.
The company announced its debut on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) following the successful issue of shares at approximately P1.95 (A$0.20) each, with about P68.2 million (A$7 million) in cash available to finance exploration activities across Botswana and Australia over the next 24 months.
Jacaranda’s immediate focus in Botswana is the Globe Gold Project in the Tati Greenstone Belt, where a drilling rig is expected to arrive shortly for an initial programme of eight diamond drill holes covering approximately 540 metres.
The programme will investigate previously identified gold mineralisation, including historical drilling results of three metres grading 5.17 grams per tonne of gold from a depth of nine metres.
Rock-chip samples collected at the historic Globe Shaft also returned gold grades of up to 26.5 grams per tonne, although these historical results do not establish the size or economic viability of a deposit.
Jacaranda chief executive Craig Hatch said the company was ready to begin exploration at Globe following its listing.
“In Botswana, the rig is due on site at Globe in the next few days to drill our most advanced gold target,” Hatch said.
The initial drilling campaign will concentrate on the highest-priority areas identified through previous exploration, with the results expected to guide further investigations.
Jacaranda plans to combine validated historical trenching information with geological interpretation and induced polarisation geophysical surveys to identify additional drilling opportunities.
The company has not announced a mineral resource estimate for Globe, and the forthcoming drilling will be required to establish the extent and continuity of the previously identified gold mineralisation.
More than 2,500km² under exploration
Beyond Globe, Jacaranda holds the Motloutse and Nkwe projects, which collectively cover more than 2,500 square kilometres in Botswana’s Limpopo Mobile Belt.
These projects are being explored primarily for copper-nickel sulphide mineralisation, with the company identifying opportunities in areas that have experienced limited modern exploration since the 1970s to 1990s.
Hatch said the extensive landholding offered opportunities for systematic exploration using modern geological and geophysical techniques.
“At White Cockatoo, we have more than twenty untested high-grade shallow targets and multiple potential intrusive/porphyry system targets that have never been drill-tested, and at Motloutse and Nkwe we hold district-scale ground that has seen no commercial-scale exploration since the 1970s-90s. Our focus now is disciplined, results-driven exploration across the portfolio,” he said.
The geological potential of the region is illustrated by established copper-nickel deposits elsewhere in the Limpopo Mobile Belt, including Selebi North, Selebi Main and Sunnyside.
According to resource estimates referenced by Jacaranda, Selebi North contains an indicated resource of 8.95 million tonnes grading 1.03% copper and 1.08% nickel, alongside an inferred resource of 9.48 million tonnes grading 1.21% copper and 1.13% nickel.
Selebi Main has an inferred resource of 32.47 million tonnes grading 1.53% copper and 0.98% nickel, while Sunnyside contains an estimated 3.7 million tonnes grading 0.22% copper and 0.36% nickel.
These are third-party mineral resources belonging to other projects and are not attributable to Jacaranda. The company has also cautioned that mineralisation identified on neighbouring properties does not necessarily indicate similar deposits within its own exploration licences.
Jacaranda intends to use the regional geological information to guide exploration across Motloutse and Nkwe.
At Motloutse, the next phase will involve geological mapping and systematic surface sampling to identify areas requiring further investigation.
Work at Nkwe will include field reconnaissance, geological mapping and targeted rock-chip, soil and stream-sediment sampling, supported by a review of historical exploration information and remote-sensing data.
The company expects these activities to help identify priority exploration areas before committing to more detailed investigations.
IPO funds two-year exploration programme
Jacaranda raised approximately P78 million (A$8 million) through its IPO, with the offer managed by Gaia Capital and Boston Global.
The capital raising included cornerstone investments of approximately P24.3 million (A$2.49 million) from Ever-Sun Development (Hongkong) Limited and P6.8 million (A$700,000) from existing shareholder Purebond Limited.
Following the listing, Jacaranda reported approximately P68.2 million (A$7 million) in pro-forma cash to support its planned 24-month exploration programme across Botswana and Queensland, Australia.
Founder and executive chairman Arvind Misra said the listing marked the beginning of the company’s programme to explore its copper and gold assets.
“We founded Jacaranda with a clear objective: to deploy shareholders’ capital into high-quality copper and gold exploration opportunities where successful discovery can create substantial value,” Misra said.
He said the company was beginning operations with sufficient funding, an experienced management team and drilling preparations already underway in Botswana.
Jacaranda’s Botswana operations are overseen by country manager Kago Stimela, while chief executive Hatch brings previous experience from the development of the Khoemacau Zone 5 copper project in Botswana.
The company’s Australian portfolio includes the White Cockatoo Copper-Gold Project in Queensland, where drilling is planned for early 2027. However, its first drilling programme following the ASX listing is scheduled to take place at Globe in Botswana.
The immediate priority will be to complete the eight-hole drilling campaign at Globe and use the results to determine whether additional drilling and geophysical investigations are warranted.
Exploration at Motloutse and Nkwe will proceed alongside the Globe programme, with the company seeking to identify new copper-nickel prospects across its extensive Botswana landholding.
Jacaranda has not announced commercial mineral discoveries or mineral resources attributable to its Botswana projects, and further exploration will be required to determine whether the identified opportunities can support future mining developments.
