African Discovery Group (OTC:AFDG) (“AFDG” or the “Company”) has entered into a term sheet to acquire the Butembo Copper exploration license in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by acquiring 100% of the shares of SOCIETE GRABIN MINING SAS (the “Transaction”). The Butembo Copper project is a greenfield exploration project located in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. 40km south of the provincial capital of Beni. The project is located 33km west of the Ugandan border with verified road and rail access to the port of Mombasa.
The area is generally underexplored relative to the well-known copper belts of the Katanga copper belt to the south – however the Mesoproterozoic Kibalian greenstone belt is known for its tungsten-tin-gold occurrences, and it hosts the well-known Kilembe Mine nearby which has produced substantial quantities of both copper and cobalt
According to Rio Tinto, African deposits make up eight out of the 10 highest grade deposits discovered since 1990. The recent discovery of the Butembo copper deposit has underscored the need for further exploration work in areas peripheral to the Katanga Copper Belt.It is important to note that the artisanal pits initially targeted and extracted alluvial gold in the surficial gravels that overly the schists hosting the copper mineralization.The implication is that Butembo is prospective for both gold and copper.
The Butembo discovery is a near surface high-grade copper oxidized ore with measured grades of up to 18% with depth and lateral extension potential of over 5km along strike. The project is located at the base of the Ruwenzori mountains and borders Virunga National Park. There is extensive artisanal activity for both copper and gold and by extension a thriving small scale minerals industry exists in Butembo going back years. Regolith clay samples to the north have tested positively for copper – this is interpreted as a positive indicator of a northern extension to Butembo.
The artisanal and first phase exploration pits around the flood plain of the Talehya River, which runs through the concession, have been tested over an initial 500m of strike length – and the results have been positive with one of these analyses reporting the 18% Cu mentioned above as well as 16.3% in another exploration pit.
The deposit is in the vicinity of the historic Kilembe copper mine (4 million tons) across the border in Uganda whose sulphide mineralization occurs within biotite schists thought to have formed by hydrothermal fluids during early tectonic cycles that were trapped in structurally favorable impermeable locations. This offers a unique insight into the potential geological controls of the Butembo deposit. Mineralization is structurally controlled, occurring along northeast-trending shear zones and folds that facilitated hydrothermal fluid flow. The primary ore minerals include chalcopyrite, pyrite, and linnaeite, forming massive sulfide lenses and disseminated zones.
The Butembo deposit holds a strategically advantageous location, benefiting from proximity to regional infrastructure, which includes electrical power being available within reach of the project boundary. The site is located close to the Ugandan border, offering access to the East African transport corridor. This includes road and rail connections through Uganda to the port of Mombasa, Kenya—providing a viable export route for future development.
The combination of surface high-grade mineralization, artisanal activity, infrastructure access, and strategic location positions the Butembo Copper Project as a high-potential target for early-stage exploration and resource delineation.
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