Midas Minerals has begun a full-scale drilling campaign across its newly acquired Otavi Copper Project in Namibia, marking the company’s first operational move ahead of completing the 1,776-square-kilometre acquisition by the end of 2025.
Two diamond drill rigs are now turning on the high-grade T-13 copper-silver deposit, while a reverse-circulation rig has been deployed to the Spaatzu prospect, formerly known as Monty.
The company plans to extend drilling to the Deblin Segen, Devon, and Hartebeesport prospects once the operational schedule aligns with Namibia’s upcoming wet season.
The decision to launch drilling ahead of final transfer follows the receipt of all third-party approvals in October.
The Otavi Project is already known for some of Namibia’s strongest copper and silver intercepts, including past diamond drilling at T-13 that returned 17.2 metres at 7.24% copper and 144.4 grams per tonne silver from 125.8 metres, as well as 45 metres at 2.43% copper and 54.5 grams per tonne silver from 193 metres.
Other project-wide results have included 15 metres at 4.15% copper with gold and silver at Deblin, 11.2 metres at 3.11% copper with gold and silver at Hartebeesport, and 12.5 metres at 3.64% copper at Segen-Driekoppies.
Midas has also accelerated regional work with extensive soil sampling and geological mapping across new target areas.
About 2,000 samples have already been processed using the company’s on-site portable XRF analyser, with certified laboratory results pending.
The company says this rapid geochemical screening is being used to prioritise bedrock targets for the newly deployed RC rig.
Managing director Mark Calderwood said the drilling programme is structured to move quickly from target definition to resource drilling.
He noted that the December–February wet season may create some access limitations but expects the three rigs to operate continuously, with more rigs likely to be added early in the first quarter of 2026.
Calderwood said the next twelve months are expected to deliver substantial news flow from Otavi’s high-grade copper-silver and copper-gold-silver systems, strengthened by the company’s healthy cash balance of approximately US$15.3 million at the end of September 2025.
At the nearby South Otavi Project, where Midas holds an option to earn an interest, the company completed a one-hundred-and-forty-hole first-phase drilling programme totalling 3,693 metres in October.
Samples have been dispatched for laboratory analysis, and results are expected in January 2026. This follows earlier mapping and reviews of historic datasets, which highlighted extensive copper and gold anomalism across the tenement.
The Otavi district, one of Namibia’s oldest copper belts, remains underexplored with modern methods.
Midas believes that less than 40% of the tenure has previously been tested with systematic drilling.
With rigs now active and multiple high-grade prospects already established, the company views 2026 as a pivotal year in defining new copper, silver and gold resources across the project portfolio.
