Investor Insight
Cobre offers investors a rare combination of district-scale copper-silver discovery potential, near-term development upside through its ISCR-ready Ngami copper project, and a capital-light growth model underpinned by major-partner funding and diversified exposure to critical minerals.
Overview
Cobre (ASX:CBE) is an Australian exploration company unlocking the copper-silver potential of the Kalahari Copper Belt in Botswana, one of the world’s most prospective but underexplored sediment-hosted copper provinces. With approximately 5,348 sq km of land position, the company’s near-term focus is the Ngami copper project (NCP), where a maiden JORC resource at the Comet deposit establishes an initial copper-silver resource with strong in-situ copper recovery (ISCR) development credentials.
Cobre’s project location in the Kalahari Copper Belt
Cobre’s growth strategy balances district-scale discovery potential with development-ready assets, leveraging major-partner funding, including up to AU$40 million (US$25 million) investment from BHP to accelerate exploration at Kitlanya, while concentrating company capital on advancing NCP through technical, environmental and permitting milestones. The company complements its Botswana assets with strategic exposure to high-purity quartz and volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) opportunities in Western Australia. This diversified, capital-light approach aims to build shareholder value through discovery, derisking and development optionality.
Company Highlights
- Dominant land position – ~5,348 sq km across Botswana’s Kalahari Copper Belt (KCB), the second largest tenement package in the districtInvestor
- Maiden JORC Mineral Resource – Comet deposit (Ngami copper project): 11.5 Mt @ 0.52 percent copper and 11.6 grams per ton (g/t) silver (60.3 kt copper; 4.3 Moz silver), incl. 1.1 Mt indicated @ 0.59 percent copper and 12.8 g/t silver
- BHP partnership – Eight-year earn-in across Kitlanya East & West, allowing BHP to earn 75 percent by providing up to US$25 million for exploration expenditure, while Cobre retains exposure
- BHP Xplor cohort – Selected in 2024, securing US$500,000 non-dilutive funding and technical support
- Multi-jurisdiction exploration portfolio – Botswana (copper-silver), Western Australia (VMS, high-purity quartz)
Key Projects
Ngami Copper Project
The 100 percent owned Ngami copper project is Cobre’s flagship asset and the primary focus of current exploration and technical work. Situated in the Kalahari Copper Belt (KCB), NCP spans multiple licences covering highly prospective sediment-hosted copper-silver targets along basin margins.
Comet Deposit – Maiden JORC Resource
- Announced in August 2025, the Comet deposit hosts 11.5 Mt @ 0.52 percent copper and 11.6 g/t silver, including 1.1 Mt indicated @ 0.59 percent copper and 12.8 g/t silver, at a 0.2 percent copper cut-off.
- Contained metal: ~60,300 tonnes copper and 4.3 Moz silver.
- Mineralisation is predominantly fine-grained chalcocite, an ideal feedstock for hydrometallurgical processing.
In-Situ Copper Recovery Development Potential
ISCR is a low-cost, low-impact method of producing copper by circulating a solution through the orebody underground to dissolve and pump the metal to surface for processing. For Cobre’s Ngami project, ISCR offers the potential to unlock value without the expense and disruption of conventional mining, thanks to favourable geology, high recoveries in test work, and minimal surface disturbance – positioning it as a potentially faster, cleaner and more capital-efficient path to production.
Exploration Upside
Beyond the initial Comet resource, Ngami hosts extensive growth potential with 40 km of mineralised strike and large, defined exploration targets that could significantly expand the resource base. Early drilling at new zones, such as the Cosmos target, has intersected high-grade copper. More than 20 km of prospective contact remains untested, offering multiple opportunities for further discoveries that could enhance scale, mine life and project economics.
Kitlanya East & West
Cobre’s Kitlanya East and West licences, also located in Botswana, involve an eight-year earn-in agreement with BHP. Under the deal, BHP can invest up to US$25 million to earn a 75 percent interest in Kitlanya, allowing the company to leverage a major partner’s technical expertise and funding while retaining exposure to potential tier-one discoveries. Exploration is targeting preserved fold hinge settings along basin margins – geological positions known to host large sediment-hosted copper deposits – using advanced geophysics and seismic techniques to define high-priority drill targets.
Okavango Copper Project
Another Botswana copper asset, the Okavango project is located along strike from MMG’s Zone 5 deposit. Okavango offers 186 km of prospective contact in the northeast Kalahari Copper Belt. Early drilling has intersected multiple zones of anomalous copper and silver mineralisation, and geophysical data shows gravity signatures comparable to those in producing areas, indicating strong potential for significant new discoveries.
Perrinvale Project
In addition to its African portfolio, Cobre holds the Perrinvale project in Western Australia, prospective for both high-grade VMS mineralisation and high-purity quartz (HPQ). The HPQ target has an exploration range of 5.1 to 28.3 Mt grading 99.1 to 99.6 percent SiO₂, positioning it as a potential supplier to critical silicon markets for renewable energy and electronics.
Management Team
Martin Holland – Executive Chairman
Martin Holland is the founder of Cobre and co-founder of multiple ASX-listed companies, including Lithium Power International. He has more than 15 years’ experience in capital markets and resource company leadership, raising more than AU$200 million for exploration.
Adam Wooldridge – Chief Executive Officer
Founding partner and CEO of KML, Adam Woolridge has more than 28 years’ experience in exploration management and target generation in Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
Ross McGowan – Non-executive Director
CEO of Armada Metals and founder of RED Group, Ross McGowan has over 20 years of experience in African exploration, and was part of the Kamoa discovery team.
Michael McNeilly – Non-executive Director
Michael McNeilly, is a corporate financier and CEO of Strata Plc, with experience across multiple listed resource companies.
Michael Addison – Non-executive Director
Michael Addison is the founder of Endocoal, Carabella Resources and Genex Power, with extensive mining and energy development background.
Andrew Sissian – Non-executive Director
Andrew Sissian is co-founder of Cobre and Procon Telematics. He is a corporate and capital markets specialist with a CPA background.