Mari Energies Finds Copper-Gold Near Reko DiqPakistan

Mari Minerals, which holds multiple exploration licences in Chagai, has completed approximately 25,000 metres of exploration drilling at East Siah Diq, known as ESD-1, in two phases. Based on the results so far, the company said ESD-1 is a new porphyry copper discovery, with mineralisation spread across about 1.4 square kilometres beneath roughly 100 metres of surface sediments.

The strongest result came from drill hole ESD-1-DD-017, which recorded 0.50 percent copper over an interval of 400.25 metres, along with 0.11 grams of gold per tonne. Another drill hole recorded 0.45 percent copper over 392.7 metres, with a gold grade of 0.14 grams per tonne, while the highest gold concentration in the first-phase results was 0.19 grams per tonne.

Laboratory testing of samples from the first phase of drilling has been completed, while analysis of samples from the second phase is still under way and is expected to be finished in the first quarter of 2027. The company said copper mineralisation was mainly associated with chalcopyrite, and that mineralisation continued to be found at depths of up to 500 metres.

Mari Energies plans to carry out further drilling to test the mineralisation at greater depths, potentially reaching 1,000 metres below the surface. The company cautioned, however, that further drilling, geological interpretation, metallurgical test work, resource estimation and technical studies will be needed before the scale, grade, continuity and economic significance of the discovery can be determined, and that the results do not yet amount to a mineral resource or reserve.

The technical information in the announcement was reviewed and approved by John Mortimer, PhD, of JM Geoscience Pty Ltd, who has more than 40 years of experience in mineral exploration, including porphyry copper exploration. Mari Minerals, formerly known as Mari Mining Company, has also signed an agreement with mining company Ivanhoe Atlantic for the exploration of copper and gold deposits in Chagai.

The announcement came as the two-day Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum 2026 was held in Islamabad, where the government pitched the country’s mineral reserves to investors from more than 60 countries. Officials have put Pakistan’s mineral wealth at about $8 trillion, and the forum heard that another company had identified copper-gold mineralisation at eight sites in the same district.