Rome Resources Plc (AIM:RMR) CEO Paul Barrett talked with Proactive about the company’s maiden mineral resource for its Bisie North project in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Barrett said the milestone confirms the existence of a tin-copper mineralisation system across the Kalayi and Mont Agoma prospects. The company has so far drilled only shallow depths — down to around 250 metres — and along approximately 600 metres of strike at each location. However, the results align strongly with those from Alphamin’s nearby operation, which Barrett described as a “very close analogue.”
Barrett explained that mineralisation at surface starts narrow and lower grade but becomes wider and higher grade at depth, especially nearer the granite source. “We’ve identified the system and we’re going to drill deeper in Mont Agoma main zone… and also deeper in Kalayi,” he said.
He also pointed to substantial exploration upside in untested soil geochemistry anomalies and the underexplored Eastern Zone.
Looking forward, Barrett said Rome Resources is engaging with potential strategic investors and exploring possible nearby acquisitions. He highlighted that a partnership could allow the company to advance the project without shareholder dilution, noting, “We’re always trying to look after the shareholder value.”
Proactive: Paul, very good to speak with you. This maiden resource marks a major milestone for Rome Resources. What does it tell investors about the scale and potential of Bisie North?
Paul Barrett: It’s important because it proves the tin-copper mineralisation system. It basically puts a benchmark on what we’ve seen so far. We have only drilled the top 200 to 250 metres of section, and we’ve really only drilled about a 600-metre strike on both Kalayi and Mont Agoma.
But what it’s showing is that the model, in terms of its similarity to Alphamin next door, is actually quite strong. We’ve got relatively narrow intercepts of tin at or near surface in Mont Agoma, which is very similar to Alphamin in terms of the first couple of hundred metres. Then, as you get closer to the granite — the source of the mineralisation fluids — those intercepts widen and become higher grade.
So this is what we’re going to do next. We’ve identified the system and we’re going to drill deeper in Mont Agoma Main Zone. We’re going to drill the Eastern Zone, which we’ve talked about before, and also deeper in Kalayi. So there’s quite a lot of exploration upside, should we say.
Proactive: You’ve highlighted only a fraction of the licence area has been drilled so far. Paul, where do you see the biggest opportunities for resource growth next?
Paul Barrett: There are still certain elements of the field geochemistry — the soil geochemistry — where anomalies remain undrilled. Those are prime areas. But really, it’s going deeper. That’s where the prize is going to be in both Kalayi and Mont Agoma. At Mont Agoma, as I say, we’ve only got one intercept at surface in the weathered zone in the Eastern Zone. So we’re going to chase that to the southeast, closer to the granite, close to the source of mineralisation, and close to Alphamin. We believe that’s a low-risk approach to really adding some big numbers.
Proactive: How significant is the similarity to Alphamin’s Bisie Mine when it comes to your future drilling plans?
Paul Barrett:
Oh, it’s definitely a very close analogue. The trend is very clear. We’re wrapping around the granite and we’re along the same geological strike. We’ve got the same tin mineralisation system.
At Mont Agoma, we are slightly shallower geologically in the system. We’re still in the copper near surface, which Alphamin doesn’t have deeper in the system. So we’ve got to drill deeper to get out of the copper and into the high-grade tin zone. It’s a clear analogue and I think that will drive what is hopefully a very successful next phase of drilling.
Proactive: You’ve mentioned engaging with potential strategic partners and looking at nearby acquisitions. What could this mean for shareholders as the project moves into its next phase?
Paul Barrett: Well, if you take Alphamin’s Mpama South as an example, they drilled about 35,000 metres of holes before ending up with that significant resource. That’s five times more drilling than we’ve done so far.
So there’s a lot of work to be done to get to that endpoint. Whether that’s through bringing in a strategic investor already involved in tin in the area, or someone active in DRC copper or other minerals, we’re having those discussions at the moment.
That would be beneficial to shareholders. If we brought in a strategic investor at the project level, it would avoid unnecessary dilution going forward. We’re always trying to protect shareholder value. We’ve tried to do that by putting as much money into the ground as possible, and we’ll continue to do that — to try and build the project.
Proactive: Well, I hope you’ll continue to keep us updated with your progress. Thank you very much for speaking with us today.