Askari Metals Ltd (ASX:AS2) has mobilised its geological and technical team to begin a regional exploration program at the Nejo Gold and Copper Project in central-western Ethiopia.
The Nejo project, on the Arabian–Nubian Shield, covers about 1,174 square kilometres and hosts multiple shallow, high-grade gold and copper targets identified from historical drilling, trenching and mapping. The new program is dual-tracked, targeting gold in the south of the licence area and copper at the Katta target in the northwest.
The large landholding, multiple high-grade targets and favourable geology support an accelerated work program and provides a solid pathway to a potential maiden resource.
Program focus
Southern licence—gold corridors: Work will prioritise two major trends.
- Guliso Trend (~10km strike): Includes the Soyoma, Dina, Chago and South Chago targets. Historic drilling and trenching reported high-grade results and the trend is open along strike.
- Guji–Gudeya Trend (~9km strike): Contains drill-ready Guji, Komto 1 and Komto 2 targets. The corridor runs parallel to the Tulu Kapi trend and, despite confirmed mineralisation, has not seen modern, systematic follow-up.
Northwest—copper at Katta:
- The expanded field program will investigate high-grade copper reported historically at Katta. Drilling by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the early 1970s identified under-explored copper mineralisation over significant widths.
Nejo is a district-scale, tier-one location with extensive legacy datasets and limited modern exploration. The scale of tenure and number of identified targets are intended to support a fast-tracked pathway toward a potential maiden resource once drilling begins.
“Mobilisation of our geological and technical team into the field at the Nejo Project marks a significant milestone, driven by our in-country team and the leadership of our general manager, Surafel Wondemagagene. This field program aims to expand and build upon historical exploration and represents a critical step toward unlocking the full potential of the Nejo Project,” executive director Gino D’Anna, said.
“Our near-term focus is on the high-grade Guliso and Guji-Gudeya Trends, where past trenching and drilling confirmed significant shallow gold mineralisation. We are prioritising high-impact, drill-ready targets such as Guji, Komto 1, and Komto 2, while concurrently advancing follow-up work at Soyoma, Dina, Chago, and South Chago through systematic trenching ahead of drilling.
“This initial reconnaissance program, which also includes copper exploration at Katta, will involve mapping, soil sampling and rock sampling and will lay the foundation for our planned Q4 2025 drill campaign.
“While historical exploration identified high-grade mineralisation, it lacked a cohesive, modern strategy. With boots on the ground and a clear pathway to drilling and potential resource definition, we are now executing a modern data-driven exploration strategy.
“As Askari moves from strategy to action, we remain deeply committed to collaborating with local communities, authorities, and regional partners to ensure our activities contribute meaningfully to sustainable development and positive long-term economic impact.”
Program details
Askari’s regional program will open with systematic work on shallow, high-grade gold along two corridors at Nejo. In the south, the Guliso Trend—hosting Soyoma, Dina, Chago and South Chago—extends for roughly 10 kilometres NE–SW and remains open in both directions. Although past trenching and limited drilling reported high grades near surface, the area has seen no modern, cohesive follow-up. Parallel to the Tulu Kapi trend, the Guji–Gudeya corridor runs for about 9 kilometres and includes drill-ready targets at Guji, Komto 1 and Komto 2, where previous trenching and drilling also returned high grades; initial drilling is planned as field conditions allow.
Location diagram of the Nejo Gold Project showing the position of the Katta Target within the northern exploration licence, approximately 5km from the town of Nejo. Coordinates are shown as degrees latitude and longitude. Also shown are the Soyoma, Dina, Chago and South Chago targets within the Guliso Trend and the Guji, Komto 1 and Komto 2 targets within the Guji-Gudeya Trend.
The company will also expand work at the Katta copper target, where historical UNDP programs (late-1960s to early-1970s) outlined Cu–Zn–Au mineralisation across approximately 100km² with gossans up to around 30 metres wide and ten diamond holes completed, albeit with sub-optimal collar placement. The new campaign will map and sample high-grade copper zones, validate historic drill holes, and assess the potential for VMS-style mineralisation across Katta 1, Katta 2 and Katta 2 South, while screening additional prospects (including Tulu Chuchu, Katta 6, Adare North, Kutala Area, North-west-Prospect and Southern Prospect).
Across Nejo, the work program comprises drill-hole collar verification and validation, soil and rock geochemistry, geological mapping and an airborne detailed geophysical survey to trace mineralised shear zones beneath thin cover. These reconnaissance activities are designed to “field-truth” datasets compiled since late May 2025, sharpen target definition and underpin the design and execution of a maiden drilling campaign slated for December 2025, subject to outcomes from the current fieldwork.
Funding and parallel workstreams
Askari is running a non-renounceable entitlement offer scheduled to close on November 19, 2025. Proceeds are earmarked for a maiden drilling program at Nejo and for exploration at the company’s Uis Project.
At Uis, a multi-stream campaign will target tin, tantalum, rubidium and lithium (plus other rare metals) hosted in pegmatites. Previous reverse-circulation drilling reported high grades, while trenching has indicated scale and continuity of the pegmatite systems.
Future work and planned exploration
Askari plans a strategic, cost-disciplined program to quickly refine and advance priority drill targets at Nejo. The next steps include:
- Field verification: A reconnaissance visit to confirm locations and results from historical drilling and trenching.
- Systematic exploration: Detailed mapping, trenching, soil geochemistry and sampling across priority corridors.
- Early drilling: RC and diamond drilling at high-priority targets identified from past work, including validation/verification holes.
- Resource definition: Ongoing, staged drilling to progress the Nejo Gold Project toward a JORC (2012) Mineral Resource.