Australian miner strikes major copper-silver discovery in Namibia amid global scramble for critical minerals

Australian mining company Midas Minerals has reported another round of high-grade copper and silver drill results from its Otavi Copper Project in Namibia, strengthening investor expectations that the southern African country could be home to one of the region’s more significant undeveloped copper discoveries.

• Australian miner Midas Minerals has announced another round of high-grade copper and silver drill results from Namibia’s Otavi Copper Project.
• The latest results revealed several wide mineralised zones exceeding 4% copper equivalent, boosting investor interest in the project.
• The discovery comes as global demand for copper accelerates amid the clean energy transition and the worldwide shift to electrification.
• Midas expects to release an updated resource estimate later in 2026 as drilling activities continue to expand the deposit's scale.

The latest drilling campaign at the T-13 Copper-Silver Deposit revealed wide zones of high-grade mineralisation, with several intercepts exceeding 4% copper equivalent across substantial widths, as the company accelerates efforts to expand the project's scale.

Among the most significant results was a 46.2-metre intercept grading 4.01% copper equivalent from a depth of 193.2 metres in drill hole T13DD009. The hole also contained higher-grade sections, including 9.7 metres grading 6.55% copper equivalent and 10.6 metres at 7.45% copper equivalent.

Another drill hole, T13DD013, intersected 41.9 metres grading 3.70% copper equivalent, including a particularly rich interval of 11.6 metres at 7.90% copper equivalent.

The results are adding momentum to growing interest around Namibia’s copper sector at a time when global mining companies and investors are aggressively searching for new supplies of critical minerals needed for electric vehicles, renewable energy infrastructure and battery technologies.

Global energy transition fuels copper demand surge

Copper demand has surged in recent years as governments and industries push toward electrification and cleaner energy systems, placing increased focus on countries with untapped mineral potential and relatively stable mining environments.

According to African Mining Market, Midas Minerals said drilling at the western extension of the T-13 deposit is also beginning to reveal another potentially important mineralised zone. The first infill hole drilled about 600 metres west of the Main Zone returned 27 metres grading 1.46% copper equivalent from 286.8 metres, including six metres at 3.20% copper equivalent.

The company believes the ongoing drilling programme is helping confirm the geometry, continuity and scale of higher-grade mineralisation across the broader T-13 system, which currently extends over approximately 1.4 kilometres of strike length.

The Otavi Copper Project is located within Namibia’s Otavi Mountain Land, a region historically associated with high-grade copper production and established mining infrastructure. Namibia has increasingly positioned itself as one of Africa’s more attractive mining destinations due to its political stability, supportive fiscal policies and long-standing mining industry.

Midas Minerals previously announced an initial mineral resource estimate for the T-13 deposit of 10.5 million tonnes grading 1.6% copper and 21 grams per tonne silver. The resource is estimated to contain about 169,000 tonnes of copper and 7.1 million ounces of silver.

The company expects to release an updated mineral resource estimate later in 2026 after the completion of the current drilling campaign.

Midas Minerals managing director Mark Calderwood said the latest drilling campaign continues to deliver results above expectations.

“Infill drilling of the high-grade Main Zone at T-13 continues to return better than expected drill intercepts of about 4% CuEq over wide intervals,” Calderwood said.

He added that drilling at the western section of the deposit is increasingly pointing to another higher-grade zone that could significantly expand the overall mineralised system.

The company currently has five drill rigs operating across the Otavi project area: two diamond rigs at T-13, two rigs at the Deblin Copper-Gold-Silver Deposit, and one reverse-circulation rig at the Spaatzu prospect. Another core rig is expected to begin operations soon.

The aggressive drilling push reflects rising competition among mining companies globally to secure future copper supplies as the energy transition accelerates and demand for strategic minerals continues to climb.