Tivan Expands Turiscai to 394km² With Copper-Gold Drill Test Due Q4 2026
Key Takeaways
- Tivan has been awarded its eighth Exploration and Evaluation Licence in Timor-Leste, expanding the Turiscai Project to approximately 394 km² — up from seven licences — after winning the competitive Second Minerals Tender 2025.
- The new 50 km² concession sits immediately north of existing Turiscai ground in the upper Laclo catchment, an area where adjacent stream sediment and rock chip sampling has already returned favourable results.
- Rock chip assays across the broader Turiscai Project have returned grades of up to 23.1% Cu, 7.19 g/t Au, and 6.17% Zn, with pathfinder elements including bismuth and selenium pointing to porphyry-style mineralisation at depth.
- A large-scale magnetic drone survey is currently underway across the Turiscai Project, with Executive Chairman Grant Wilson explicitly targeting maiden drilling commencement in Q4 calendar year 2026.
- Tivan's Timor-Leste portfolio extends beyond Turiscai to include the Baucau Project and an option over the Ossu Project, reflecting a systematic multi-project exploration strategy in an emerging copper-gold jurisdiction.
Turiscai Project expands to 394 km² after Tivan secures eighth exploration licence in Timor-Leste
Tivan Limited (ASX: TVN) has been awarded Exploration and Evaluation License MEL2025-CA-ZC004, located immediately north of its existing Turiscai Project in Timor-Leste. The new licence covers approximately 50 km² and was awarded under the competitive Timor-Leste Second Minerals Tender 2025, administered by the National Mineral Authority, Autoridade Nacional dos Minerais. With the addition, the Turiscai Project will expand from seven to eight Exploration and Evaluation Licences, bringing the total project area to approximately 394 km², as Tivan continues to target copper and gold mineralisation, including porphyry and volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) style deposits.
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What the tender win means for the Turiscai Project
The Second Minerals Tender 2025 was no rubber stamp. The process ran in two stages: a pre-qualification round assessing financial capacity, technical capability, health, safety and environmental systems, and local content commitments, followed by a detailed bid submission requiring applicants to assess mineral potential, propose an exploration work programme, and commit an associated budget.
Tivan was selected as the successful bidder for License MEL2025-CA-ZC004, has formally accepted the award, and will now progress through the regulatory grant process ahead of formal grant of the licence. Notably, this was Tivan’s sole bid in the tender, reflecting a targeted rather than speculative approach to tenure growth.
The expanded Turiscai Project will comprise:
- Eight Exploration and Evaluation Licences
- Approximately 394 km² of total area
- Location approximately 40 km south of Dili, Timor-Leste’s capital
- A new concession within the upper Laclo catchment, underlain predominantly by the Lolotoi Formation, with a minor area of the Maubisse Formation
Why copper-gold in Timor-Leste matters to investors
To understand why this tenure expansion is worth watching, it helps to know what Tivan is actually looking for and what kind of discovery potential those deposit types carry.
Porphyry copper-gold deposits are large-scale, low-to-moderate grade mineralised systems typically associated with intrusive igneous rocks. They are among the world’s most significant sources of copper and gold, often supporting decades of mine life. VMS (volcanogenic massive sulphide) deposits form on or near the ocean floor through hydrothermal activity, and tend to carry high-grade copper, zinc, gold, and silver in more compact, concentrated bodies.
The Turiscai Project’s geological setting is described in the announcement as analogous to major regional copper-gold deposits. Those named analogues (geological comparisons only, not production benchmarks) include:
- Grasberg (Central Papua, Indonesia)
- Ok Tedi (Papua New Guinea)
- Wafi-Golpu (Papua New Guinea)
- Panguna (formerly referred to as Bougainville, Papua New Guinea)
The upper Laclo catchment position of the newly awarded concession is considered particularly significant. Tivan has previously received favourable results from stream sediment and rock chip samples taken adjacent to the newly awarded concession area (see ASX announcement of 27 May 2026).
Across the broader Turiscai Project, Tivan’s in-country geology team has completed extensive mapping and rock chip sampling programmes, returning assays of up to 23.1% Cu, 7.19 g/t Au, and 6.17% Zn from rock chip samples. Anomalous pathfinder element results have also been returned, including up to 35.7 ppm Ag, 1.86 ppm Bi, and 281 ppm Se. Silver, bismuth, and selenium are recognised pathfinder elements associated with porphyry-style mineral systems.
What comes next: maiden drilling in sight as magnetic survey advances
Following formal grant of the new licence, Tivan’s initial focus for the concession area will be on:
- Geological reconnaissance and mapping
- Systematic surface geochemical sampling
- Integration of new data with existing Turiscai Project datasets to identify prospective geological and structural trends
While this groundwork begins on the newly awarded ground, the broader Turiscai Project is already further along. Tivan’s field team is currently advancing a large-scale magnetic drone survey at the Turiscai Project (see ASX announcement of 27 August 2026), aimed at defining copper-gold targets for drill testing.
The key near-term catalyst for investors is maiden drilling, with Executive Chairman Grant Wilson explicitly referencing a commencement target in the final quarter of calendar year 2026.
Grant Wilson, Executive Chairman, Tivan Limited
“Tivan is very pleased to have been awarded this additional concession in what was a very competitive Second Minerals Tender in Timor-Leste. This was our sole bid, based on the highly encouraging progress we have made at the Turiscai Project, along with our extensive and constructive engagement with the local community. We will integrate this concession into our work programs, while continuing to advance current workstreams, that are focused on completing our large-scale magnetic drone survey, in support of the commencement of maiden drilling in the final quarter of this year.”
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Tivan’s growing footprint in Timor-Leste: project snapshot
| Project | Licences | Total Area | Target Mineralisation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turiscai Project (expanded) | 8 Exploration & Evaluation Licences | ~394 km² | Copper-gold (porphyry, VMS) |
According to the Figure 1 location map included in the announcement, Tivan’s Timor-Leste portfolio also includes the Baucau Project and an option to acquire the Ossu Project, indicating a broader regional exploration strategy beyond the Turiscai tenure.
Tivan’s Timor-Leste strategy extends beyond Turiscai, with the Baucau and Ossu projects representing additional ground held under a joint venture structure with local partner Murak Rai, further reinforcing the company’s commitment to building a multi-project exploration position in the country.
The pattern here is systematic: expand the land package, advance geophysics, and build toward drill testing. With maiden drilling anticipated in Q4 calendar 2026 and an expanded ground position set to cover approximately 394 km² across eight licences, Tivan is progressively building toward what could be a material exploration inflection point in an emerging copper-gold jurisdiction.
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