ASX RMI Eyes Copper-Gold Assays After Mpanda Drilling Resumes

Reverse circulation (RC) drilling has resumed at Resource Minerals International Ltd’s (ASX: RMI) Mpanda Copper-Gold Project in Tanzania, with assay results from five copper-gold targets now imminent and a second drilling phase already planned for the September 2026 quarter. The program restart follows a contractor switch that cleared weeks of operational delays, putting the 2,500-metre RC campaign back on schedule across five priority zones: Stalike, Ibindi, Kabungu, Kabungu North, and Kabatini West.

RMI’s update arrives after the company completed a $3.5 million capital raise earlier this year, with combined available funding of approximately $7.12 million supporting both this program and subsequent exploration work. For investors tracking the stock, the next few weeks carry a clear catalyst: first assay results from a project where historical rock-chip samples have returned grades as high as 36.7 g/t gold and 11.89% copper.

Contractor switch clears the logjam as Mpanda drilling picks up pace

The delay at Mpanda was mechanical, not geological. The original drilling contractor experienced persistent rig performance issues that pushed the program behind schedule, and RMI made the decision to demobilise the underperforming crew and appoint a replacement contractor.

That decision has paid off. Drilling is now active across the 2,500-metre RC program, with rigs testing the five priority zones that RMI identified through magnetic data interpretation, historic workings, and prior surface sampling campaigns.

The five targets under drill:

• Stalike
• Ibindi
• Kabungu
• Kabungu North
• Kabatini West

Initial assay results are expected in the near term, positioning the next batch of announcements as the first substantive test of whether the project’s surface-level promise extends at depth.

What the historical grades at Stalike and Kabungu actually mean for this drill program

The numbers that brought the drills to Mpanda are striking. At Stalike, historical grab samples returned up to 13.58% copper and 3.24 g/t gold, while a channel sample produced 5 metres at 1.13% Cu, including 1 metre at 2.3% Cu. The anomaly itself extends approximately 5 kilometres along an east-west fault structure.

At Kabungu and Kabungu North, the rock-chip results sit among the highest grades in RMI’s portfolio:

Headline result: Rock-chip sampling at Kabungu/Kabungu North returned 36.7 g/t Au and 11.89% Cu, the strongest grade pair recorded across the project area.

Prior RC drilling at Kabungu (hole MPRC0007) also returned 4 metres at 2.5 g/t Au and 0.5% Cu from 39 metres, plus 2 metres at 0.5 g/t Au from 47 metres, confirming anomalous mineralisation below surface.

An important caveat applies. Grab samples and rock chips are selective by nature and do not represent average grade or tonnage across a target. Their value lies in identifying where mineralisation occurs and guiding drill placement. The current RC program is specifically designed to test what the surface work cannot: continuity, thickness, and grade distribution at depth.

The gap between surface sampling and what actually sits at depth is a recurring theme in junior mining, and drill data interpretation across similarly staged gold programs consistently shows that grade continuity, not peak grab sample results, is what determines whether a project advances to resource definition.

The JORC Code 2012 reporting standards require ASX-listed explorers to distinguish clearly between selective sampling methods and representative grade estimates, a distinction that applies directly to the rock-chip and grab-sample results disclosed at Mpanda and the RC program now testing whether those surface grades carry depth continuity.

How reverse circulation drilling works and why it suits a project at this stage

RC drilling uses compressed air to push drill cuttings back to the surface through an inner tube, producing continuous chip samples from each metre drilled. Those samples are logged, split, and sent to a laboratory for assay, giving geologists a metre-by-metre profile of what sits below the surface.

This is a step change from the earlier sampling techniques that identified the Mpanda targets. Surface methods such as grab samples, rock chips, and soil sampling can show where mineralisation occurs at surface, but they cannot confirm whether it persists at depth or over meaningful widths.

• Surface sampling identifies the presence and location of mineralisation at outcrop level
• RC drilling tests whether that mineralisation continues at depth with sufficient grade and width to warrant further work

RC is a standard first-pass drilling technique for multi-target programs at this scale. The 2,500-metre program across five targets is designed to provide the subsurface data that the next phase of decision-making requires. Target selection drew on magnetic data interpretation, historic workings, and the surface sampling results outlined above.

Magnetic data interpretation underpins the target selection at Mpanda, but geophysical surveys carry real limitations in structurally complex terrain, where surface cover or interference can shift apparent anomaly positions relative to actual mineralisation.

A $7.12 million funding position backing two phases of Mpanda exploration

RMI’s capital position supports the current program and what comes after it. The company completed a $3.5 million placement of 87.5 million shares at $0.04 per share earlier this year, and has access to a separate $5 million funding facility.

As at the end of the June 2026 quarter, RMI held approximately $2.12 million in cash. Combined with the $5 million facility, total available funding sits at approximately $7.12 million.

At a quarterly exploration expenditure rate of approximately $665,000, the combined funding provides an estimated 10.7 quarters of runway. Proceeds are allocated across Mpanda drilling, Saudi Arabian exploration work, and general working capital.

The practical significance: RMI can execute the planned second-phase RC program in the September 2026 quarter without immediately returning to the market for additional capital, removing a near-term dilution risk for existing shareholders.

Exploration milestones carry asymmetric re-rating potential for small-cap resource companies, where a single positive intercept can compress the discount between market capitalisation and perceived project value substantially faster than incremental operational improvements in more mature businesses.

What investors should watch as assays approach and Phase 2 takes shape

The upcoming assay results from the five targets under drill will begin to answer the central question at Mpanda: whether the high-grade surface results reflect something broader at depth.

The ASX Chapter 5 listing rules govern how mining and exploration entities must publicly report drilling results and assay data, including requirements around competent person sign-off and the tabular disclosure of sample data that RMI will need to satisfy when releasing intercepts from the Mpanda campaign.

Two realistic scenarios frame how investors might interpret the newsflow:

1. Strong intercepts confirming continuous or broad mineralisation: This outcome would strengthen the case for an expanded follow-up program and could move Mpanda toward systematic resource drilling in future campaigns. The 5-kilometre strike length at Stalike alone suggests meaningful scale if continuity is demonstrated.
2. Narrow or discontinuous results: This would help refine the geological model and re-focus subsequent drilling phases on the most prospective corridors, though it may temper near-term market expectations.

RMI has indicated that a second-phase RC program is planned for the September 2026 quarter, with target priorities likely shaped by whatever the current campaign returns. Alongside Mpanda, the company’s Saudi Arabian exploration work represents a parallel pipeline activity within the broader portfolio.

The Mpanda test is underway, and the next few weeks will define what comes after

The contractor delay is resolved, and the 2,500-metre RC program across Stalike, Ibindi, Kabungu, Kabungu North, and Kabatini West is now active. Historical surface results at these targets sit among the strongest in RMI’s portfolio, with rock-chip grades at Kabungu reaching 36.7 g/t gold and 11.89% copper, though the RC campaign will determine whether those grades carry meaningful continuity at depth.

With approximately $7.12 million in combined available funding and a second drilling phase planned for the September 2026 quarter, the near-term assay results represent the next material catalyst for the stock. Those results, when they arrive, will shape both the scale and targeting of what follows.

For investors wanting to understand the macro forces shaping demand for new copper and gold discoveries, our full explainer on the long-cycle mining supply thesis examines why institutional capital is accelerating into junior explorers, how the 15-year supply deficit scenario is modelled, and what it means for project valuations at the exploration stage.

This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Investors should conduct their own research and consult with financial professionals before making investment decisions. Past performance does not guarantee future results, and exploration outcomes are subject to geological uncertainty and various risk factors.