Patriot Resources (ASX:PAT) has made a new greenfields copper discovery at the Tonic prospect in Zambia.
Maiden reverse circulation (RC) drilling returned near-surface polymetallic mineralisation, including 17m @ 0.41% copper (Cu), 4.7 grams per tonne silver (Ag), and 0.30% zinc (Zn) from 29m in hole TBRC03.
The discovery is strategically located approximately 18km from Sinomine’s Kitumba copper mine and processing facility, which is scheduled to commence operations in 2026.
Tonic sits within the Mumbwa district, about 7km from Sinomine’s Target H copper-cobalt discovery.
The initial 2,000m program was designed to test coincident induced polarisation (IP) anomalies and surface copper sulphide mineralisation defined by previous trenching.
Several holes terminated in mineralisation or ended before their planned target depth due to water ingress or fractured ground conditions, indicating the discovery remains open at depth, along strike, and laterally.
Standout results include TBRC10 returning 22m @ 0.24% Cu, 2.8g/t Ag, and 0.06% Zn from 27m, including 7m @ 0.54% Cu from 34m and a deeper 2m zone grading 0.76% Cu from 145m.
TBRC14 returned 6m @ 0.32% Cu from 42m, including 1m @ 0.06% cobalt (Co) from 50m.
“The Tonic prospect appears to be a genuine Greenfields discovery,” CEO Dominic Duggan says.
“The team took an undrilled target, advanced it through mapping, trenching, and geophysics, and has now established copper-silver-zinc-cobalt mineralisation from surface via its maiden drilling program.”
The discovery is hosted within Katanga Supergroup mudstones and shales, interpreted as a structurally controlled hydrothermal polymetallic system.
Mineralisation includes a copper-silver-cobalt core with a zinc-lead halo. Multiple broad cobalt zones were also intercepted, including 19m @ 0.010% Co from TBRC04.
Patriot previously acquired the remaining 20% interest in the licence for US$50,000 ($72,025), consolidating 100% ownership before undertaking the capital-efficient first-pass program.
The company’s priority remains its flagship Tassa silver-gold project, with Tonic providing strategic optionality through a potential future infrastructure pathway at a tier-one copper processing facility.
Patriot Resources is a silver and copper explorer advancing its flagship Tassa Silver-Gold Project in Peru, alongside its newly discovered Tonic copper prospect and a broader portfolio of critical mineral assets in Zambia.
Write to JC Villarba at Mining.com.au
Images: Patriot Resources
