AIM-listed Botswana Minerals has announced that an AI-driven review of legacy geological records has identified primary copper sulphide and altered copper minerals in historical drill cores from holes originally drilled in search of uranium and diamonds.
The AI identified and connected the copper evidence by analyzing more than a gigabyte of legacy reports — some over 50 years old — that had never been integrated into a modern copper model, demonstrating the power of AI to unlock value from vast historical datasets. The data, including copper and nickel sulphides noted in historic boreholes, points to a concealed mineralized corridor beneath shallow Kalahari cover within the company’s licences.
Alongside the primary chalcopyrite, Botswana Minerals reported that the historical records show altered copper minerals including malachite and chrysocolla. Together, the company says, these directly confirm the AI-generated target corridors and strengthen the model for concealed copper and base metal mineralization beneath the Kalahari cover.
The company highlighted that the significance of AI in this application lies in its ability to recover and connect evidence from more than a gigabyte of records spanning over 50 years and several separate exploration campaigns within a matter of days — work that would be impractical to do manually — thereby turning overlooked legacy data into a focused field programme.
“We now have primary copper mineralisation, altered copper minerals and a confirmed geological model, a material step forward for the company,” said Botswana Minerals chairperson John Teeling. “Our next step is to accelerate the northern licence work, get into the field, re-log and re-scan available core, and continue building out the opportunity across the southern licences.”
Fully funded fieldwork is expected to take place in the company’s northern licences, accelerated by prioritizing and ranking the targets to enable rapid mobilization on the highest-value prospects. Field checks will be undertaken over the highest-priority copper, zinc, lead and nickel corridors, including mapping, sampling and validation of historical drill locations.
