Mari Energies announces copper-gold discovery in Chagai

ISLAMABAD: Faheem Haider, Managing Director and CEO of Mari Energies Limited, announced a significant copper-gold discovery at the East SiahDiq (ESD-1) target in District Chagai, Balochistan.

He announced this at the Pakistan Mineral Investment Forum 2026 here on Friday, saying that the discovery was made through the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Mari Minerals (Private) Limited (Mari Minerals).

The discovery is located approximately 50 kilometres east of the RekoDiq copper-gold mine development project and 25 kilometres northwest of Nokkundi in the Koh-i-Sultan area.

Mari Minerals holds multiple exploration licences in District Chagai.

Approximately 25,000 metres of exploration drilling have been completed at ESD-1 in two phases, with drill holes extending to a depth of 500 metres. Drilling has identified porphyry copper-style mineralisation beneath approximately 100 metres of overburden, across an area of approximately 1.4 square kilometres.

Speaking at the Forum, Faheem Haider said: “The East SiahDiq discovery marks an important milestone in our minerals exploration programme and strengthens our confidence in the geological potential of Chagai. Our focus now is to advance exploration and technical studies to establish the scale and development potential of this discovery. We remain committed to responsible exploration and building long-term value for Pakistan and our stakeholders.”

Results from the first drilling phase support the identification of a new porphyry copper discovery. Laboratory analysis of samples from the second phase is underway and is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2027. Sample preparation and assaying were undertaken by SGS Pakistan, supported by an industry-standard quality assurance and quality control programme. The technical information has been reviewed and approved by Dr. John Mortimer of JM Geoscience Pty Ltd, a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101.

Drilling indicates that mineralisation may extend beyond the depth tested so far. The next exploration phase is expected to include deeper drilling to test potential down to 1,000 metres, alongside additional drilling to assess the discovery’s lateral extent. An initial geological model and resource estimate will be developed using results from the two completed drilling phases.

Further drilling, geological interpretation, metallurgical testing, resource estimation and technical studies are required to establish the discovery’s scale, grade continuity, economic significance and development potential. The exploration results announced to date do not constitute a Mineral Resource or Mineral Reserve.

Mari Minerals will continue evaluating the ESD-1 mineralised system and provide further updates on exploration progress, assay results and technical findings.

Mari Energies has also disclosed the discovery through a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026