EV1’s First Chikundo Holes Show Copper Sulphides

Chikundo Drilling Reaches the First Copper Test

Evolution Energy Minerals Limited (ASX:EV1) has its first geological signal from maiden drilling at the Chikundo Copper Project, although the result is still firmly preliminary. Chalcopyrite, a copper sulphide mineral, was visually identified in two of the first three reverse circulation holes drilled at the southern Tanzanian project after the September quarter ended.

The intervals were reported as 7 metres from 41 metres downhole in CHRC26-003 and 2 metres from 78 metres in CHRC26-002, hosted in amphibolitic gneiss. Those are downhole lengths rather than true widths, and the company has reported neither laboratory grades nor numerical portable XRF readings. The first sample batch is now at the laboratory, with results expected to take up to three months and to be released after validation under the JORC Code.

The programme comprises 17 holes for about 3,350 metres, with nine priority holes targeting beneath the Malachite Pit historical workings and along the main Chikundo copper anomaly. The campaign, which followed the Chikundo drilling launch, has been constrained by equipment breakdowns and groundwater: the first holes reached roughly 120 to 128 metres against a nominal 200-metre design depth. EV1 says the holes were cased to fresh rock, preserving the option of diamond-drilling extensions.

Chilalo Licence Default Notice Lifted

At its flagship Chilalo Graphite Project, the Mining Commission of Tanzania lifted a default notice over mining licence ML 716/2023 effective 21 August. The commission also acknowledged EV1’s target of first production in October 2027, removing a regulatory complication that had hung over the project since the notice was issued in April 2025.

The licence is held through Kudu Graphite, in which EV1 has an 84% interest, with the Tanzanian Government retaining a 16% undiluted free-carried interest. The company said the outcome followed engagement with the Minister for Minerals and the Mining Commission, including evidence of historical investment. The Chilalo licence notice lift was reported earlier in August, but the quarterly report places the decision alongside the next practical challenge: funding and executing the staged development.

Graphite Test Work Broadens Chilalo’s Potential

Chilalo’s downstream case also gained two additions during the quarter. A 280-kilogram bulk sample grading 95.7% total graphitic carbon was thermally purified to 99.99% carbon under the EU-funded STREAMS battery-materials programme. EV1 is the consortium’s sole supplier of mined natural graphite, but does not receive direct EU grant funding.

Separate test work found that selected coarse flakes measured about 50 to 75 micrometres thick, with fluorine below 10 parts per million in the three coarsest fractions and chlorine at 50 to 70 parts per million. EV1 says those characteristics may support graphite separator plates for low-temperature fuel cells, an application previously highlighted in the fuel cell graphite testing. That remains a potential market rather than a demonstrated product: Chilalo flake has not yet been tested in fuel-cell separator plates.

Cash Runway Sits Ahead of the Development Funding Question

EV1 ended the quarter with A$2.247 million in cash after using A$618,000 in operating activities, including A$237,000 on exploration and evaluation and A$241,000 on staff costs. On the company’s current-outgoings calculation, that represents about 3.63 quarters of funding, with no financing facilities drawn or available.

Chilalo’s proposed sequence starts with mining, crushing and ore handling for coarse ore, targeting first production in October 2027, before a concentrator is added for nameplate graphite concentrate production in October 2028. EV1 is still assessing equipment, engineering and procurement options ahead of a Stage 1 implementation study. The company explicitly cautions that the dates depend on funding, approvals, equipment delivery and execution, leaving the next financing decision at least as important as the early copper assays.