Tertiary Minerals Advances Zambia's Mushima North Toward Maiden Copper-Silver Resource

Tertiary Minerals is advancing its Mushima North copper-silver project in Zambia toward a maiden mineral-resource estimate after its latest Phase 4 exploration work continued to identify broad zones of mineralisation. Preliminary portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) results from Target A1 have highlighted substantial copper-bearing intervals, including 66 metres grading 0.30% copper and 68 metres at 0.28% copper. The drilling has also identified higher-grade zones within the broader mineralised envelopes, including approximately 7 metres at 0.52% copper and 5 metres at 0.57% copper. Alongside the copper results, Mushima North has a preliminary Exploration Target of 15–30 million tonnes grading between 40 and 60 grams per tonne silver. The combination of copper and silver gives the Zambian project a potentially attractive polymetallic profile. Copper is expected to remain the main focus of the project, particularly because of Zambia's strategic position within the globally important African Copperbelt. A consistent silver contribution could provide additional value if future drilling confirms sufficient grade continuity and scale. From Exploration Target to Mineral Resource Tertiary is now preparing to move the project into the next stage of evaluation, including resource modelling and metallurgical studies, with a maiden mineral-resource estimate targeted for 2026. The move toward a formal resource represents an important milestone for the project. At the exploration stage, a company's valuation is largely based on geological potential and the possibility of discovering an economically viable deposit. A defined mineral resource provides investors with a more structured basis for assessing tonnage, grade, mineralisation geometry and potential development scale. Before that process can be completed, however, the preliminary pXRF readings need to be confirmed through certified laboratory assays. Portable XRF equipment is widely used during exploration because it can provide rapid indications of elemental concentrations directly in the field or during core logging. However, pXRF readings are considered preliminary and do not replace accredited laboratory assays. Final reported grades may therefore vary from the initial results. For investors, the most significant feature of the latest exploration programme may ultimately be the width and apparent continuity of the copper mineralisation, rather than any individual grade. Broad zones of relatively moderate-grade copper can become economically important when they extend over substantial distances and occur within favourable geological, metallurgical and infrastructure conditions. Zambia's Copper Industry Adds Strategic Appeal Mushima North also benefits from its location in Zambia, a country with a long-established copper-mining industry and extensive experience in developing and operating large-scale mineral projects. Zambia is seeking to expand copper production as global demand for the metal increases, particularly because copper is essential to electrification, renewable-energy infrastructure, power grids, electric vehicles and other technologies associated with the energy transition. The country's established mining ecosystem could provide advantages for developers. Existing contractors, technical expertise, transport networks and processing infrastructure may help reduce some of the challenges typically associated with developing mineral projects in less-established jurisdictions. At the same time, project scale will remain critical. An exploration target of 15–30 million tonnes would be considerably smaller than Zambia's major Copperbelt operations. Nevertheless, a deposit of this scale could potentially support a smaller mining operation, depending on its final grade, geometry, metallurgy and infrastructure requirements. It could also become strategically interesting to an existing producer if the project demonstrates sufficient scale and proximity to established processing or mining infrastructure. Metallurgy Could Determine Economic Potential The next phase of work will need to establish whether the encouraging geological results can be translated into commercially attractive recoveries. Metallurgical testing will be particularly important for determining copper and silver recoveries, mineralogy and the characteristics of any potential concentrate. This distinction matters because a deposit can appear highly prospective from a geological perspective but still face significant economic challenges if its mineralisation is difficult or expensive to process. Early metallurgical results can therefore have a major influence on the perceived value and development potential of an exploration project. Infrastructure will be another important consideration as Mushima North progresses. Access to roads, power, processing facilities and other mining infrastructure can substantially influence both capital expenditure and operating costs. These factors will become increasingly relevant once Tertiary has established a maiden resource and begins evaluating potential development scenarios. Mushima North Enters a Critical Development Stage For Tertiary Minerals, the immediate challenge is to convert the latest exploration success into a robust and independently defensible copper-silver resource model. If laboratory assays confirm the preliminary pXRF results and further modelling demonstrates that the mineralisation is sufficiently continuous, Mushima North could move beyond its current exploration-stage status and emerge as a more credible Zambian copper-silver development opportunity. The transition from exploration target to maiden resource would give the project a much clearer technical and investment framework, while subsequent metallurgical and infrastructure studies will help determine whether its geological potential can ultimately translate into an economically viable mine. critical mineralsmineral explorationmineral resourcesmining investments 0