London-listed critical minerals explorer Rome Resources plc has commenced a small-scale tin mining programme at its Kalayi project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), marking a key step toward securing a full mining licence and expanding its ownership stake in the project.
The company said the programme is aimed at fulfilling regulatory requirements linked to its small-scale exploitation permit, known as PEPM 13274, which must be converted into a full mining licence under DRC mining law.
The conversion is also expected to support Rome Resources’ proposal to acquire an additional 27.5% interest in Kalayi Tin SARL, increasing its ownership in the Kalayi Project to about 79%.
According to the company, the move reflects growing confidence in the project’s resource potential following exploration work and ongoing updates to the Mineral Resource Estimate.
Rome Resources said early results from the mining programme were encouraging, with portable XRF readings showing tin grades of up to 17% within exposed mineralised zones.
The readings were recorded near the entrance of a newly developed mining adit in the northern section of the deposit and are consistent with earlier trenching results.
The Kalayi deposit is hosted within steeply dipping cassiterite-bearing quartz veins with strong surface expression. The current programme targets shallow near-surface mineralisation and involves driving a short adit into the ore body along strike.
The company plans to install a small washing plant to process the ore into a tin concentrate grading between 60% and 80%. The concentrate will then be sold through the state facility at Walikale in eastern DRC.
While revenues generated from the operation are expected to be modest, Rome Resources said the programme’s primary purpose is regulatory compliance and geological evaluation rather than commercial production.
The mining activities are also expected to provide additional metallurgical and geological data that could improve understanding of the continuity and structure of the tin-bearing vein system. The company said such information could not be fully obtained through drilling alone and would support future resource estimation work.
Chief Executive Officer Paul Barrett said the company remained confident in the Kalayi asset and viewed increased ownership as strategically important.
“The early XRF readings from the entrance to the adit are encouraging and consistent with what we have seen from surface trenching in this part of the deposit,” Barrett said.
He added that converting the current permit into a full mining licence was central to the company’s strategy, as it would unlock the proposed acquisition of the remaining interest in the project and strengthen Rome Resources’ position in discussions with potential strategic and development partners.
The company also said it expected assay results from its recent drilling programme “very shortly”, alongside an updated Mineral Resource Estimate for the Kalayi Project.
Rome Resources noted that health, safety and environmental management would remain a priority during the mining programme, with site supervisors required to maintain regular operational reporting.
