Rome Resources (RMR ) has begun the next phase of diamond drilling at its Bisie North project in the Democratic Republic of Congo, while also outlining operational progress made during 2025.
The company said the new programme will focus on testing deeper mineralisation beneath areas covered by the maiden Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE), with drilling now underway at the Mont Agoma prospect using two drill rigs. The rigs are expected to move a short distance to the Kalayi prospect once initial work at Mont Agoma is complete.
Bisie North sits around 8 kilometres from Alphamin’s Mpama tin mine complex. Following a fundraise in November 2025, Rome has mobilised a helicopter, drilling crew and equipment to site and is targeting deeper zones below the current resource model.
Rome plans about 2,000 metres of drilling across six to eight holes, with the programme expected to complete towards the end of the first quarter of 2026. Going forward, once core assays are received, the company intends to update the MRE to incorporate results from the new campaign, while exploratory discussions continue with multiple parties active in the region around potential strategic pathways after an updated resource is published.
In its 2025 review, Rome said it completed a diamond drilling campaign totalling 5,143 metres across Kalayi and Mont Agoma, aimed at defining tin mineralisation at Kalayi and improving understanding of the polymetallic system at Mont Agoma. Results fed into a geological model and the maiden MRE.
The maiden MRE covered shallow drilling over a limited portion of the licence area. At Mont Agoma, the resource stands at 3.16 million tonnes grading 1.45% copper, 0.16% tin, 2.72% zinc and 14.3 grams per tonne silver, while at Kalayi it stands at 0.33 million tonnes grading 1.36% tin. Rome noted drilling to date has generally only extended to around 220 to 250 metres depth, leaving scope for further discovery at depth and along strike.
Rome Resources Chief Executive Officer Paul Barrett said: “2025 has been a very active year, culminating in the publication of our first Mineral Resource Estimate, which confirmed Bisie North as a large, multi-metallic system. Importantly, the maiden MRE highlights how little of the system has been tested to date and where the key opportunities lie as we move deeper.
“We are now embarking on the next phase of drilling at Mont Agoma and Kalayi with a focus on testing deeper intercepts where we believe there is potential for higher tin grades to emerge, consistent with regional analogues.
“We were deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Mark Gasson last month. However, he would have been pleased to know that our dedicated and experienced in-country team has ensured continuity of operations.
“Shareholder value growth remains the core objective of the business and our approach to this is to maximise the share of investor funds going into the ground. We look forward to building on the progress made in 2025 and advancing the Bisie North project through 2026."
View from Vox
This looks like a sensible follow-up to a maiden resource built on relatively shallow drilling. If Rome can demonstrate continuity and improving tin grades at depth - particularly at Kalayi and in the deeper parts of Mont Agoma - an updated MRE could start to put clearer scale around Bisie North’s upside, especially given the project’s proximity to a producing tin district.