African Discovery Group, a U.S.-listed company, has acquired the Butembo copper project in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo through a reverse takeover, a transaction that brings an unlisted mining asset onto a public market despite the project lacking a compliant resource estimate or declared reserves.
The company, which trades on the U.S. over-the-counter market, said it had signed a definitive share purchase agreement with Grabin Mining SAS, the holder of the permit covering the Butembo project. As part of the deal, African Discovery Group issued shares to the permit holders, transferring ownership of the mining interest into the U.S.-domiciled listed entity.
Following the transaction, African Discovery Group has rebranded as Copper Intelligence, positioning itself as a U.S.-listed vehicle focused exclusively on copper exploration in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The acquisition remains subject to regulatory approvals, including from Congolese authorities.
The Butembo project is located in the insecure eastern part of the DRC, a region that has long combined significant mineral potential with persistent security and governance challenges. By structuring the deal as a reverse takeover, the company has effectively folded the project into a publicly traded structure, with the former asset owners becoming shareholders.
African Discovery Group trades on the U.S. OTC market, a lightly regulated segment compared with major exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq. Public disclosures show the company has previously shifted its business focus before pivoting toward metals and mining assets.
Under its new name, Copper Intelligence describes itself as the first independent DRC-focused mining company listed in the United States. The group says its strategy is to acquire and explore copper assets in one of the world’s most mineral-rich jurisdictions, as global demand for the metal rises on the back of electrification and energy transition trends.
The company’s management team is led by Andrew Groves, who is presented as the founder of several Africa-focused mining companies, including Camec, African Platinum and Central African Gold, all of which were subsequently sold. The team also includes Aldo Cesano, who cites four decades of experience in mining and logistics development across the DRC, Zimbabwe and southern Africa.
Copper Intelligence describes the Butembo asset as a near-surface exploration target with a low strip ratio, located around 50 kilometres from the Ugandan border and close to the Kilembe mine, which has verified reserves of about four million tonnes. The company has highlighted historical high-grade samples of up to 18 percent copper and said the project benefits from access to rail infrastructure.
However, the project currently lacks a mineral resource estimate compliant with internationally recognised reporting standards such as JORC or NI 43-101, and there has been no declaration of mineral reserves. The company has also not disclosed a detailed technical work programme, including drilling plans, budgets or timelines, needed to advance the asset toward an economic assessment.
While placing the project within a U.S.-listed structure could improve visibility and potentially ease access to exploration funding, it also exposes the company to greater investor scrutiny. This comes even as OTC market disclosure requirements remain less stringent than those of major global exchanges.
“We are delighted to hold this status as a dedicated U.S. company operating in Africa, aggregating assets in the DRC’s highest-grade copper deposits in the world,” Groves said in a statement.
For Copper Intelligence, the central challenge now will be technical rather than transactional: transforming a prospective copper occurrence into a defined, independently verified and financeable mining project capable of supporting long-term development in a high-risk operating environment.
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