London, 3 September 2025 — Pallas Resources has announced the discovery of a substantial outcropping copper zone at its Merke and Lugovoe licences in southern Kazakhstan, alongside the commencement of first drilling at the Glubokoe Project in the western Chu-Sarysu Basin. Both developments mark significant milestones in the company’s strategic alliance with Ivanhoe Mines.
Fieldwork at Merke has revealed a 20-metre-thick copper-bearing horizon within fractured carbonate rocks, exposed in a historic pit. The discovery confirms visible surface mineralisation, including malachite and azurite, and strongly supports the structural model guiding exploration. According to the company, the mineralisation is thought to be structurally controlled, with fractures and faults serving as conduits for copper-bearing fluids.
The Lugovoe licence, recently granted to the Pallas–Ivanhoe partnership, extends prospective stratigraphy by a further 40 kilometres to the west. Early reconnaissance has already identified surface copper mineralisation, with fold zones appearing to act as structural traps. Upcoming work will focus on detailed structural mapping, complemented by high-resolution magnetic surveys to trace mineralisation beneath cover.
Meanwhile, drilling has commenced at Glubokoe, a 2,500 km² project in the western Chu-Sarysu Basin. The programme will comprise five diamond drill holes, each between 800 and 1,000 metres deep, totalling around 4,200 metres. The first hole is targeting extensions of mineralisation first recorded by Soviet geologists in the 1980s, where three copper-bearing intervals were intersected over a total of 26 metres, with grades ranging from 0.12% to 3% copper.
Simon Cooper, Chief Executive of Pallas Resources, described the start of drilling as a “key milestone,” coming less than a year after the partnership with Ivanhoe Mines was formalised. Results from the current campaign are expected by late December and will help inform a planned 15,000-metre drilling programme in 2025.
The Chu-Sarysu Basin is recognised as the world’s third-largest sediment-hosted copper province, already hosting more than 27 million tonnes of discovered copper, with the US Geological Survey estimating a further 25 million tonnes yet to be found.
Pallas holds over 16,000 km² in the basin, making it the leading explorer in this emerging copper district. Under the terms of the alliance, Ivanhoe Mines will sole-fund $18.7 million during the initial phase, with the option to invest up to $115 million over four years.
