Exploration drilling in South Africa’s Northern Cape is highlighting the richness of dormant base metals precincts there. An intercept reported last week sent the shares of the company involved soaring on the Australian Stock Exchange. All this base-metals development company was doing was proving up geological data that has been available for decades.

The Northern Cape is repeatedly showing itself as a province that can deliver considerable economic growth along with much-needed export revenue at a time when copper in particular will be needed substantially to bring green energy to our climate-hit planet. Some of the small base-metal mine developers and explorers already see themselves as being on the way to advancing as major companies and they should be encouraged by South Africa as a whole to progress to the full extent.