Highlights

  • Connected Minerals (ASX:CML) is advancing a maiden drilling campaign at the Bailundo carbonatite project.
  • The program targets both niobium and rare earth element mineralisation across priority zones.
  • Around 6,000 metres of reverse-circulation and diamond drilling is planned across 99 holes.
  • Drilling results and progress toward a maiden JORC resource remain the key milestones ahead.

Connected Minerals (ASX:CML) has been attracting attention as it builds a critical minerals exploration strategy around the Bailundo carbonatite project in Angola. The company is progressing toward ownership of an 80% interest in the project while advancing a substantial maiden drilling campaign across identified niobium and rare earth targets.

At the time of writing on 28 August 2026, Connected Minerals was trading at AUD 0.42, up 5.06%, or AUD 0.020, for the session.

The price movement is noted separately from the company’s operational developments and is not attributed to any specific catalyst.

With niobium and rare earth elements increasingly viewed as strategically important commodities, the Investment case now depends on whether Connected Minerals can convert Bailundo’s geological potential into a defined mineral resource.

Recent Developments

Connected Minerals has been progressing the Acquisition of Frontier Group CRM’s 80% interest in the Bailundo carbonatite project in Angola.

The transaction has received Shareholder approval and has moved toward completion, while exploration activity has already advanced into a more intensive drilling phase.

The company has initiated a maiden program comprising approximately 6,000 metres of reverse-circulation and diamond drilling across 99 planned holes.

The campaign is divided between two principal target areas. Around 2,500 metres of drilling is planned across a southern niobium zone covering approximately 22.5 hectares, while about 3,000 metres will target the northern rare earth element zone over roughly 162 hectares.

A further 500 metres of scout drilling is planned to test additional targets and potentially identify new areas of mineralisation.

Connected Minerals is aiming to complete the program before the November 2026 wet season, making drilling progress and assay turnaround important near-term considerations.

Supporting geophysical work has also been undertaken, including ground-penetrating radar, electrical resistivity tomography and high-resolution drone magnetic surveys. These datasets are being used to refine drill targeting and support the broader objective of working toward a maiden JORC mineral resource estimate.

Business Overview

Connected Minerals (ASX:CML) is an exploration company repositioned around critical minerals, with Bailundo forming the centrepiece of its current strategy.

The project is a large carbonatite complex in Angola, a geological setting that can host commodities such as niobium and rare earth elements.

Niobium is used in high-strength steels and specialist alloys, while rare earth elements are important inputs in permanent magnets, electronics, clean-energy technologies and defence applications.

As an early-stage explorer, Connected Minerals does not yet have a defined mineral resource at Bailundo. Its valuation therefore depends heavily on exploration results, geological interpretation and the ability to demonstrate continuity, grade and scale.

The company’s strategy is to systematically test the identified mineralised zones, build geological confidence and ultimately establish whether Bailundo can support a maiden resource estimate.

What Could Matter Next

The most important near-term catalyst is drilling performance across the southern niobium and northern rare earth zones.

Assay results will provide the first meaningful indication of whether surface and geophysical targets translate into continuous mineralisation at depth.

The company’s ability to complete the planned 6,000-metre campaign before the wet season will also matter because delays could push parts of the program into a later field season.

Completion of the acquisition and formal consolidation of the 80% interest in Bailundo is another important milestone, as it would remove remaining transaction uncertainty.

Investors will also watch whether geophysical interpretation generates additional targets beyond the current drill plan.

Any progress toward a maiden JORC mineral resource estimate could represent a major step in transforming Bailundo from an exploration concept into a more clearly defined project.

Broader market sentiment toward niobium, rare earths and critical minerals will also influence how investors assess exploration progress.

Risks and Watchpoints

Connected Minerals remains a pre-resource exploration company, so the investment case carries substantial geological and execution risk.

Drilling may not confirm the scale, grade or continuity required to support an economic deposit, while positive individual intercepts would not by themselves establish commercial viability.

Operating in Angola also introduces jurisdictional, logistical and permitting considerations that may affect development timelines.

Exploration campaigns can face delays due to weather, equipment availability, access and assay processing times.

Funding is another important consideration. Continued drilling and technical studies may require additional capital, potentially resulting in shareholder dilution.

Commodity prices for niobium and rare earth elements can also be volatile, while long-term project Economics will depend on metallurgy, infrastructure, Capital requirements and future market conditions.

The Bottom Line

Connected Minerals has established an ambitious critical minerals exploration strategy around the Bailundo carbonatite project.

The maiden 6,000-metre drilling campaign provides the company with an opportunity to test sizeable niobium and rare earth targets and begin building the geological data required for a potential maiden resource.

However, the project remains at an early stage, and the investment case will be determined by drilling results rather than project scale alone.

For Connected Minerals (ASX:CML), assay results, completion of the acquisition and progress toward a maiden JORC resource estimate are likely to be the most important indicators of whether Bailundo can develop into a more substantial critical minerals opportunity.