During this exclusive interview, The Energy Circle by IN-VR spoke with Grant Wilson, Executive Chairman at Tivan, about the company’s rapid expansion across Turiscai, Baucau, and Ossu, early high-grade copper–gold results in an underexplored yet well-governed jurisdiction, and Tivan’s commitment to community-centered exploration that could position Timor-Leste as a new critical minerals player in Asia’s energy transition.
Q1: Tivan recently expanded into Timor-Leste with the Turiscai Copper–Gold Project. What attracted the company to Timor-Leste, and how does this opportunity fit into Tivan’s overall growth strategy?
A: Tivan’s entry into Timor-Leste reflects both a strategic vision and the recognition of significant untapped mineral potential. In March 2025, we were directly awarded seven contiguous Exploration & Evaluation Licences covering the Turiscai Project — about 344 km² — by Timor-Leste’s Autoridade Nacional dos Minerais. Our technical team in Darwin had conducted a detailed desktop assessment in 2024, which highlighted strong copper-gold prospectivity in the Turiscai area. Furthermore, in November 2025, we executed a Binding Term Sheet with Beacon Minerals to acquire six additional licences — the Baucau and Ossu projects — totaling ~289 km². This acquisition significantly expands our foot print in Timor-Leste. The Baucau/Ossu projects enable Tivan to continue to build our existing in-country operational capabilities and to capture operational synergies. Proudly, Tivan already has a regional office in Dili, local geology staff, and strong relationships with ANM and the Instituto de Geociências de Timor-Leste.
Q2: What can you tell us about the geology and early exploration findings at Turiscai (and now in Baucau and Ossu)? How promising is the copper–gold potential?
A: Geologically, Turiscai sits in a very favorable setting. The region’s mineral system shares characteristics with world-class copper-gold provinces — in our public disclosures, we’ve drawn analogies to major deposits such as Grasberg, Ok Tedi, and Wafi-Golpu. Our early desktop study, assisted by geoscientific data from the Instituto de Geociências de Timor-Leste, confirmed that the project contains strong structural targets, favorable lithologies, and geophysical signatures consistent with copper-gold mineralisation. In our ASX announcement on 14 November 2025, we reported high-grade copper-gold mineralisation from our first assays returned. Grades of up to 9.65% Cu and 7.19g/t Au were returned from assays of 90 rock chip samples collected, confirming the prospectivity of the project for copper-gold mineralisation. Compared with our other projects, Turiscai represents a highly strategic opportunity: it offers highly prospective exploration in a jurisdiction with comparatively low historical exploration, and with a strong institutional framework to encourage responsible foreign investment.
Q3. Operating in a developing resource market like Timor-Leste requires strong local partnerships. How is Tivan collaborating with Timorese authorities, local businesses, and communities to advance the project responsibly?
A: From the beginning, responsible engagement has been central to our approach. We worked closely with the Autoridade Nacional dos Minerais throughout the licence application process to ensure our proposals aligned with Timor-Leste’s national development priorities.For Turiscai: in March 2025, the licence award was formalised in a community ceremony attended by Timor-Leste’s Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao. We were made to feel very welcome by the local community and the event helped us further understand the historical significance of the Turiscai region.In June 2025, we held a traditional cultural ceremony in Turiscai, attended by local leaders, traditional custodians, ANM representatives, and community members. We have also built a strong local operational footprint. We established a satellite office in Dili inQ2 2025, and have so far hired six local staff, including five geologists. We have also appointed a Community Relations Officer, based in Turiscai to strengthen and maintain on going communications with the local villages ahead of our team visiting.We aim to continue to generate local employment, involve local businesses in project-related services, and maintain open and transparent dialogue with communities. Our local team members are very much part of Tivan.
Q4: How do you see Timor-Leste contributing to Asia’s critical minerals and energy transition supply chains if Turiscai develops successfully?
A: Tivan works very closely with partners in Japan, including Sumitomo Corporation. Through these partnerships we have a strong understanding of key supply chains. We believe that Timor-Leste can make a significant contribution to strengthening and diversifying upstream supply chains in Asia, especially for critical minerals. Copper is a good example, as it is central to the energy transition. The supply of copper is constrained, yet it is needed for electrification, grid infrastructure, and low-carbon technologies. Through our expanded footprint, Tivan aims not just to explore for copper, but to catalyse the development of large-scale projects in Timor-Leste, that can support job creation, training and education, income generation and long-term sustainable economic growth.
5- Beyond exploration, does Tivan envision establishing production or processing capabilities in Timor-Leste? How might this investment help position the country as an emerging hub for critical minerals in Southeast Asia?
Our work in Timor-Leste is still at the very early stages of exploration. The country is under explored despite highly favourable geological settings. The introduction of the new Mining Code has only recently established a modern framework for minerals development. Future development requires a disciplined, methodical approach.Our current focus remains on systematic data collection through mapping and surface sampling to generate targets for geophysics, and ultimately drilling. These early programs are essential to building the geological knowledge base required before any development pathway can be considered. If, over time, drilling confirms an economically robust resource, Tivan would actively assess a range of development scenarios with a strong commitment to supporting Timor-Leste’s economic growth. This may include options for local processing or beneficiation that align with the Timor-Leste’s aspiration to build domestic capability and capture greater value onshore. Much would depend on the progress Timor-Leste has made in terms of energy infrastructure, as minerals processing is a highly intensive activity. Tivan’s progression toward development will be guided by rigorous technical, environmental, social and regulatory studies, and undertaken in collaboration with Autoridade Nacional dos Minerais, Murak Rai Timor EP, local businesses and host communities. Our approach throughout, as it is in our Australian projects, is to ensure durable alignment with stakeholders in Timor-Leste.
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