COPPER-GOLD exploration company C3 Metals says it expects to take six to eight weeks to restore infrastructure and resume exploration work in Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa tore through the island last month, damaging access roads and field facilities at its project sites in Clarendon and St Catherine.

The Canadian-based company, which suspended operations days ahead of the storm’s October 28 landfall, said in a recent press statement that its local team is safe and that no injuries have been reported. The company said drill rigs, core samples and equipment escaped damage, though heavy winds and rainfall left multiple roads impassable and caused roof damage at its core logging and storage buildings.

“The safety of our workforce is our number one priority,” President and CEO Dan Symons said in the company update. “We estimate it will take approximately six to eight weeks to repair and restore necessary infrastructure to continue exploration activities. Given the magnitude of Hurricane Melissa, we are thankful that our team and equipment are safe.”

For now, C3 Metals has shifted from exploration to community assistance. The company said its Jamaican staff are helping to clear landslide debris, reopen blocked roads and provide food, water and power access to vulnerable residents.

“Major storm events can be devastating. It is times like these where it is important to come together as a community, ensure our neighbours have access to food and water, and work together to rebuild homes and critical infrastructure,” Symons added.

C3 Metals, which last February secured C$4.5 million to fund copper-gold exploration in Jamaica and Peru, has been advancing two major local projects — Super Block and Bellas Gate — that together represent more than 20,000 hectares of exploration ground.

At Super Block, a 50-per-cent-owned joint venture with Geophysx Jamaica Limited, the company had reached the halfway mark of a 14-hole, 2,500-metre scout drilling programme prior to the storm. Seven holes have been completed, with assay results pending for three. The remaining seven will be drilled once site access is restored. Super Block sits in the parish of Clarendon, near the historic Pennants Gold Mine area.

At Bellas Gate in St Catherine — the company’s flagship property and currently the centrepiece of an earn-in agreement with Freeport-McMoRan Exploration Corporation — C3 Metals has completed two holes into porphyry copper-gold prospects and two into a volcanic redbed copper-silver zone. Five additional holes and the balance of a 70 sq km 3D induced-polarisation survey are scheduled to resume once conditions allow.

Symons described the dual impact of the storm as “unlucky”, recalling that Jamaica had not seen a direct hurricane hit since 1988 until back-to-back strikes in 2024 and 2025.

As the world transitions to clean energy, demand for copper — critical for electric vehicles, power grids, and renewable infrastructure — is surging. While South America dominates global copper production, the Caribbean is emerging as a promising new frontier.

Jamaica’s proximity to US markets, stable political climate, and improving mining regulations make it an attractive destination for mining investment.