Drilling update at Ditau, KSZ Project, Botswana

RNS Number : 1754Z

Kavango Resources PLC

16 May 2019

 

PRESS RELEASE

 16 May 2019

KAVANGO RESOURCES PLC

("Kavango" or "the Company")

Drilling Update at Ditau, KSZ Project, Botswana

Kavango Resources plc (LSE: KAV), the exploration group listed on the Standard List segment of the main market of the London Stock Exchange and targeting the discovery of world class mineral deposits in Botswana, is pleased to release further information on the 2^nd diamond drill hole at the company's Ditau prospect (DitDDH2). The intersection of over 320 metres of intensely altered Karoo sediments above a gabbroic intrusive mirrors the alteration identified in DitDDH1, which lies 1.8km to the west.

The Ditau prospect, which forms part of Kavango's KSZ Project, is underlain by magnetic and gravity anomalies that suggest a 7km x 5km intrusive body at depth. The alteration zone was discovered using ground based geophysical techniques.

Although Kavango's principal interest is in the alteration halo, it was decided to continue the hole until the underlying intrusive was encountered at 478.55m. Since the intrusive (gabbro^iv) was also seen to be altered and mineralized the hole was continued to a final depth of 557.34m.

HIGHLIGHTS:

·     The second hole (DitDDH2) drilled at the Company's Ditau Prospect was finally stopped at 557.34m. Core recovery was good. Downhole surveying confirmed that deviation of the hole from vertical was minimal.

·     Kalahari sands and sediments extended to 40m. Karoo sediments continue for a further 438m until the intrusive is encountered at 478.55m. An 80m dolerite sill was intersected at 281m.

·     Geological logging and preliminary geochemical analysis by portable XRFⁱ shows a 320m zone of intensely altered rock, similar to that encountered in DitDDH1, was intersected before reaching the underlying intrusive.

·     The hole was continued for a further 78.79m into the gabbroic intrusive which was mineralized and heavily altered. The mineralization included chalcopyrite (copper sulphide 1.5% XRF reading).

·     Half core from the alteration zone and the gabbro has been cut and sampled at 1m intervals and has been sent (via South Africa for preparation) to Genalysis Laboratories in Perth, Australia for assay.

·     Although the portable XRF analyser is unable to determine indicative values for gold, silver, and PGEs, results suggest elevated values for cobalt, zinc, nickel and copper. The core also appears to contain high levels of rare earth elements (REEs).

·     Further drilling plans will be assessed once assay values have been received and interpreted.

Michael Foster, Chief Executive Officer of Kavango Resources, commented:

"We are extremely encouraged that the geophysics, geochemistry and the initial drilling which we have now completed at Ditau have been very successful in predicting a prospective hydrothermal system under complete cover. The large system displays important ingredients for mineral deposit(s), such as intrusives for heat and metal source, receptive overlying sediments with accompanying alteration and anomalous metal values. Assays are eagerly awaited and will be announced to the market as soon as they become available. The Company will then be in a position to compile a 3-D model, with the extensive information we now have, to understand fully the potential of Ditau." 

Further information in respect of the Company and its business interests is provided on the Company's website at www.kavangoresources.com and on Twitter at #KAV.

Notes for Editors:

Kavango's 100% subsidiary in Botswana, Kavango Minerals (Pty) Ltd, is the holder of 15 prospecting licences covering 9,231 km² of ground, including most of the 450km long KSZ magnetic anomaly in the southwest of the country along which Kavango is exploring for Cu-Ni-PGE rich sulphide orebodies. This large area, which is entirely covered by Cretaceous and post-Cretaceous Kalahari sediments, has not previously been explored using modern techniques.

The area covered by Kavango's KSZ licences displays a geological setting with distinct similarities to that hosting the World Class Norilsk Ni-Cu-PGE orebodies in Siberia.

Exploration Model:

Kavango's exploration model is based upon the search for magmatic massive sulphide orebodies buried beneath up to 200m of overburden. The identification of drill targets follows a carefully constructed exploration program specifically developed by the Company for exploration in areas covered by Kalahari and Karoo sediments and sands.

The exploration program was initiated by identifying the location of magmatic intrusive rocks from an analysis of the regional magnetic surveys published by the Ministry of Mines. This was followed by an airborne electro-magnetic survey (AEM) carried out over the magnetic anomalies that have signatures indicating the presence of intrusive rocks at depth. By using the latest generation of low frequency helicopter-borne EM, conductors lying below the Kalahari/Karoo cover can be identified for further investigation. These conductors are tested on surface by very high sensitivity soil samplingⁱⁱ, which can detect metal ions transported from buried metal rich massive sulphide deposits associated with the emplacement of magmatic intrusive rocks.

Kavango uses a ground based geophysical technique known as Controlled Source Audio frequency Magneto Tellurics (CSAMT)ⁱⁱⁱ to identify the exact location of the conductors. The shape, orientation and depth of the conductors determines if the conductor should be drilled. The presence of a metal in soil anomaly is also used to prioritise the conductors.

The next phase of the exploration involves the drilling of the conductor to determine the presence of sulphide mineralisation and its metal component (discovery). This is followed by the evaluation of the discovery, which will determine whether the deposit is large enough and rich enough to make an economically viable mine (feasibility).

ⁱ Indicative values from the drill core are obtained by a portable X-Ray Fluorescence analyser (XRF). This hand-held instrument is used extensively in mineral exploration. The analyser window is held against the core and the values of various elements are calculated in real time. Whilst the instrument will give an indication of the metal values in the core, a more accurate estimate of metal content can only be acquired by a full laboratory analysis.

ⁱⁱ Kavango geologists have pioneered a high resolution soil sampling technique to detect ultra-fine metal particles which have been transported in solution from considerable depths of burial to the surface by capillary action and transpiration. Evaporation leaves the metal ions as accumulations within a surface "duricrust" which is then sampled and analysed. Zinc, which is the most mobile of the base metal elements (i.e. goes into solution easily) acts as a pathfinder to mineralization at depth.

ⁱⁱⁱ Massive sulphide (base metal) deposits can be detected by CSAMT because they conduct electricity easily (conductors) as opposed to silicate wall rocks (resistive).

^iv Gabbro is a dense mafic intrusive rock, usually formed in an oceanic crust environment, when molten mass cools and crystallises at depth, forming a coarse grained, dark coloured rock, similar in its chemical composition to basalt.

For further information please contact:

Kavango Resources plc
Michael Foster	[phone]
[e-mail]
City & Westminster Corporate Finance LLP	[phone]
Nicola Baldwin

SI Capital Limited (Broker)                                                                                     [phone]

Nick Emerson / Alan Gunn

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