Drilling update at Ditau, KSZ Project, Botswana

RNS Number : 8037T

Kavango Resources PLC

25 March 2019

 

PRESS RELEASE

 25 March 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, confirms the intersection by diamond drilling of over 200 metres of intense alteration with significant anomalous base metal values at its Ditau prospect, which is part of the Company's Kalahari Suture Zone (KSZ) Project.

The first hole encountered a 200 metre zone of intensely altered rock above the conductive drill target and exhibits significant sulphide alteration together with indicative cobalt values of up to 0.9% and a weighted average of 0.2% cobalt over 70 metres as well as elevated copper, zinc, lead and nickel values*.

HIGHLIGHTS:

·     The first hole (DitDDH1) drilled at the Company's Ditau Prospect, which forms part of the KSZ Project, was stopped at 351.82 metres due to the presence of cavities at depth.

·     Geological logging and preliminary geochemical analysis of the drill core demonstrates that the hole intersected over 200 metres of intensely altered rock before the hole was stopped.

·     The lithology at the bottom of the hole shows that it is still in highly altered sedimentary rock overlying the conductive body, which was identified by ground geophysical techniques.

·     The core from DitDDH1 will now be sent to an accredited international laboratory for geochemical analysis and assay. Final assay results will be announced as they become available.

·     DitDDH2 is now in progress and sited on a second conductive body (supported by surface soil geochemistry) situated 1.8km east of DitDDH1, within the Ditau intrusion.

·     A water well has been successfully drilled at Ditau which will now alleviate the need to cart water over long distances and facilitate drilling.

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

"We are extremely encouraged that the first hole encountered a 70 metre zone containing significant sulphide alteration together with indicative cobalt values of up to 0.9% and a weighted average of 0.2% cobalt as well as elevated copper, zinc, lead and nickel values*. The indicative metal values need to be confirmed by laboratory analysis but are suggestive of mineralisation at depth.

In the meantime, a second hole is now in progress and sited on a second conductive body (supported by surface soil geochemistry) situated 1.8km east of the first hole, within the Ditau intrusion. This hole is already advancing to plan and is benefitting from the new water well. We will continue to announce further drilling results from Ditau in a timely fashion." 

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 200 metres 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 sampling**, 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)*** 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).

* 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.

**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.

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

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

****************************ENDS**************************************

 

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