KSZ drill operations recommence

RNS Number : 6433Y

Kavango Resources PLC

17 January 2022

 

PRESS RELEASE

17 January 2022

KAVANGO RESOURCES PLC

("Kavango" or "the Company")

KSZ drill operations recommence  

Kavango Resources plc (LSE:KAV), the exploration company targeting the discovery of world-class mineral deposits in Botswana, is pleased to announce the recommencement of drill operations on Hole KSZDD002.

On Friday 14 January, Mindea Exploration and Drilling Pty ("Mindea") mobilised the rig and drill team back to site. Over the weekend the team successfully removed the HQ casing that was left in the hole prior to Christmas to keep KSZDD002 open. Drilling is scheduled to commence during today's day shift. Operations will then continue on double shift until completion.

KSZDD002 has been designed to intercept the B1 Conductor, a geophysical anomaly that the Company believes is a prospective target for possible massive sulphide nickel or copper mineralisation.

Kavango first identified the B1 Conductor in Q2 2021 (announced 02 July) through a surface Time Domain Electromagnetic ("TDEM") survey. Independent data analysis at the time confirmed the B1 Conductor gave a conductance reading of 8,200Siemens. For context, the Company's exploration model is based on identifying drill targets, which exhibit conductance readings between 1,000Siemens and 10,000Siemens (a table can be found here on the Company's website - https://kavangoresources.com/images/2021/07/02/idealized-resistivity-and-conductivity-spectrum-for-rocks-and-mineralization-kav-ksz.jpg).

Drilling commenced on KSZDD002 on 19 November 2022, with an expected target intercept depth of between 525m and 575m for the B1 Conductor.

Drilling was paused for the Christmas break at 350m. A downhole electromagnetic ("DHEM") survey was completed on KSZDD002 and the hole was cased off. Independent analysis of the DHEM data increased the estimated conductance reading of the B1 Conductor to 11,000Siemens. KSZDD002 appears to be optimally positioned to intercept the centre of the conductive plate. The B1 Conductor is now estimated to be 600m by 300m in size. The position and dip of the plate remain the same, indicating the B1 Conductor is cross-formational. This suggests the B1 Conductor may have been emplaced by an as yet unspecified intrusive event and is unlikely to be formational.

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.

For further information please contact:

Kavango Resources plc   

Ben Turney

[e-mail]  

  First Equity (Joint Broker)

[phone]

Jason Robertson 

SI Capital Limited (Joint Broker) 

[phone]

Nick Emerson

Kavango Competent Person Statement

The technical information contained in this announcement pertaining to geology and exploration have been read and approved by Mr. John Lauderdale B.Sc., C. Geol., Group Consulting Geologist.  Mr. Lauderdale is a Chartered Geologist and Fellow of The Geological Society of London, a Fellow of The Geological Society of South Africa, and a Member of the Society of Economic Geologists.  Mr. Lauderdale has sufficient experience that is relevant to the exploration programmes and geology of the main styles of mineralisation and deposit types under consideration to act as a Qualified Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'

Note to Editors:

THE KALAHARI SUTURE ZONE

Kavango's 100% subsidiary in Botswana, Kavango Minerals (Pty) Ltd, is the holder of 16 prospecting licences covering 8,831.1km² of ground, including 14 licences over a significant portion of the 450km long KSZ magnetic anomaly in the southwest of the country along which Kavango is exploring for Copper-Nickel-PGM rich sulphide ore bodies. 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 World Class magmatic sulphide deposits such as those at Norilsk (Siberia) and Voisey's Bay (Canada).

The Norilsk mining centre is about 2,800km northeast of Moscow and accounts for 90% of Russia's nickel reserves, 55% of its copper and virtually all of its PGMs. Kavango's licenses in the KSZ display a geological setting with distinct geological similarities to the magmatic sulphide deposits at Norilsk. Magma plumbing systems are a key feature of these deposits.

KSZ DEFINITIONS

Chalcopyrite: A copper rich sulphide mineral (CuFeS₂), widely occurring in magmatic sulphide ore bodies.

EM Super Conductors: are bodies of highly conductive minerals such as graphite, magnetite and metal sulphides, which conduct electricity very rapidly provided the mineral grains are in contact with each other.

Gabbro/gabbroic: A coarse grained, medium to dark coloured rock, formed from the intrusion of mantle derived molten magma into the earth's crust. Gabbroic rocks (or "gabbros") are formed as the molten magma crystallizes and cools.

Gabbroic sills: Relatively thin, planar, horizontal bodies of solidified gabbroic magma that intruded into layers of sedimentary rock whilst still molten.

Karoo: The Karoo System covers 1.5 million km2 of the semi-desert region of Southern Africa. Rocks in this system formed 180-310 million years ago.

Massive sulphide: When a deposit consists almost entirely of sulphides it is termed "massive". When it consists of grains or crystals of sulphide in a matrix of silicate minerals, it is termed "disseminated".

Metal/Magmatic sulphide: Deposits of sulphide mineral concentrations in mafic and ultramafic rocks, derived from immiscible sulphide liquids. To view a video of how metal/magmatic sulphides form please visit -

https://twitter.com/KavangoRes/status/1316004057895645186?s=20  

Norilsk Style: copper/nickel/PGE mineralisation associated with the intrusion into the upper parts of the Earth's crust of mafic magma, which form magma chambers that sit below volcanic vents or fissures that extrude basaltic lava onto the surface (Hawaii is a possible modern equivalent). The Norilsk intrusions tend to have distinct morphologies, combining thin gabbro sills (wings) with deep keels (thought to be associated with feeder dykes) at the base.

Norilsk Model:   a genetic geological model similar to that pertaining to the Norilsk/Talnakh deposits in Siberia. Traditionally, it was thought that, during emplacement, the magma incorporated sulphur rich country rock (e.g. coal measures) or evaporites into the melt, which allowed the molten magma to become sulphur saturated. The free sulphur would then combine, preferentially, with Cu/Ni/PGE metal ions to form metal sulphides, which, being heavy, tended to accumulate in traps or into the keel of the magma chamber. However, modern research suggests that the process might be more complex and may also involve changes of the chemical and physical properties of the magma during the introduction of new pulses of molten material from below. Such sudden changes may have caused rapid segregation of metal sulphides within and above the feeder dykes within the keel of the intrusion.

Pegmatitic: Pegmatites are very coarse grained igneous rocks having grain sizes in excess of 3cm, Pegmatites are thought to form as a result of very slow crystallisation and may contain exotic minerals from a volatile-rich melt.

Sulphide mineralisation: If there is sufficient sulphur in the molten magma, it will tend to combine with metals (Cu, Zn, Ni, Co, Pb, PGEs etc.) to form metal sulphide complexes, which may coalesce to form massive sulphide deposits. If the melt is sulphide poor, the metals will be taken up into the silicate minerals that form as the magma cools and will not usually form economic deposits.

 

END

 

 

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