KSZ drilling update

RNS Number : 0911W

Kavango Resources PLC

17 December 2021

 

PRESS RELEASE

17 December 2021

KAVANGO RESOURCES PLC

("Kavango" or "the Company")

KSZ drilling update

Kavango Resources plc (LSE:KAV), the exploration company targeting the discovery of world-class mineral deposits in Botswana, is pleased to announce the Company has successfully completed the first downhole electromagnetic ("DHEM") survey on Hole KSZDD002 to a depth of 350m.

The measured DHEM response now indicates that the B1 Conductor Target (the "B1 Conductor") has a conductance of 11,000 Siemens. This is an increase of 37.5% from the original modelled response, derived from a surface Time Domain Electromagnetic ("TDEM") survey (announced 02 July), confirming this is a strong conductor.

To provide context, Kavango has provided a table on its website that presents an idealised resistivity and conductivity spectrum for rocks and mineralisation. The link to this table can be seen below:

https://kavangoresources.com/images/2021/07/02/idealized-resistivity-and-conductivity-spectrum-for-rocks-and-mineralization-kav-ksz.jpg

According to the updated DHEM model, the B1 Conductor has more elongate dimensions of 600m by 350m, however the position and dip of the plate remain the same. The drill hole is therefore still positioned optimally to intersect this target when drilling resumes in January.  The estimated depth to top is 420m, and the dip continues to indicate that 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.

As originally planned, Hole KSZDD002 is oriented towards the centre of the B1 Conductor. The Company estimates it will intercept the B1 Conductor between 525m and 575m.

The stratigraphy encountered so far in Hole KSZDD002 is analogous to the stratigraphy encountered in Hole KSZDD001, 1km away.

Kavango's strategic partner, Spectral Geophysics ("Spectral"), completed the DHEM survey and the data has been separately independently analysed and verified.

Hole KSZDD002 has now been cased off to 350m with HQ casing as part of Kavango's updated strategy to handle the drilling conditions and maintain hole stability. Equity Drilling and Mindea Exploration and Drilling Services (Pty) have paused drilling operations for the Christmas break and are scheduled to recommence early in the New Year.

Ben Turney, Chief Executive Officer of Kavango Resources, commented:

"We now have the clearest indication yet that Hole KSZDD002 is on course to intercept a major conductor. What that conductor is remains to be seen, but I am extremely grateful for the effort our partners have put into completing the first downhole EM survey.

This drilling campaign in the Kalahari Suture Zone has been a major engineering challenge. Completing downhole EM has proven to be particularly difficult, because we have had to case the boreholes to protect their integrity.

Given the importance of the B1 Conductor in testing our geophysical exploration methods, we knew we had to do everything we could to complete this first survey.  Spectral went to great lengths to ensure we had equipment on site to perform the survey as soon as the drillers were ready.

This extra effort has paid off and we look forward to recommencing drilling early in the New Year."

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 geophysics have been read and approved by Mr. Jeremy S. Brett, M.Sc., P.Geo., Senior Geophysical Consultant, Jeremy S. Brett International Consulting Ltd. in Toronto, Canada.  Mr. Brett is a member of the Professional Geoscientists of Ontario, the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, the Canadian Exploration Geophysical Society, and the Society of Economic Geologists.  Mr. Brett has sufficient experience that is relevant to geophysics applied the styles of mineralization and types of deposits under consideration to act as a Qualified Person as defined under the Canadian National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.  

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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