Phase 1 drilling completed on the KSZ, SW Botswana

RNS Number : 9039W

Kavango Resources PLC

16 December 2019

 

PRESS RELEASE

16 December 2019

KAVANGO RESOURCES PLC

("Kavango" or "the Company")

PHASE 1 DRILLING COMPLETED ON THE KSZ, SW 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 copper-nickel-PGE deposits in Botswana, is pleased to announce that the first phase of drilling on the Company's Kalahari Suture Zone Project (KSZ) has been completed, within budget, after successfully testing the first 3 of the 15 targets identified as having potential to host massive sulphide ore bodies.

HIGHLIGHTS

·  During the drilling programme, 749m of RC drilling and 344m of diamond core drilling were completed over 6 holes on 3 targets.

·    The drilling programme was designed:

o To test the Company's exploration strategy of identifying high level, Karoo age gabbroic sills predicted from its geophysical surveys, including airborne EM; and

o To confirm the existence of metal sulphide mineralization associated with the gabbroic intrusives.

·     The drilling has successfully confirmed that Kavango's exploration strategy, which includes airborne EM, soil geochemical sampling, and CSAMT resistivity surveying, is effective in identifying buried gabbroic intrusions and zones of conductivity. 

·     Disseminated sulphide mineralisation has been intersected at various depths in a number of gabbro sills. This is extremely encouraging and suggests that free sulphur was present in the cooling magma (sulphur saturation). The tenor of the mineralized intervals will be subject to assays to be undertaken in a Johannesburg laboratory.

·    On the last hole (RIT8DDH2) a 16m mineralized gabbro sill was intersected that showed intense heat alteration that extended several metres into the sediments on either side of the intrusion. This suggests that the intrusive acted as an active conduit transporting large volumes of magma to the surface*.

FOLLOW UP

·    Thin sections from the gabbros will be made and analysed as soon as possible. Study of these should confirm that the chemistry of the magma had the potential to form economic mineralisation.

·   The diamond core and the RC drill chips taken from the gabbroic intersections and adjacent sediments are being shipped to a laboratory in South Africa to be assayed for metal content and other important elements.

·    Kavango plans to survey at least 3 of the holes with downhole geophysics. This will include downhole EM**.

·    The downhole geophysics should identify the location of zones of massive sulphide, which are expected in the proximity of the existing holes.

·    If the downhole geophysics suggests the existence of massive sulphide bodies, a further drilling programme will be undertaken as soon as practically possible.

EXPLANATION (a Glossary of Terms is found at the end of this RNS)

·     * The accumulation of metal sulphides and their deposition within the intrusive is largely dependent on the volume of magma that passes through the conduit. The formation of massive sulphide orebodies requires the precipitation of small amounts of metal sulphide from large amounts of magma (lava) over a considerable time period.

·     ** Downhole EM will be able to detect any massive sulphide which the drill hole may have missed (off hole) as well as beyond the extent of the drill hole. Since the receiver of the downhole EM unit will be much closer to the source, it will be able to detect bodies beyond the reach of surface and airborne methods with less interference from Kalahari and Karoo sediments.

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

"It is very encouraging to note that the Company's exploration strategy for the discovery of a world class Cu/Ni/PGE magmatic sulphide deposit appears to be valid and progressing well. Disseminated sulphides have been intersected in the gabbros and the results of assays are eagerly awaited. Deposits of massive sulphide ore are still to be identified but it is hoped that downhole geophysical surveying will pinpoint the location of such deposits. A second phase of drilling will be planned in the new year to follow up assay results and the downhole surveys, as well as additional priority targets".

For further information please contact:

Kavango Resources plc                                                          [phone]

Michael Foster

[e-mail]

SI Capital Limited (Joint Broker)                                                   [phone]

Nick Emerson

Turner Pope Investments (Joint Broker)                                     [phone]

Andy Thacker and Zoe Alexander

Note to 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 13 licences over 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 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 those hosting World Class copper/nickel ore bodies such as Norilsk (Siberia) and Voisey's Bay (Canada). 

Glossary of Terms

·      CSAMT: Kavango uses a ground based geophysical technique known as Controlled Source Audio frequency Magneto Tellurics (CSAMT) to identify the exact location of the conductors identified in the airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey. The shape, orientation and depth of the conductors will determine if the conductor should be drilled.

·     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".

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

·      High level sills: Are sills that are emplaced in the upper levels of the earth's crust, close to the surface.

·      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.

·     Primary sulphides: Are sulphide complexes (or crystals) that form as the magma cools and are composed of elements that are present at the time of initial crystallization. Secondary sulphides may form after the magma has solidified either by the introduction of new elements into the rock or by re-mobilising elements already present through changes in pressure, heat etc.

·    Magma conduits: Beneath a volcano or multiple volcanic vents and fissures there will exist a complex "plumbing system" of (vertical) dykes and (horizontal) sills transporting magma (lava) to the surface. In some cases these "conduits" can remain active for hundreds of years accumulating metal sulphides in traps or along the floor. These accumulations solidify to become massive sulphide deposits

·     Electromagnetic (EM) surveys: are used to detect a wide variety of mineral deposits, especially base metal sulphides (such as copper and nickel), via detection of conductivity anomalies which can be generated around sulphide bodies in the subsurface. On a regional scale they are carried out via airborne methods, at ground level for detailed follow-up work, or down a drill hole to identify a body of mineralization under the conductive layers above.

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