Phase 2 airborne EM survey mobilised in Botswana

RNS Number : 5671N

Kavango Resources PLC

21 January 2019

 

PRESS RELEASE

 21 January 2019

KAVANGO RESOURCES PLC

("Kavango" or "the Company")

PHASE 2 OF AIRBORNE EM SURVEY MOBILISED IN 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 announce that Phase 2 of the airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey over the Kalahari Suture Zone (KSZ) prospecting licences has been mobilised, with anticipated start of flying later this month.

HIGHLIGHTS:

·     The Company has contracted the services of SkyTEM, a leading airborne geophysical survey company offering the acquisition and advanced processing of the highest quality helicopter-borne electromagnetic data, to carry out Phase 2 of a detailed AEM survey over Kavango's KSZ licences.

·     The AEM survey will cover up to 2,062 line-kilometres in the Hukuntsi area of Botswana.

·     The survey will be flown with SkyTEM's innovative new generation 312 HP (High Power) technology for deep exploration. This High Power system, with a peak moment up to 1,000,000 NIA, is optimized to provide an exceptional depth of investigation due to the high moment (HM) mode with high current and low base frequency of 12.5 Hz. This system has only been on the market since 2017 and therefore, represents a major advance in AEM systems.

·     The SkyTEM survey is planned to begin in late January 2019 and take approximately 4-6 weeks.

Michael Foster, Chief Executive Officer of Kavango, commented:

"We are pleased to be able to announce the start of Phase 2 of the AEM Survey. SkyTEM's new High Power system will allow us to investigate the potential for Cu-Ni-PGE rich sulphide orebodies at much deeper levels and with greater resolution than older systems.

The greater depth penetration of the new SkyTEM312 HP (High Power) system should give Kavango much better discrimination in the prioritization of target conductors.

Follow up of EM conductors will be directed only towards those conductors that lie below the Kalahari sequences whilst near surface conductors (clays, shales etc) can be safely ignored. This will accelerate the follow-up program by allowing us to concentrate only on the most prospective conductors and should represent a major breakthrough in the Company's exploration strategy." 

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 Norilsk Ni-Cu-PGE orebodies in Siberia.

The newly developed SkyTEM312 HP (High Power) system (https://skytem.com/wp-content/uploads/SkyTEM312-HP.pdf) will be used to identify conductors at depth and distinguish between near surface Kalahari Group conductors and the deeper Karoo conductors which are Kavango's principal targets. These will be further evaluated by Induced Polarisation (IP) and Controlled Source Audio-frequency Magneto-Tellurics (CSAMT)* ground based geophysical surveys and geochemical soil analysis with particular emphasis on the zinc pathfinder**. Geophysical techniques such as IP penetrate below the over-lying Kalahari cover and help to identify the exact location of the conductive body. 3D computer modelling of the conductor further defines the location and physical characteristics of the conductor ahead of testing by drill intersection.

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

**Kavango geologists have developed 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.

An updated presentation is available on our website at www.kavangoresources.com

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

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

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