Kavango Resources plc said it had encountered metal sulphides and completed drilling hole KSZDD001 in the Kalahari Suture Zone (KSZ) in Botswana.
GREAT RED SPOT
Hole KSZDD001 is the deepest borehole ever drilled into the ‘Great Red Spot’ (GRS) and is the first to recover physical evidence of sulphide mineralisation in the system.
Copper sulphide mineralisation and locally abundant fine grained, interstitial magnetite were encountered at 951m to the end of hole at 1,000m.
The company said that this was consistent with its geophysical modelling of the Proterozoic gabbros, which are believed to be the source of the GRS magnetic anomaly (GRS).
RISK
Drilling conditions in Hole KSZDD001 were challenging, with poor and fractured ground conditions encountered in several sections.
The company has elected not to attempt a downhole electromagnetic (DHEM) survey of Hole KSZDD001, as the risk of losing the DHEM probe in the uncased sections of the hole are considered too high.
HOLE KSZDD002
The rig has mobilised and the drilling of Hole KSZDD002, targeting the 8,200 Siemens conductor, is expected to begin by the middle of this week.
COMPLEX
Chief executive Ben Turney added that the company had once again broken new ground in the 50-year effort to unlock the KSZ’s potential to host nickel-copper ore bodies.
“We are the first company to confirm the presence of interstitial chalcopyrite (copper sulphide) in the Great Red Spot and the first successfully to drill to 1,000m in this area.
“For this we have to thank Mindea/Equity Drilling for stepping up to the complex engineering challenge.”
Kavango now awaits the results of petrology and geochemical analyses of core samples.