REG - Kavango Resources - ZIM - Prospect 3 Resource Drilling Commences

Kavango ResourcesAnnouncement

25/11/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 1989N  Kavango Resources PLC  25 November 2024

PRESS RELEASE

25 November 2024

KAVANGO RESOURCES PLC

("Kavango" or "the Company")

ZIM - Prospect 3 Resource Drilling Commences

Kavango Resources plc (LSE: KAV), the Southern Africa focussed metals
exploration company, is pleased to announce the commencement of a drilling
programme at its  Prospect 3 target ("Prospect 3") at the Hillside Gold
Project ("Hillside") in Matabeleland, southern Zimbabwe.

The drilling programme is designed to delineate a mineral resource to form the
basis for an open pit mine, and to obtain sufficient sample to conduct
metallurgical test work.

Following an in-country strategic review, which included a site visit with the
Company's Technical Team, senior geologists and an international mining
engineer, Kavango has ranked Prospect 3 as its priority project in Zimbabwe.
The Company believes Prospect 3 has the highest potential to commence
commercial production in the shortest amount of time, and with the lowest
capital entry.

Highlights

·    Kavango has compiled and modelled its geological and geophysical
exploration data at Prospect 3 and incorporated mapping of gold producing
artisanal workings here. The Company believes this work demonstrates the
potential for commercial scale, mechanised open-pit mining and heap leach
processing at the prospect.

·    The initial high priority target area averages 200m across strike and
100m along strike, in the vicinity of hole NSDD0002.

·    Artisanal miners are currently producing gold from 12 surface
workings with at least 2 different vein orientations, from oxidized
meta-sediments above a granodiorite intrusive next to NSDD0002.

·    Hole NSDD002 also intersected an additional 9 grading structures
under deeper cover that are currently not being worked.

·    The Company has drilled 3 exploration holes into the target area at
Prospect 3. Near-surface highlights from these holes include:

o 1.00m @ 1.13 grams per tonne ("g/t") from 14.00m at Hole NSDD001

o 2.00m @ 1.21 g/t from 6.00m at Hole NSDD002

o 1.00m @ 1.77 g/t from 13.00m at Hole NSDD002

o 8.20m @ 3.08 g/t from 66.69m at Hole NSDD002

o 1.00m @ 2.08 g/t from 28.00m at Hole NSDD03

·    Kavango has engaged an international mining engineer, who has
extensive experience in modern mining techniques and processes, to oversee the
design and construction of the open-pit and heap-leach processing operation at
Prospect 3 once the mineral resource has been established.

Ben Turney, Chief Executive of Kavango Resources, commented:

"The high level of artisanal workings across Prospect 3 is strongly indicative
of the area's potential for larger scale, near surface gold deposits that
Kavango can mine.

The artisanal workings have focussed on higher-grade material, but to a
limited and shallow extent. Our exploration team has identified much more
extensive potential, which we will now test with a focussed drill campaign to
develop a maiden mineral resource here.

Assuming this drill campaign is successful, we expect to move to a pre-mining,
grade control drill campaign and metallurgical test work.

Geological modelling of Prospect 3

Hole NSDD001 was drilled as a scoping hole to test the grade, width, extent
and continuity at depth under extensive and currently gold producing artisanal
workings at surface at Prospect 3. Preliminary results for NSDD001 identified
multiple gold zones grading at >0.5g/t (announced >>> 10 May 2024
(https://polaris.brighterir.com/public/kavango_resources_plc/news/rns/story/x4j5odx)
).

Subsequently, the Company drilled Holes NSDD002 and NSDD003 to further test
continuity along strike of the gold mineralisation encountered in NSDD001.
NSDD002 was drilled 200m along strike from NSDD001 and NSDD003 was drilled as
an infill hole, spaced at 100m in between the first two holes. Both NSDD002
and NSDD003 demonstrated continuation of the gold mineralisation along 200m
strike and intercepted multiple gold-bearing zones (announced >>> 16
September 2024
(https://polaris.brighterir.com/public/kavango_resources_plc/news/rns/story/wv378zr)
).

Following receipt of the assay results from NSDD002 and NSDD003, Kavango's
technical team has completed a thorough compilation and review of historic and
current data available to it from Prospect 3. The technical team has modelled
the geological and geophysical data and outlined a target area approximately
800m in length and 200m wide (350m at its widest and 45m at its narrowest).
The target area is open along strike to both the NW and SE. The target appears
to contain multiple wide zones of gold mineralisation grading >0.5 g/t,
with narrower high-grade zones where contract artisanal miners are currently
producing gold from 12 surface workings with at least 2 different vein
orientations, from oxidized meta-sediments above a granodiorite next to
NSDD0002.

The Company believes these zones of gold mineralisation are close enough to
surface to represent a possible open-pit gold deposit.

In addition, Hole NSDD0002 also identified an additional 9 grading structures
that the contract artisanal miners at Hillside have not yet discovered.

On Tuesday 15 October, Kavango conducted a site visit to Prospect 3 with the
Company's Technical Team, senior geologists and an international mining
engineer to review the ground and latest contract artisanal workings.

The extensive gold producing artisanal workings have been typically mined only
to a depth of less than 10m at Prospect 3 and are restricted to the shallow
oxidised material within the meta-sediments. Kavango believes these contract
artisanal workings and completed exploration holes demonstrate the potential
for commercial scale mechanised selective open-pit mining at Prospect 3. The
highest-grade, near surface intercepts from the three holes include:

o 1.00m @ 1.13 g/t from 14.00m at Hole NSDD001

o 2.00m @ 1.21 g/t from 6.00m at Hole NSDD002

o 1.00m @ 1.77 g/t from 13.00m at Hole NSDD002

o 8.20m @ 3.08 g/t from 66.69m at Hole NSDD002

o 1.00m @ 2.08 g/t from 28.00m at Hole NSDD03

 

Figure 1: Map of Prospect 3 showing structural features together with
artisanal workings, completed boreholes and proposed boreholes for initial
phase of the TEA study.

Table 1: Selected intersections from completed holes, NSDD001, NSDD002 &
NSDD003

 Hole no.   m From  m To    m Interval  Gold g/t
 NSDD001    14.00   15.00   1.00        1.13
 NSDD001    62.00   64.00   2.00        0.78
 NSDD001    90.00   90.98   0.98        0.70
 NSDD001    97.00   102.00  5.00        1.68
 incl       97.00   99.00   2.00        2.29
 NSDD001    106.00  110.00  4.00        0.69
 NSDD001    115.51  116.00  0.49        2.49
 NSDD001    138.00  140.00  2.00        1.24
 NSDD001    143.00  144.00  1.00        0.66
 NSDD001    148.00  159.90  11.90       0.92
 incl       148.00  148.97  0.97        2.14
 and        156.00  157.00  1.00        3.10
 NSDD001    181.00  181.99  0.99        0.63
 NSDD001    195.00  198.00  3.00        1.03
 NSDD001    203.00  207.00  4.00        0.63
 NSDD002    0.00    3.00    3.00        0.66
 NSDD002    6.00    8.00    2.00        1.21
 NSDD002    13.00   14.00   1.00        1.77
 NSDD002    21.00   27.00   6.00        0.51
 NSDD002    66.69   74.89   8.20        3.08
 including  68.39   68.74   0.35        13.82
 NSDD002    105.00  111.10  6.10        0.85
 NSDD002    152.48  153.19  0.71        1.52
 NSDD002    196.46  197.00  0.54        0.82
 NSDD002    225.87  226.87  1.00        0.63
 NSDD003    6.50    8.00    1.50        0.78
 NSDD003    13.00   15.00   2.00        0.75
 NSDD003    23.80   24.50   0.70        0.79
 NSDD003    28.00   29.00   1.00        2.08
 NSDD003    31.40   32.40   1.00        0.68
 NSDD003    37.00   37.40   0.40        0.79
 NSDD003    62.50   65.26   2.76        0.69
 NSDD003    104.40  109.40  5.00        1.80
 including  104.40  104.80  0.40        5.79
 NSDD003    123.50  125.00  1.50        0.80
 NSDD003    152.00  153.00  1.00        0.58
 NSDD003    163.00  165.00  2.00        0.87
 NSDD003    193.00  195.00  2.00        1.09
 NSDD003    198.44  199.00  0.56        0.75

*All thicknesses are downhole intersection thicknesses.

 

Kavango's technical team believes Prospect 3 has the potential to host a
resource , mineable by open-pit, using modern selective mechanised methods
with processing of the mineralised material via low capital cost heap leaching
methodologies.

Initiation of open-pit mining and heap leach processing TEA

Kavango's technical team has outlined a programme to commence open-pit mining
and heap leach processing of gold at Prospect 3. This incorporates 4 phases,
with each phase being contingent upon successful completion of the preceding
stage:

·    Phase 1, now commenced - Initial resource definition drilling
comprising a grid of 90m deep diamond core holes over the target area, on a
25m x 50m spacing with the goal of defining an initial resource containing at
least 20,000oz of gold at > 0.5 g/t. Samples from this program will be
combined with bulk samples from artisanal pits to complete heap leach
metallurgical test work. Metallurgical testing will seek to determine the
metallurgical recovery of the gold contained in the mineralised material and
guide the design of the heap leach.  Selected core samples will also be used
for geotechnical testing to aid in the open pit mine design.

·    Phase 2 - Pre-mining grade control drilling will comprise a grid of
14m deep, angled reverse circulation holes over the target resource area, on a
10m x 10m spacing. This program will enable the design of mineable mineralised
blocks on the initial open pit benches.

·    Phase 3 - Technical Economic Assessment Study ("TEA"). The TEA will
determine the feasibility of open-pit mining and heap leach processing at
Prospect 3. The TEA will produce  a mine plan for the open-pit and designs
for the processing plant and heap leach pad as well as economic indicators for
the project.

·    Phase 4 - Commence mining and gold production.

 

Figure 2: Illustrative outline of a typical heap leach process.

Prospect 3 has an extensive strike length (>800m) and the first starter pit
(Stage 1) would encompass the full strike width (200m) in the vicinity of hole
NSDD0002 and indicatively would mine a strike length of around 8% of the total
strike length of the deposit. The mining of future pit stages along strike
will be planned once Stage 1 is successfully underway.

The Phase 1 drill program has the aim of better understanding the geology and
the controls on economic mineralization at Prospect 3. The goal will be to
confirm a maiden geological resource, from which a high confidence mine plan
can be prepared.

The drill program will also fulfil the need to obtain samples to complete a
metallurgical test work program. This testing will seek to confirm the
viability of the proposed processing method of for the mineralised material at
Prospect 3 and determine the achievable recoveries from the planned heap
leaching processing methodology. Samples for geotechnical test work will be
collected and analysed to enable drill and blast and wall stability
optimisations to be completed. The geological data, metallurgical data, and
cost data will feed into the Prospect 3 TEA study.

In parallel to the drilling program, the Kavango team will commence work on
permitting and obtaining detailed cost data for the mining, processing, and
support functions.

Further updates will be provided as the project progresses.

Kavango's Operations in Zimbabwe

Kavango is exploring for gold deposits in Zimbabwe that have the potential to
be brought into production quickly through modern mechanised mining. The
Company is targeting both open-pit and underground opportunities.

Currently, Kavango has two projects on the same greenstone belt, Hillside and
Nara.

Kavango exercised its option to acquire Hillside in April 2024. Here the
Company has two high-priority targets that it hopes to bring into production
over the next 18 months; Prospect 3 and Prospect 4. At Prospect 3 Kavango is
investigating the potential for an open-pit selective bulk mining operation.
Meanwhile, at Prospect 4 Kavango is pursuing a high-grade, underground
bulk-minable opportunity.

In parallel to this, Kavango has an option to acquire the Nara Project that
currently runs until the end of June 2025. Here, the Company is exploring for
a large-scale, bulk-minable underground deposit at Nara. The primary target
zone is around the historic N1 mine, where the Company is assessing the
potential to expand artisanal workings at depth and along strike.

 

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

+46 7697 406 06

First Equity (Broker)

+44 207 374 2212

Jason Robertson

 

Kavango Competent Person Statement

The technical information contained in this announcement pertaining to mining
has been compiled by Mr Craig Hatch, a Competent Person and a member of a
Recognised Professional Organisations (ROPO). Craig Hatch has sufficient
experience that is relevant to the style of mining and type of deposit under
consideration and to the activities being proposed to qualify as a Competent
Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting
of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (JORC 2012). Craig
is the Principal Mining Engineer of Minorex Pty Ltd and a consultant to
Kavango Resources and is a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and
Metallurgy (AusIMM), a recognised professional organisation.

The technical information contained in this announcement pertaining to geology
and exploration have been compiled by Mr David Catterall, a Competent Person
and a member of a Recognised Professional Organisations (ROPO). David
Catterall has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of
mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity
being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012
Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral
Resources and Ore Reserves (JORC 2012). David is the principal geologist at
Tulia Blueclay Limited and a consultant to Kavango Resources. David Catterall
is a member of the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions, a
recognised professional organisation.

 

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