8 June 2023
ASX-listed explorer Mount Burgess Mining (ASX:MTB) is confirming a zone of copper mineralisation at the Kihabe deposit within its Kihabe-Nxuu Polymetallic Project in Botswana.
The company reports there is an 800m zone of copper mineralisation within the northeast area of Kihabe’s 2.4km strike length. Results from 27 holes drilled to date in this area demonstrate it contains copper associated with zinc-lead-silver-vanadium oxide mineralisation. A recent Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) conducted on Kihabe did not include any of the copper, cobalt, germanium, and gallium values, noting more drilling is required to confirm the continuity of those elements.
The company reports only 22 of the 27 holes completed within the copper zone were assayed for cobalt, with 11 of the 22 holes demonstrating various intersections of cobalt ranging from 52 parts per million (ppm) to 169ppm. While cobalt grades alone may not indicate ‘significant’ value, Mount Burgess Mining says cobalt mineralisation is associated with copper mineralisation, which is in turn associated with zinc-lead-silver-vanadium oxide mineralisation within Kihabe. Additionally, the company notes copper-cobalt sulphide minerals can be recovered and concentrated separately during flotation to recover zinc sulphide minerals, and cobalt can have a concentrate ratio exceeding 30 times the in-ground grade, which ‘significantly’ enhances recoverable value.
Based on the cobalt grades seen in 11 holes that were assayed for copper, a 30-fold increase in the cobalt grade in concentrate equates to between 0.2% and 0.5% cobalt in concentrate.
Mineralogical and metallurgical testwork will be required to confirm the contribution cobalt makes to Kihabe.
Mount Burgess also reports 18 holes completed to date at Kihabe have been assayed for gallium, noting there are ‘significant’ intersections beyond the zinc-lead-silver-vanadium mineralisation, indicating a potential credit for the project as an additional element and reducing waste-to-ore ratios. The company says mineralogical testwork conducted to date demonstrates that gallium and germanium are hosted in micas, which can be recovered by flotation to produce ‘high-percentage’ concentrates. Metallurgical testwork is being conducted to determine the recovery of gallium and germanium on-site.
Mount Burgess Mining is a Perth-based explorer that has been listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) since 1985 and holds the Kihabe-Nxuu Polymetallic Project in Botswana. The project lies on the border with Namibia, about 700km north of Botswana’s capital Gaborone, and is considered prospective for zinc, lead, silver, germanium, and vanadium mineralisation.
