17 July 2023
Junior explorer Cobre (ASX:CBE) has identified a ‘prominent’ copper anomaly through aircore (AC) and reverse circulation (RC) drilling at the Tlou Target within its Kitlanya West Project in Botswana.
The $27.25 million market capitalisation company reports this 2.5km-by-1km anomaly was identified in 16 widely spaced shallow RC drill holes in samples at the base of cover up to 165 parts per million (ppm) copper and upper bedrock samples that returned up to 1,530ppm copper. The drilling results have also mapped a ‘clearly defined’ zinc and lead halo surrounding the copper anomaly, which extends further support to the target.
Cobre reports the ongoing 10,000m AC and RC drilling campaign is now 50% complete. This program was initially designed to provide an AC sample at the base of the Kalahari cover, with a core plug of the underlying lithology providing ‘valuable’ information on the stratigraphy and potential for proximal copper-silver mineralisation. However, due to the challenges of AC drilling through the Kalahari cover, the program was adjusted to RC drilling. Over 71 shallow RC holes have been completed into bedrock to test several priority soil sampling targets, including Tlou, which was the initial focus of the program.
Cobre expects the ongoing RC program to be completed in the next 2 months, and results will be combined with the recently completed soil sampling, as well as the ongoing airborne gravity gradient (AGG) survey being conducted in collaboration with Sandfire Resources (ASX:SFR), to generate a set of priority targets. The company reports follow-up drilling will see 1,500m of infill RC drilling completed at Tlou to identify the source of the anomalous copper. This drilling will be carried out concurrently with the regional RC drilling program.
Commenting on the results, Cobre Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Adam Wooldridge says: “I am extremely pleased with the findings from our ongoing drilling activities at the Kitlanya West Project in Botswana.
The identification of a consistent and significant copper anomaly associated with the Tlou Target provides further support for the copper potential in the 2,000km-square project area.”
The Tlou Target is 1 of several fold targets located in the reduced sedimentary units of the lower D’Kar Formation. Cobre says copper-silver mineralisation is expected to occur at the redox contact at the basin of this formation, which is typical in sedimentary copper deposits, and in structurally controlled trap-sites in the lower D’Kar Formation, where it is introduced along thrust or shear structures.
Cobre is an ASX-listed explorer focused on base and precious metals, particularly copper, in Botswana and Western Australia. The company holds the 2,000km-square Kitlanya West Project in the Kalahari Copper Belt in Botswana, along with the Perrinvale and Sandiman base metal projects in Western Australia.
On March 31, the company had $7.936 million cash at hand, according to its latest quarterly report published on 28 April 2023.
Source: https://mining.com.au/cobre-unearths-prominent-copper-anomaly-at-kitlanya-west-project-botswana/
