The first high-priority targets have been identified for Phase 1 of drilling on London-listed Kavango Resources’ Karakubis copper project, which is situated in Botswana, on the Kalahari Copper Belt (KCB).

Specialist geophysical consultant Emergo has completed inversions on airborne electromagnetic (AEM) data over the central portion of survey block 1A of the project.

Kavango says this area is underlain by lower D'Kar formation (DKF). The contact point between the lower DKF and Ngwako Pan formation is known to coincide with major copper/silver deposits in the region.

"Kavango holds in excess of 6 200 km² of highly prospective ground in the KCB. This is a very large land package with the potential to host multiple, large-scale copper/silver deposits.

“Over the last 18 months, our team has completed the painstaking task of compiling a wide array of exploration data to maximise our chances of drill success. This work has generated more target areas than we anticipated, which is especially positive for the overall potential of the Karakubis project,” Kavango CEO Ben Turney said on May 31.

Kavango has identified five high-priority target areas for immediate gradient array induced polarisation (IP) surveys to refine drill targets.

The high priority target areas are interpreted to be underlain by lower DKF stratigraphy, occupying a faulted block within the Kara antiform, which lies along a gravity high believed to represent a basin margin setting.

A large number of potential drill targets have been identified, which will be ranked according to results of the IP surveys.

The first phase of drilling, totalling about 5 000 m, has been designed to test trap site structures associated with doubly plunging fold targets and anticlines identified initially from modelling of AEM data as being relatively shallow, at about 200 m to 300 m.

Diamond core drilling of selected targets will be undertaken by drilling contractor Mitchell Drilling, starting in June.  

Further priority targets anticipated as data processing and interpretation are completed for survey results from survey blocks 1A and 1B.

“Although we still have further airborne data to process, the targets we have identified are already strong enough to be classed high priority. As such, we have decided to push ahead with drilling. Our primary objective will be to prove that our target areas cover a copper mineralising system.

“We had previously reported the identification of favourable structural geology for possible trap zones. If we can now prove that copper mineralised fluids passed through the region our chances of success should increase significantly,” Turney said.