Online Reporter
Vusumuzi Dube, Deputy Radar Editor
KAVANGO Resources made a major breakthrough at their Hillside project in Filabusi on Monday, after intercepting high-grade gold at the Bill’s Luck Gold Mine.
The latest underground drilling hole, BLDDUG004B, revealed a gold-bearing structure between 47.36 metres and 51.72 metres, yielding an impressive 11.79 grammes per tonne of gold over a 4.36-metre interval.
Notably, this includes several rich segments with 0.57m at 11.9g/t, 0.60m at 44.88g/t, and 0.60m at 25.04g/t.
Commenting on the latest achievement, Kavango chief executive officer, Mr Ben Turney, said while the result is extremely positive, they are most encouraged by what it suggests about the wider potential at Bill’s Luck.
“The latest underground results from Bill’s Luck are highly encouraging. We intercepted 4.36m of gold mineralisation, grading at 11.79g/t. This intersection is about 12m from where we are currently mining beneath 3 Level, therefore representing a near-term target for us to pursue.
“The current underground drilling programmes continue to add further evidence that this gold system is much larger than we originally anticipated. The main strike at Bill’s Luck is open, as is the downdip continuity. In addition, there appears to be a number of previously unrecognised parallel reefs hosting gold mineralization,” he said.
“We have started work on the 50tpd gold processing plant at Bill’s Luck with commissioning targeted for the second half of the year. Today’s (Monday) result increases our confidence that we will operate the plant at full capacity from launch,” added Mr Turney.
According to the mining exploration company, underground diamond drilling is ongoing at Bill’s Luck to test the strike and down-dip continuity of recently discovered and existing mineralised reefs.
Hole BLDDUG004B was collared on 2 Level (995m above sea level) and drilled to a depth of 75.48m.
“The First Intersection appears to be the down-dip continuity of the Bill’s Luck Main Reef. The Second Intersection appears to be a parallel reef that lies further into the hanging wall. This appears coincidental with the intersection in Hole BLDDUG003 that returned 3.70g/t over 0.59m from 6.41m depth,” said the company in a statement.
Kavango is currently building a 50 tonnes per day Carbon in Pulp test plant at Bill’s Luck to increase gold production capacity.
“The Bill’s Luck CIP Test Plant is expected to boost the Company’s overall gold production within three months and be cash flow positive shortly after successful commissioning, when steady state nameplate throughput has been reliably achieved,” reads the statement.
Kavango is exploring for gold deposits in Zimbabwe that have the potential to be developed into commercial scale production quickly through modern mechanised mining and processing. The Company is targeting both open-pit and underground opportunities.
Kavango has two projects on the Filabusi greenstone belt, Hillside and Nara.
The company owns 100 percent of the Hillside Gold Project, having exercised its option in April 2024. Here, the Company has three high priority targets it aims to bring into production over the next 18 months: Bill’s Luck, Steenbok and Nightshift.
At Nightshift, Kavango is investigating the potential for a selective open-pit mining operation, followed by underground mechanised mining. Meanwhile, at Steenbok, Kavango is pursuing a high-grade mechanised underground mining opportunity. Kavango is currently analysing the latest drill data from Bill’s Luck and will provide an update shortly.
In addition, Kavango owns 100 percent of the Nara Gold Project, having exercised its option in June 2025. Here, the Company is exploring for a large-scale, mechanisable underground gold deposit. The primary target zone is around the historic N1 mine, where the Company is assessing the potential to expand artisanal workings both at depth and along strike.
