Online Reporter
Nqobile Bhebhe
Zimpapers Business Hub
Kavango Resources plc has discovered a second high-grade gold intercept at its Bill’s Luck Gold Mine, part of the firm’s Hillside Gold Project in Matabeleland South Province, in a major boost to Zimbabwe’s rapidly expanding mining sector.
This comes after the mining company announced in June this year that it had intercepted a high gold deposit of 11,79 grammes per tonne during the ongoing drilling campaign at the Bill’s Luck Gold Mine.
The latest discovery is expected to accelerate Kavango’s exploration activities and strengthen the country’s position as a producer of gold and other precious metals and a destination for mining investment.
Gold is an integral element of Zimbabwe’s economy. It is the country’s single largest mineral export, while mining in general generates more than 80 percent of Zimbabwe’s economy and provides employment to thousands across the country.
Zimbabwe has set a gold production target of 40 tonnes this year, after a record 36,4 tonnes was achieved last year.
Kavango Resources is a United Kingdom-headquartered exploration company with a strategic focus on unearthing world-class base and precious metal deposits in Botswana and Zimbabwe.
Kavango chief executive officer Mr Ben Turney said the latest underground drilling results at the Bill’s Luck Mine continue to exceed expectations.
“This is the second high-grade intercept we have encountered, a short distance below our current mining level,” he said.
“This result confirms that the main Bill’s Luck ore shoot remains open at depth and appears to be increasing in grade. Our team is highly encouraged by this, having demonstrated such strong potential with relatively limited drilling.
“We will now move forward confidently into the next phase of surface exploration.”
The company intends to launch an aggressive surface drilling programme aimed at defining a gold resource large enough to sustain mining and processing operations for at least three years.
“We will seek to confirm the width of the main Bill’s Luck ore shoot and test the next inferred ore shoot at Roscor. If successful, this work will underpin the investment case for the 200-tonne-per-day (tpd) pilot production plant,” said Mr Turney.
“In parallel, we will continue underground drilling at Bill’s Luck for near-term mine planning. Construction of our 50tpd test production plant is already underway, with commissioning expected later this year.”
