Hana Mining, a Canadian junior explorer, is close to complete the 40,000 metre drilling programme at its 70 percent owned Ghanzi Copper-Silver project in Botswana.
The copper mining group has drilled 291 holes comprising of over 37, 500 metres. With eight drills left on the property, the programme is expected to be completed by the middle of December this year.
The company is currently working on the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) which is expected to investigate open-pit and underground mining operations in the property. Hana intends to produce copper-silver for exporting and local consumption.  
Recent tests have confirmed that material from the property will produce a very high quality copper-silver concentrate.
According to the recent company market update, the Banana Zone within the property exhibits certain areas of higher grade mineral, particularly in the sections along the North and South limb.
“These higher grade pockets tend to be well within open pit depth parameters and represent opportunities to improve early cash flow and overall returns in development,” reads the update.
In 2010 the company indicated that the property holds 37.4 million tonnes of mineral resource composed of copper and silver. Since then the company discovered new resource after making good progress on the ongoing drilling program. The update noted that the new results will be released in the second quarter of 2012.
“So far 2011 has been a very active year for Hana Mining and we have made great strides in moving the Ghanzi Project forward,” Hana CEO and Chairman, Marek Kreczmer said. “Going forward I am excited that we are getting close to the completion of the 40,000 metre infill drilling programme and that we are making great progress on the PEA which I believe will demonstrate that the Banana Zone will be a robust project.”
Kreczmer noted that the concentrate grades of the mineral resource in the zone surpass most projects in Southern Africa. He indicated that the copper deposits in Ghanzi are analogous to successful and globally recognised projects in Polland and Germany. Therefore, the Ghanzi project is expected to elicit considerable interest from the global copper market.
The update indicates that the company is looking forward to the completion of the proposed Trans Kalahari rail link expansions that would connect Botswana with the Namibian port of Walvis Bay on the Atlantic coast. This will allow easy shipment of the mined resources to international markets.
Kreczmer added that improved copper and silver prices, plus better infrastructure ÔÇô both in place, and planned ÔÇô have also improved the economics for potential development considerably.
The Ghanzi property is one of Africa’s premier future copper-silver resources. It is located in the center of the Kalahari Copper Belt in northwestern Botswana.
It covers 2,149 square kilometres, and contains sediment-hosted copper-silver deposits along a strike length of 70 kilometres. This favourable geology extends over an estimated strike length of 600 kilometres.
