MOD Resources Ltd, the Perth-based and ASX listed exploration-company said its maiden indicated and inferred mineral resource has revealed a 9.5 million tonnes grading 1.14 percent copper equivalent at its Corner K discovery on the emerging Kalahari Copper Belt in north western Botswana.
According to MOD, the Corner K resource equates to 86,600 tonnes of contained copper and 5.63 million ounces of silver.
The company said the resource was calculated in accordance with JORC guidelines.
“Using a 0.4 percent Cu cut-off, the 1.14 percent copper equivalent grade comprises a copper grade of 0.91 percent and a silver grade of 18.4g/t. More than 50 percent of the maiden resource (4.9Mt) is in the indicated category, with the balance inferred,” it stated in an update to shareholders.
Corner K was the first target drilled by MOD on the Kalahari Copper Belt and the maiden resource underlines the highly prospective nature of the company’s ~10,000km2 tenement holding.
MOD’s leases are located between the significant Boseto (Discovery Metals Ltd) and Ghanzi (Hana Mining Ltd) copper-silver projects.
The Kalahari Copper Belt became Africa’s newest mining province in June 2012 when Discovery Metals commissioned its Boseto mine, which is designed to produce approximately 36,000 tonnes of copper and 1.1 million ounces of silver per annum.
The sediment hosted mineralisation being discovered throughout the Kalahari Copper Belt is similar in style to the prolific Central African Copper Belt, which extends throughout Zambia and into the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The 9.5Mt maiden resource is based on 138 holes drilled by MOD at Corner K, which produced assay grades of up to 12.9 percent copper and 208g/t silver. Corner K is located on the 100 percent owned PL686 lease, which covers approximately 660km2.
The Corner K resource has an interpreted strike length of approximately 5km, with the mineralisation intersected at depths of between 13 metres and 317 metres.
“MOD believes there is considerable scope for the maiden Corner K resource to be increased. The mineralisation remains open at depth and at both ends ÔÇô beyond the boundaries of MOD’s PL686 lease,” the company said.
“In addition, high resolution imagery used in structural analysis programs during the June 2012 Quarter identified the presence of a chevron, or Z-fold, and associated fold nose at Corner K.”
This Z-fold, which has not been drill tested, could represent a duplication of the mineralised horizon at Corner K, while the existence of a fold nose could indicate higher grade mineralisation.
The company is continuing its exploration drilling programs on the Kalahari Copper Belt with a focus on the ~ 80km of prospective copper-silver horizons identified through geophysical surveys and structural analysis.
MOD Resources is currently focusing on the Sams Creek gold project in New Zealand and the Botswana Copper Project.
It is earning up to 80 percent of Sams Creek, which is New Zealand’s biggest undeveloped gold project with a JORC compliant resource of 1.024Moz based on 18.65 million tonnes at 1.71g/t using a 0.7g/t cut-off.
The resource is all contained within an 800m section of the Main Zone, which represents less than 15 percent of the known 6km strike length of the Sams Creek dyke.
In Botswana, MOD has a vast and strategic holding of ~ 10,000km2 on the Kalahari Copper Belt between the significant Boseto and Ghanzi copper-silver discoveries. MOD’s first drilling program at the Corner K discovery has delivered a maiden JORC compliant resource of 9.5Mt grading 1.14 percent copper equivalent.
