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Rock chips returned up to 4.9% copper and 0.85g/t gold
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Tungsten assays reached 0.68% WO3 across multiple prospects
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Geochemical program underway ahead of Chalkos drilling
Special Report: Kaoko Metas’ rock chip sampling has confirmed that widespread copper, gold and tungsten mineralisation is present at its Karibib project in Namibia after returning high-grade assays.
Rock chip sampling across multiple prospects returned up to 4.9% copper, 0.852g/t gold and 0.68% tungsten trioxide, supporting the company’s view that Karibib hosts a prospective multi-commodity mineral system.
Kaoko Metals (ASX:KAO) noted that of the 54 samples collected across the Gamikaubmund, Gamikaubmund North and Pot Mine prospects, 10 returned more than 1% copper while three exceeded 2% copper.
This confirms the presence of high-grade copper mineralisation at surface and validating the mineral occurrences previously documented by historical explorers at all three prospects.
Silver and gold results broadly track with copper grades.
Tungsten was also detected across a broad footprint, with 11 samples returning more than 0.1% WO3.
The company has also appointed its co-founder Callum Standing as its consulting geologist to assist with geological interpretation, exploration strategy and drill targeting.
Multi-commodity system
Managing director Gerard O’Donovan said the assay results, which represent just the first stage of modern exploration, confirmed an “exciting” multi-commodity system is present across several parts of the project.
The 250km2 Karibib project is an early-stage copper-gold-tungsten exploration asset in the Erongo Region of western Namibia.
It sits within the South-Central Zone of the Damara Belt, the same structural corridor that hosts QKR’s 3.91Moz Navachab gold mine about 32km to the north and Osino Resources’ 3.19Moz Twin Hills deposit ~40km northeast.
Mineralisation is present as an epigenetic copper-silver-gold contact skarn and polymetallic replacement veins with structurally hosted epithermal gold, a close analogue to Navachab’s skarn-vein style mineralisation.
Karibib hosts a number of historical workings, including old trenches and hand-mined shafts, concentrated at Gamikaubmund, Gamikaubmund North and the Pot Mine areas.
All three prospects were tested by rock chip sampling to verify historical mineral occurrences, assess the lateral and structural continuity of known mineralisation, and prioritise areas for follow-up exploration.
Samples were taken from historical dump material, trench exposures and in-situ calc-silicate outcrop to provide a representative cross-section of the mineralised and host-rock package at each prospect.
Results have thus far confirmed the presence of high-grade copper mineralisation at surface and validating the mineral occurrences previously documented by historical explorers.
Primary copper sulphide minerals were also identified in several samples, indicating that near-surface supergene mineralisation may be present along with underlying primary mineralisation.
StockTake: Kaoko Metals confirms polymetallic prospectivity
Further work
KAO has now started a comprehensive project-scale geochemical sampling program at Karibib, which O’Donovan describes as the next important step in unlocking its potential.
The program will be carried out in a series of systematic stages designed to progressively evaluate the extensive landholding.
Its first phase will test the high priority, 3km north-south trend between and around at Gamikaubmund and Gamikaubmund North.
Subsequent phases will target over 10km of regional prospectivity between Gamikaubmund and the Pot mine to the east and over 15km of strike northeast of Gamikaubmund to the historical Gamikaub prospect area.
Modern regional geochemical techniques will be integrated with detailed geological mapping and structural interpretation to prioritise drill targets across the project.
This methodology has proven highly effective elsewhere within Namibia’s Damara Belt and formed a key component of the exploration strategy that led to the discovery of the Twin Hills project.
“By applying exploration methodologies that have delivered major discoveries elsewhere within the Damara Belt, we believe we have an outstanding opportunity to define multiple high-quality drill targets,” O’Donovan noted.
Karibib is part of a one-two punch for Kaoko in Namibia.
The explorer also holds prospective ground on the namesake Kaoko belt in the country’s north-west, an underexplored analogue of Africa’s two largest sedimentary copper domains – the Central African Copperbelt and the Kalahari belt.
“At the same time, preparations at Chalkos continue at pace and we remain on track to commence our maiden drilling program in around three weeks,” O’Donovan said.
Drilling at Chalkos will initially test high-priority copper targets at Donkey Hill and Otniel.
Recent fieldwork extended surface copper mineralisation at Otniel and identified compelling structural controls comparable to those observed at neighbouring discoveries within the Kaoko Belt.
This article was developed in collaboration with Kaoko Metals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.