Modern Mining September 2017

MINING News

Substantial resource expansion looms at Kakula

Ivanhoe Mines, listed on the TSX, has announced assay results from another 43 holes as part of the ongoing 2017 drill- ing campaign at the company’s Tier One Kamoa-Kakula copper project, near the mining centre of Kolwezi in the DRC. Exploration drilling at Kakula West, located on the western end of the cur- rently defined high-grade, essentially flat-lying Kakula mineralised trend that now extends at least 12 km, has confirmed a significant area of mineralisation with characteristics and grades similar to the high-grade Kakula mineral resource area located to the east. An area of 2 km by 1 km has already been drilled off at Kakula West on an approximate 300-m grid pattern, while the drilling in the ‘saddle’ area between Kakula West and Kakula is rapidly being in-filled in preparation for an updated resource esti- mate for the Kakula Discovery expected by the end of this year. The Kakula Discovery continues to remain open along a westerly-south-east- erly strike. Based on recent drilling results at Kakula, and given the impressive con- tinuity of the high-grade mineralisation seen to date, Ivanhoe’s geologists expect that by this October drilling will have expanded the delineated strike extent of the area encompassing indicated and inferred mineral resources by approxi- mately 60 %, and that the Kakula and Kakula West deposits will form a continu- ous mineral resource area. “We’re looking forward to providing our shareholders and all Kamoa-Kakula stake- holders with another substantial resource expansion for the coming holiday sea-

son,” said Robert Friedland, Ivanhoe’s Executive Chairman. “Kamoa-Kakula already is independently ranked as the fifth-largest copper deposit in the world. Seeing the unprec- edented rate of growth of high-grade copper resources since drilling began at Kakula in May 2016, I am confident now that soon it will be among the top three. “ The remarkable con-

Chalcocite-rich drill core from DD1210 (from a depth of 938 m) drilled at the western edge of the Kakula resource area.

sistency of the ultra-high-grade copper mineralisation at the Kakula Discovery is unlike anything geologists have ever seen in the DRC’s Copperbelt. The discovery remains open in virtually all directions, so the real question is, how much bigger and better is Kakula going to get?” In response to the unprecedented explo- ration success at Kakula, IvanhoeMines and

Zijin Mining are continuing with the accel- erated exploration programme. Fourteen rigs are drilling in the Kamoa-Kakula project area: 11 in the Kakula Discovery area; one drilling in the Kamoa Nord target area; one drilling to the south of Kakula exploring the Mulamena target; and one conducting ster- ilisation drilling in areas planned for mine infrastructure development.  design and equipment acquisition and will be the sole operator. As remuneration, Tango will receive 60 % of the proceeds from the sale of produced stones. All of Tango’s operational costs are deductible. The property is located immediately near the community of N’zagi (Andrada) and 95 km south-east of Dundo, the pro- vincial capital of Lunda Norte, which has a recently reopened airport with direct ser- vice to Luanda. Tango will, over the coming months, complete a full geological assessment of the property and plans to commence alluvial diamond production as soon as practical. 

Tango Mining signs Angolan agreement Tango Mining, listed on the TSX-V, has signed a three-year renewable services agreement for mining andmarketing of dia- monds with Txapemba Canguba RL which is a ‘Cooperativa Exploração Semi-Industrial de Diamantes’located in the Municipality of Cambulo in Angola’s Lunda Norte Province. Txapemba has an 84 km 2 concession for the semi-industrial exploitation of dia- monds within the Luembe River basin in an area that was a past alluvial diamond pro- ducer and well known for both alluvial and kimberlite diamonds.

Tango will be responsible for capital expenditures associated with alluvial mine

September 2017  MODERN MINING  7