These two project areas, part of African Copper's Matsitama Exploration Project, are located approximately 70 kilometres southeast of the company's Dukwe Copper Mining Project, where an open pit and copper processing facility are currently under development.
In a statement on its website, the company states that all of African Copper's active exploration and mine development projects lie within the Matsitama Schist Belt and that the drill programme was supervised and managed by RSG Global Consulting (RSG), a company independent of African Copper.
"The results of our drilling from Thakadu are significant for African Copper in that they represent the first drilling we have undertaken on a deposit other than at the Dukwe Mining Project," African Copper CEO, Joe Hamilton said.
"The Thakadu deposits are our most advanced exploration targets and represent exciting possibilities for growing production beyond Dukwe."
The company says the assay results from this new drilling support results from a twin-hole drill programme completed in 2006. "Historic drill results will be incorporated with the most recent drilling in order to complete a mineral resource estimate. This estimate is underway by RSG and completion is expected in June 2007."
The statement posted on the website explains that previous operators completed extensive metallurgical tests that showed that a copper recovery of 90 to 96 percent can be achieved by flotation of the sulphides producing a sulphide concentrate containing 28 percent to 32 percent copper and approximately 250 g/t silver.
The deposits at the Thakadu Project show striking similarities to the sedimentary-hosted copper deposits of Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. "The structural setting, age of mineralisation and associated rock types and mineralogy are almost identical to those found in some of the larger copper deposits with equivalent grade."
Thakadu lies at the eastern end of a 40-kilometre long mineralised belt, which contains numerous showings of sedimentary-hosted copper-silver, copper-lead-zinc and zinc-silver. African Copper says drilling is currently underway on a number of high priority geophysical and geochemical targets to the south of Thakadu and Makala. These deposits are five to ten kilometres from the Francistown-Orapa Highway.
The Thakadu deposits represent an advanced exploration project that has the potential to develop into a mining project in its own right or, alternatively, as a complementary project running either in parallel or in series with the Dukwe Mining Project.
"A preliminary economic assessment of the capital costs required to bring the Thakadu deposits to production indicate that another deposit of similar size and grade is likely required in the immediate area in order to justify the construction of a stand-alone plant."
