Impact Minerals (ASX: IPT) has entered into a joint venture agreement with private company Manica Minerals Limited to explore for platinum group elements (PGE), nickel and copper at the Xade Project in Botswana.
Impact has been exploring for uranium in Botswana, southern Africa, for over two years and has made four discoveries during its first drilling campaigns, mainly in 2010.
Impact has a strategic alliance to explore for PGE’s in central Botswana with Impala Platinum (JNB: IMP), the world’s second largest producer of PGE’s.
Impact is encouraged by Impala's support for the first stage of work at the Xade, as Impala recognises the exploration potential at the project, which is close to excellent infrastructure and the very large Orapa diamond mine and is poorly explored.
Manica owns 100% of the prospecting licences, with an area of about 11,000 sq km and that covers the entire extent of the ~280 km strike of the Xade Complex.
The Xade Complex occurs in the North West Botswana Rift, an igneous province of similar age and geological characteristics to the Mid‐Continent Rift region of North America where Duluth Metals (TSE: DM) has an indicated resource of 550Mt at 0.64% copper, 0.2% nickel and 0.66 g/t total platinum plus palladium plus gold.
The agreement with Manica requires Impact to spend a minimum of US$50,000 within four months and US$1.2 million over two years to earn a 51% interest in the Xade project.
Impact may then elect to earn up to a 75% interest by incurring the necessary expenditures to define an indicated mineral resource.
Impact is currently undertaking detailed and systematic geochemical analyses of about 320 metres of Xade diamond core not previously analysed by Manica.
This work has been approved by Impala Platinum and will be funded from the Impala‐Impact Strategic Alliance Generative Budget, at no cost to Impact.
Should Impala Platinum subsequently agree to participate in the Manica‐Impact Xade Joint Venture, it must spend a minimum US$1 million before withdrawal, and may elect to spend a further US$1 million to earn 50% of Impact’s interest in the project.
The company anticipates that the results of the current work programme will be available in the first quarter of 2011.