Kavango Resources PLC (LSE:KAV, OTC:KVGOF) and Power Metal Resources PLC (AIM:POW) said the second hole in the Ditau Camp drilling programme had intercepted the primary target.
The Ditau Camp project in southwest Botswana is considered prospective for carbonatite hosted rare-earth element (REE), base metal and possible precious metal mineralisation.
The hole was drilled to a depth of 389 metres (m) into the i10 Target, a 2.2-kilometre (km) diameter magnetic anomaly that Kavango had previously modelled as a possible carbonatite.
"We are encouraged to have intercepted the primary target at the projected depth,” said Kavango chief executive Ben Turney.
“Once again, Kavango's magnetic modelling is proving to be an accurate vector for drill targeting. Of course, a magnetic model can only tell us so much from surface, but in this instance the drill core we've recovered is visibly attention-grabbing.”
Kavango has taken preliminary magnetic susceptibility readings on the drill core and observed highly elevated magnetic readings between 293m and 321m (the "Zone of Interest"). These readings from the Zone of Interest coincide with a visibly altered section of rock.
"The core extracted from hole DITDD004's Zone of Interest, spanning a combined 28m, is fascinating from a geological perspective and we are eager to see the results from further analysis,” said Power Metal chief executive Paul Johnson.
A 1km Audio-Magnetotelluric (AMT) survey will be performed over the target in the coming weeks.
A diamond core drill rig will be moved to Target i1 at Ditau. Target i1 is the largest of three targets Kavango plans to drill in the current campaign.
Kavango is the operator of the project and has a 50% stake in the joint venture with Power Metal.