Cobre Ltd (ASX:CBE) encountered a broad intersection of visual copper in the first diamond hole during exploration drilling at Ngami Copper Project in the Kalahari Copper Belt (KCB), Botswana, with shares surging 125%.
The company has now confirmed that copper mineralisation on the tenure continues along strike from a historical hole that returned 2 metres at 1.8% copper and 8 g/t silver.
While Cobre has not had the opportunity to assay the drill core in a laboratory, it observed chrysocolla (hydrated copper phyllosilicate mineral) along with fine-grained disseminated copper sulphides over a 59-metre interval, with an increasing abundance of visual mineralisation in the lower 10 metres.
This drill hole (NCP07) was completed 1 kilometre along strike from the historical drill hole (TRDH14-16a) and has so far indicated that mineralisation increases and thickens along strike.
The company considers the results from these two drill holes to be anomalous for the KCB region and typical of intersections on the margins of copper deposits.
“Represents transformational moment”
“This new copper discovery represents a transformational moment for Cobre shareholders. Cobre has never been in a better position from a project ownership, technical and operation perspective and now we have a promising copper intersection, on one of the most prospective copper belts in the world,” executive chair and managing director Martin Holland said.
“This result, 1 kilometre away from the previous historic hole, shows the current mineralisation thickens over a 1-kilometre zone to date.
“The intersection of significant copper mineralisation in our diamond drilling campaign is testament to the high-calibre technical and operational expertise of our team in Botswana – led by Kalahari Metals Limited's (KML) newly appointed CEO Adam Wooldridge.
“Our African exploration team has done a fantastic job getting the program underway, delivering positive results which have so far exceeded project expectations.
“We have prioritised this portion of the belt due to its favourable geological setting. These results, which confirm the presence of significant copper mineralisation, validate the district-scale opportunity of Cobre’s, soon to be 100%-owned, extensive licence package within the Kalahari Copper Belt.
“With diamond drilling ongoing in Botswana, we anticipate ongoing exploration updates to follow and look forward to updating our shareholders in due course.”
Investors also welcomed the results, sending shares to an intra-day high of $0.11, an increase of 125% on yesterday's close, on volume of more than 34 million shortly before closing.
Cobre has identified 57 priority targets across the company’s extensive licence holding on the northern margins of the KCB.
A second diamond-drilled hole is in progress, positioned a further 1-kilometre along strike from NCP07.