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First phase of exploration on copper/silver project starts

DRILL TIME Exploration on MOD's project in the Kalahari Copper Belt started in earnest in January

HE KNOWS THE DRILL MOD's exploration programme will move through a series of high quality targets within the next few months

19th February 2016

  

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Australian-listed metals miner MOD Resources last month announced that Phase 1 exploration had started at its Mahumo copper/silver project, which is located in Botswana’s Kalahari Copperbelt (KCB) – a region where MOD has various interests in licences covering an area of about 12 000 km2.

The exploration programme’s initial focus will be on low-cost surface sampling to infill and confirm four extensive copper anomalies. Drilling is planned to test for extensions below the high-grade Mahumo resource and to follow up on previous high-grade copper intersections on Discovery Mines (DMI) licences in Botswana’s Ghanzi district.

The January announcement also noted that there have been several positive developments regarding Mahumo and the 70% acquisition of DMI by MOD, which was finalised in December. The initial $100 000 payment for DMI was made by Aim-listed resource investor Metal Tiger (MTR), which owns 30% of DMI through it interest in Metal Capital.

MTR acquired a 4.92 % stake in MOD in December by investing A$350 000 into the company, which elevated MOD’s capital amount to A$630 000. In the interim, MOD raised an additional A$130 000 and now has A$760 000, which will primarily be directed towards MOD’s share of exploration costs on the DMI and MOD licences.

MOD also owns 70% of DMI subsidiary company Tshukudu Metals Botswana, following the completion of the acquisition DMI announced on December 16.

Meanwhile,

MOD has appointed Australian advisory firm PCF Capital Group to divest part, or all of MOD subsidiary Sams Creek Gold’s 80% joint venture (JV) interest in the one-million-ounce Sams Creek Gold project, in New Zealand. According to MOD, PCF was instrumental in negotiating the acquisition of DMI.

Funds from the proposed sale of an interest in Sams Creek are expected to be directed to the Botswana copper/silver project.

MOD MD Julian Hanna says that MOD and MTR’s planned exploration programme will test a range of high-quality targets over the next few months at a relatively low cost. He notes that the JV on the DMI holdings in the KCB will also provide an opportunity to increase exposure to a group of investors in the UK. “We look forward to building the relationship with MTR further and reporting positive exploration results in the coming months,” he comments.

Hanna adds: “Sams Creek is a substantial, open-ended porphyry hosted gold deposit where the next logical step is to define the extent of the high-grade mineralisation and undertake a conceptual underground mining study. We rate the opportunity at Sams Creek highly; however, given the potential of MOD’s extensive holdings in the [KCB], MOD’s board has decided to focus resources and funds in Botswana.”

Project Background
The DMI and MOD holdings comprise 25 prospecting licences with a total area of about 13 000 km2 located in the central and western KCB, and covered mainly by sand and soil.

MOD has been an active explorer in the KCB since 2011 and discovered the ‘Corner K Deposit’, which was renamed the Mahumo copper/silver deposit in late 2011. Through its subsidiary, MOD Botswana, it has 100% holdings and various existing JV interests in 11 prospecting licences (PL) covering about 4 187 km2 in the central and western part of the KCB.

Mahumo was discovered by drilling a soil anomaly along the northern margin of a major structural zone. The Stage 1 resource, which is the basis for the Mahumo underground scoping study, is currently the highest-grade resource announced in the KCB and remains open below the limit of drilling along a 2.4 km strike length.

DMI holds 14 PLs covering about 374 km2 in the same area as MOD’s holdings.

MTR is primarily focused on undervalued natural resource investment opportunities, in which it can provide financial and business support to companies to improve the value of their interests.

Hanna says the business relationship between MTR and MOD is strong and both companies are already working together to explore and potentially develop opportunities within their extensive holdings in the KCB.

Meanwhile, private-equity firm Cupric Canyon Capital (CCC) in November announced the results of a feasibility study for an underground mine at the Zone 5 deposit. Zone 5 is located about 100 km north of Mahumo along the same interpreted structural contact as the deposit

CCC reports that resources at Zone 5 are 100.3-million tons at 1.95% copper and 20 g/t silver. Zone 5 is the most significant resource announced in the KCB and may demonstrate the wider potential of this relatively underexplored region.

Edited by Zandile Mavuso
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor: Features

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