Southern Africa-focussed metals explorer Kavango Resources has received a maiden resource estimate for the two largest tailings dumps at the Nara gold project, in Zimbabwe, revealing an indicated mineral resource of 293 000 t with an average gold content of 0.62 g/t, totalling 5 860 oz of gold contained.

Additionally, an inferred resource of 11 900 t with a gold content of 0.66 g/t, totalling 253 oz of gold contained, has been identified.

Kavango said the resource estimate highlights the potential for the tailings dumps to provide the company with a significant near-term source of gold production and early, non-dilutive free cash flow.

"This maiden resource estimate for gold for the Nara tailings dumps is the first mineral resource estimate (MRE) Kavango has delivered. It's a milestone moment for our company and reflects the speed at which we are growing in Zimbabwe. 

“Given that this is a tailings dump, all material has already been mined and there are no further mining costs. The resource estimate and high resource category achieved underline the commercial potential at Nara,” Kavango CE Ben Turney said on March 6.

As much as 96% of the mineral resource falls under the indicated category. This points to a relatively high resource quality at this early stage of the project and reflects confidence in the material's continuity. Future extraction costs are expected to be operational, eliminating the need for mining.

The MRE also highlights the potential for further exploration at the tailings dump. This suggests the opportunity to increase tonnage at depths yet to be tested. 

Kavango said it was evaluating options to commercially exploit the gold in the Nara tailings dumps.

“While our primary objective is to discover larger-scale, bulk minable gold deposits, the 6 000 oz of gold in the main tailings dump present an early opportunity for commercialising this project. 

“The free cash flow we could generate from processing the gold in the Nara tailings can help fund both our development of this project and our wider exploration across Zimbabwe's highly prospective, underexplored greenstone belts,” Turney said, adding that the company would now begin metallurgical test work to optimise plant design to enable future gold production.

Kavango plans to use the free cash flow generated from any tailings production to advance its broader exploration endeavours. These efforts are aimed at targeting the discovery of large-scale, bulk-mineable metal deposits in Zimbabwe. 

Kavango currently holds an exclusive two-year option to buy Nara, which covers four historic mines with total recorded production of more than 90 000 oz in the early 1900s. These mines also produced credits of tungsten and silver. 

In addition, there is a 30-year history of small-scale mining and custom milling on the property.