ASX-listed mining exploration company Kaoko Metals has discovered an outcrop of copper mineralisation at its newly named Bootless prospect during its maiden fieldwork programme at the Chalkos copper/silver project, in Namibia.

This mineral prospect sits within about a 2-km-long corridor between the known Otniel and Donkey Hill prospects, further expanding the potential of the project. Fieldwork has also extended the known footprint of surface copper mineralisation at both of these prospects.

At the Bootless prospect, copper mineralisation is mainly hosted in quartz-carbonate veins that occur broadly parallel to the primary rock bedding, with additional disseminated mineralisation present in dolomitised rocks adjacent to the veins.

The mineralisation is dominated by secondary copper oxide minerals, such as chrysocolla, malachite and azurite, formed through the weathering of primary sulphide mineralisation.

This differs from the mineralisation identified at Donkey Hill and Otniel, where higher-grade copper occurrences are largely associated with quartzite units.

At Otniel, recent mapping and field reconnaissance have extended the known surface extent of visible copper mineralisation by about 200 m to the south, increasing the total strike length to roughly 600 m.

Rock-chip sampling from a newly recognised cover position has also identified what may be a separate mineralised horizon above the previously defined zone, pointing to the potential for multiple stacked mineralised lenses.

Meanwhile, at Donkey Hill, mapping has identified visible copper mineralisation extending about 60 m beyond the Donkey Hill East prospect across three north-south trending mineralised zones, increasing the overall surface extent of mineralisation to more than 800 m.

Further mapping and sampling are planned to test this interpretation, while earthworks and drilling preparations are also progressing.

“Discovering a new zone of outcropping copper mineralisation so early in our maiden fieldwork campaign is a very exciting development for Kaoko.

“This reinforces the enormous prospectivity of our large land package and particularly the ground which sits between the high-grade Donkey Hill and Otniel prospects, which are located 2.2 km apart,” Kaoko MD Gerard O’Donovan says.

Laboratory assay results are expected within about six to eight weeks, subject to laboratory turnaround times. Once available, the results will be used to further refine and prioritise targets and will be incorporated into the design, collar positioning and sequencing of the company’s upcoming maiden drilling programme at Chalkos.