London-listed Arc Minerals has started a maiden exploration programme at the prospective Virgo copper/gold project, in Botswana.
The first step of the programme involves soil geochemistry surveying, which will be followed by drilling.
After reviewing prior work carried out in the two licence areas of the project, the company now aims to further refine its geological understanding of the area before starting with an exploratory drill programme.
The licences lie within and adjacent to the highly prospective Central Structural Corridor of the Kalahari Copper Belt (KCB), and within 10 km and 50 km, respectively, from copper miner Khomecau’s Zone 5 and Banana Zone projects – which are considered the largest copper projects in the KCB.
The licences also already host two known copper/nickel anomalies, both between 2 km and 3 km in length.
Arc acquired a 75% interest in Alvis-Crest, the holder of the two licences, in November last year. The licences cover an area of 210 km2.