Maiden drill campaign mobilises to explore Tanzanian Haneti nickel project

19th November 2020 By: Donna Slater - Features Deputy Editor and Chief Photographer

Aim-listed gold and nickel explorer and developer Katoro Gold has mobilised Amazon Drilling's teams to start the maiden drill programme targeting the discovery of nickel and platinum group metals (PGMs) at the Haneti nickel project in Tanzania.

Katoro holds a 65% ownership interest in Haneti, with the remaining 35% held by Power Metal Resources.

The project covers an area of about 5 000 km2 in central Tanzania, about 88 km north of the capital city Dodoma. It comprises tenements (prospecting licences, offers and applications) prospective for nickel, PGMs and gold.

The maiden drill programme, which includes three targets − Milhanza Hill, Mwaka Hill and Igari Hill – will involve 2 000 m of rotary air blast (RAB) drilling with a planned 50 holes to about 40 m deep.

Katoro reports that the drilling rig and supporting personnel and equipment are fully prepared and now mobilising to the first drill location subject to any changes in Covid-19 restrictions.

Further, the miner also notes that all phases of predeployment activity, including liaison and coordination with the Ministry of Mining, as well as the relevant regional local and village authorities, have been conducted and completed.

The RAB holes will be drilled on profiles across the three target areas to provide enhanced information of the subsurface shape and orientation of the ultramafic bodies being targeted and to enable for enhancement of a planned follow-on diamond drill programme.

In terms of campaign financing, Katoro’s pro-rata cost contribution to the programme is fully covered from existing cash resources.

Katoro chairperson Louis Coetzee says the company believes Haneti holds significant potential to host a world-class nickel deposit within a previously identified 80-km-long ultramafic complex.

He says previous exploration work in this complex delivered nickel values as high as 13.6% and 2.33 g/t combined platinum and palladium. “It is therefore very positive to have the drill rig moving to the first location ready for launch of this maiden Haneti drill programme.”

Power Metal CEO Paul Johnson says mobilisation for the maiden drill programme at Haneti has been a long anticipated event. “For Katoro and Power Metal this is a notable event, delivering on the promise of maiden drilling at Haneti and seeking a major metal discovery. Power Metal is delighted to have a significant exposure to the Haneti project, which is now our third project interest where drill programmes are under way.”

One of the key exploration objectives for the joint venture partners at Haneti is to delineate the potential for economic nickel mineralisation on the linear dyke-like, Haneti-itiso ultramafic complex, which sporadically crops out over a strike length of 80 km through the centre of the tenement holding.