Katoro Gold PLC Haneti Nickel PGM Project - Drilling Update (9441M)

TIDMKAT

RNS Number : 9441M

Katoro Gold PLC

26 January 2021

Katoro Gold plc (Incorporated in England and Wales )

( Registration Number: 9306219)

Share code on AIM: KAT

ISIN: GB00BSNBL022

   ("Katoro" or  "the   Company") 

26 January 2021

Katoro Gold plc ('Katoro' or the 'Company')

HANETI NICKEL PGM PROJECT - DRILLING UPDATE

Katoro Gold plc (AIM: KAT) ("Katoro"), the AIM listed gold and nickel exploration and development company, is pleased to provide an update regarding the maiden drill programme targeting the discovery of nickel and platinum group metals ("PGM") at the Haneti Nickel Project ("Haneti" or the "Project") in Tanzania.

Katoro holds a 65% ownership interest in Haneti with 35% held by Power Metal Resources plc (LON:POW)("Power Metal").

HIGHLIGHTS:

-- Maiden drill programme now complete with 1,965 metres of Rotary Air Blast ("RAB") drilling completed over 50 holes at Mihanza Hill and Mwaka Hill with 1,965 samples collected.

-- 776 three metre composite samples prepared from the RAB drill programme with a Quality Assurance/Quality Control sample inserted every 10 samples.

-- All RAB samples have now been sent to SGS Tanzania ("SGS"), an accredited assay laboratory, all samples will be analysed by their multi-element Aqua Regia Digestion/ICP-OES method with 13 select samples to also be tested using Fire Assay for gold, platinum and palladium.

   --    In addition, 4 rock samples collected from mapping have been sent to SGS for assay. 

Louis Coetzee, Chairman of Katoro Gold plc, commented: "We are very pleased with the successful completion of the first drill programme at Haneti, marking a significant milestone in the ongoing exploration programme at the Project. We have a very clear exploration strategy for Haneti and, subject to the outcome of results from the maiden drill programme, are ready to proceed with the next phase.

"We would like to thank the exploration team who forfeited their Christmas break and worked hard over the traditional Christmas season to implement this programme successfully, particularly given the challenging weather conditions towards the latter half of the programme."

HANETI PROJECT - NICKEL SULPHIDE AND PGM TARGETS - FURTHER INFORMATION

PROJECT OVERVIEW

The Haneti Nickel Project covers an area of approximately 5,000 km(2) in central Tanzania approximately 88 km north of the capital city Dodoma. It comprises tenements (prospecting licences, offers and applications) prospective for nickel, PGMs and gold.

One of the key exploration objectives for the JV partners at Haneti is to delineate the potential for economic nickel mineralisation on the linear dyke-like, Haneti-Itiso Ultramafic Complex ("HIUC") which sporadically crops out over a strike length of 80 km through the centre of the tenement holding. The HIUC mainly comprises serpentinites (metamorphosed ultrabasic rocks such as dunite and peridotite), with metabasic rocks such as metagabbro and metadolerite and is being targeted for a Chonolith-Type Nickel exploration model.

RAB DRILL PROGRAMME

The RAB drilling programme focussed on the Mihanza Hill and Mwaka Hill targets which were selected based on the recommendations of the 2012 airborne electromagnetic ("AEM") geophysics survey, the detailed field programme undertaken in 2013 and further supplementary exploration findings. Drilling was focused on Mihanzi Hill and Mwaka Hill for this campaign, as they were considered to be the priority targets at this stage.

The 1,965m RAB drilling programme consisted of 50 holes drilled on linear fences across the targets. The programme is seeking to verify the existence of near surface nickel sulphide mineralisation at each target whilst increasing the geological understanding such that the orientation and the meterage of a planned follow-up diamond drill programme can be optimised to confirm the scale of any nickel sulphide mineralisation.

The drilling was conducted by an experienced Tanzanian company in line with international best practice and in accordance with health and safety and COVID-19 precautions.

HISTORIC NICKEL EXPLORATION

The Haneti area was first explored in 1931 by a private prospector who collected a nickel--rich magnetite sample at Mihanza Hill. Later trenching uncovered a few discontinuous green--stained veins rich in nickel--silicates and containing several percent nickel.

In the early 1960s the Geological Survey of Tanzania carried out mapping, pitting, soil sampling, trenching and rock chip sampling of ultramafic outcrops on the Zoani, Mindii and Mihanza hills, within the HIUC belt.

Further geological mapping and sampling was undertaken in 2006, 2007 and in 2013.

An airborne electromagnetic ("AEM") geophysics survey was completed over the Mihanza and Mwaka Hill anomalies in 2012 with further geophysics flown in 2015.

A study commissioned with a consultant expert in ultramafic geochemistry in 2015 identified the nickel, copper, platinum, palladium anomaly at Mihanza Hill as a drill ready target. This report suggested that the Itiso--Haneti Ultramafic body may fit the Chonolith-Type Nickel exploration model which would imply that the main ultramafic belt may have small discrete sulphide bodies associated with it.

In 2019 a number of soil samples, collected during the 2013 exploration programme, were sent for analysis and the results confirmed the existing knowledge base and also identified a new ultramafic subcrop.

**ENDS**

For further information please visit www.katorogold.com or contact:

 
 Louis Coetzee     [e-mail]         Katoro Gold plc        Executive Chairman 
 Bhavesh Patel     [phone]               RFC Ambrian Limited   Nominated Advisor 
  Andrew Thomson 
 Nick Emmerson     [phone]              SI Capital Ltd         Broker 
  Sam Lomanto       500 
 Isabel de Salis   [e-mail]   St Brides Partners     Investor and Media 
  Beth Melluish                                   Ltd                    Relations Adviser 
 

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January 26, 2021 08:00 ET (13:00 GMT)