Kavango Resources Share Discussion Threads

[skiboy10] 24/2/2019 03:26

Newer article from last month

Kavango’s Mike Moles on how firm’s new tech could mark a ‘major step forward’ in Botswana (KAV)

Kavango Resources (LSE:KAV) rose 1.9p on Monday after revealing the imminent launch of its next phase of airborne electromagnetic (AEM) surveying over Botswana’s Kalahari Suture Zone (KSZ). Importantly, the company also revealed that it has contracted a high-power new technology to carry out the work. It expects this to ramp up the speed at which it can highlight potential copper, nickel, and PGE mineralisation in the area dramatically. Speaking exclusively to MiningMaven, Kavango’s exploration director Mike Moles told us the significance of this development and how it could help the company in its quest to identify Norilsk-like mineralisation at the KSZ.

Surveying targets

In Monday’s update, Kavango announced that it has now mobilised the second phase of its AEM survey. The work is being carried out over the business’s 15 prospecting licences in Southwest Botswana. Much of this sits on the KSZ, which is a highly-prospective, 450km2-long magnetic anomaly.

Kavango hopes to identify massive sulphide orebodies containing vast amounts of nickel, copper, and platinum group elements beneath the KSZ’s surface. Mining consultant MSA Group has backed the potential presence of these deposits on the KSZ, which was first explored in the 1980s and 1990s. Meanwhile, Kavango has suggested that the area has a similar geological setting to the giant Norilsk copper/nickel deposits in Siberia.

The airborne EM survey is the first stage in the company’s efforts to identify these sulphide orebodies. It detects and prioritises potential locations for these deposits, which Kavango can then follow up with more detailed groundwork and drilling.

Flying for the second phase of the survey is expected to begin later this month, with the first phase completing at the end of last year. It will take between four to six weeks to complete and will cover up to 2,062 line-kilometres in the Hukunstsi area of Botswana.

The highlight of Monday’s announcement was the news that Kavango has contracted the services of a leading airborne geophysical survey player called SkyTEM for its latest phase of work. SkyTEM offers a ground-breaking, high-power surveying system that has been optimised to reach a depth of up to 300m below the earth’s crust.

It reaches these depths by using a high current and low base frequency of 12.5hz. According to Kavango, the technology has not been used in Africa before and is more effective than the older systems currently on the market.

Increasing efficiency

Moles tells us the technology will allow Kavango to investigate for orebodies at a much deeper level and with higher resolution than it was able to in the first phase of its survey.

The company identified 26 conductive anomalies over 2,000 line-km of the KSZ project during this stage of work. However, the technology used did not penetrate deep enough beneath the surface. As such Kavango was unable to tell which anomalies were low priority near-surface conductors like clays and shales and which went much deeper.

In layman’s terms, the deeper an anomaly is, the more likely to be prospective for mineralisation. This makes it a higher priority drilling target for Kavango. As such, the firm was forced to carry out groundwork on all 26 targets to determine whether they were worth following up. Moles tells us this was a difficult task that took longer than expected to complete.

He believes the new technology will make it much easier for Kavango to differentiate between the two types of anomalies.

‘We will immediately be able to see which conductors have a depth component to them and represent high priority targets. Likewise, it will be much easier for the business to identify and ignore those surficial conductors that are very often just clays and other conductive materials that lie within the first 50-60m below the surface,’ he told us.

‘The technology we contracted in Phase One used a much higher frequency and was not getting deep enough to differentiate between the shallow and deep targets. If we had SkyTEM’s technology back in September when we launched the campaign, we could have reduced the number of conductors worth following up from 26 to about six or seven straight away. Using our new approach, we should be to turn over these conductors much more quickly in Phase Two.’

To assess the effectiveness of SkyTEMS’ technology, Moles told us that Kavango also plans to run lines over some of the areas it surveyed in Phase One and compare results. However, he tells us he is already very confident that the results will be positive:

‘We are confident that this new technique will work. A huge amount of test work has been completed in the past to demonstrate its effectiveness. We think it will represent major step forward in our exploration strategy.’

If Moles’ confidence translates into results this could prove to be highly significant for £2.5m valued Kavango. Since listing last summer the company’s story hasn’t attracted a great deal of attention, despite the progress it has made on the ground. Exploration plays can be extremely racey stocks and with the size of target Kavango is going for, the deployment of the new technology could give it just the edge it needs.

Author: Daniel Flynn

The Author does not hold any position in the stock(s) and/or financial instrument(s) mentioned in the piece.
The Author has not been paid to produce this piece by the company or companies mentioned above.
Catalyst Information Systems Ltd, the owner of MiningMaven.com, has not been paid for the production of this piece by the company or companies mentioned above.
MiningMaven.com and Catalyst Information Systems Ltd are not responsible for its content or accuracy and do not share the views of the author. News and research are not recommendations to deal, and investments may fall in value so that you could lose some or all of your investment. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance

Published in: Blog, on: 22 January 2019

[skiboy10] 24/2/2019 03:24

Newer article from last month

Kavango’s Mike Moles on how firm’s new tech could mark a ‘major step forward’ in Botswana (KAV)

Kavango Resources (LSE:KAV) rose 1.9p on Monday after revealing the imminent launch of its next phase of airborne electromagnetic (AEM) surveying over Botswana’s Kalahari Suture Zone (KSZ). Importantly, the company also revealed that it has contracted a high-power new technology to carry out the work. It expects this to ramp up the speed at which it can highlight potential copper, nickel, and PGE mineralisation in the area dramatically. Speaking exclusively to MiningMaven, Kavango’s exploration director Mike Moles told us the significance of this development and how it could help the company in its quest to identify Norilsk-like mineralisation at the KSZ.

Surveying targets

In Monday’s update, Kavango announced that it has now mobilised the second phase of its AEM survey. The work is being carried out over the business’s 15 prospecting licences in Southwest Botswana. Much of this sits on the KSZ, which is a highly-prospective, 450km2-long magnetic anomaly.

Kavango hopes to identify massive sulphide orebodies containing vast amounts of nickel, copper, and platinum group elements beneath the KSZ’s surface. Mining consultant MSA Group has backed the potential presence of these deposits on the KSZ, which was first explored in the 1980s and 1990s. Meanwhile, Kavango has suggested that the area has a similar geological setting to the giant Norilsk copper/nickel deposits in Siberia.

The airborne EM survey is the first stage in the company’s efforts to identify these sulphide orebodies. It detects and prioritises potential locations for these deposits, which Kavango can then follow up with more detailed groundwork and drilling.

Flying for the second phase of the survey is expected to begin later this month, with the first phase completing at the end of last year. It will take between four to six weeks to complete and will cover up to 2,062 line-kilometres in the Hukunstsi area of Botswana.

The highlight of Monday’s announcement was the news that Kavango has contracted the services of a leading airborne geophysical survey player called SkyTEM for its latest phase of work. SkyTEM offers a ground-breaking, high-power surveying system that has been optimised to reach a depth of up to 300m below the earth’s crust.

It reaches these depths by using a high current and low base frequency of 12.5hz. According to Kavango, the technology has not been used in Africa before and is more effective than the older systems currently on the market.

Increasing efficiency

Moles tells us the technology will allow Kavango to investigate for orebodies at a much deeper level and with higher resolution than it was able to in the first phase of its survey.

The company identified 26 conductive anomalies over 2,000 line-km of the KSZ project during this stage of work. However, the technology used did not penetrate deep enough beneath the surface. As such Kavango was unable to tell which anomalies were low priority near-surface conductors like clays and shales and which went much deeper.

In layman’s terms, the deeper an anomaly is, the more likely to be prospective for mineralisation. This makes it a higher priority drilling target for Kavango. As such, the firm was forced to carry out groundwork on all 26 targets to determine whether they were worth following up. Moles tells us this was a difficult task that took longer than expected to complete.

He believes the new technology will make it much easier for Kavango to differentiate between the two types of anomalies.

‘We will immediately be able to see which conductors have a depth component to them and represent high priority targets. Likewise, it will be much easier for the business to identify and ignore those surficial conductors that are very often just clays and other conductive materials that lie within the first 50-60m below the surface,’ he told us.

‘The technology we contracted in Phase One used a much higher frequency and was not getting deep enough to differentiate between the shallow and deep targets. If we had SkyTEM’s technology back in September when we launched the campaign, we could have reduced the number of conductors worth following up from 26 to about six or seven straight away. Using our new approach, we should be to turn over these conductors much more quickly in Phase Two.’

To assess the effectiveness of SkyTEMS’ technology, Moles told us that Kavango also plans to run lines over some of the areas it surveyed in Phase One and compare results. However, he tells us he is already very confident that the results will be positive:

‘We are confident that this new technique will work. A huge amount of test work has been completed in the past to demonstrate its effectiveness. We think it will represent major step forward in our exploration strategy.’

If Moles’ confidence translates into results this could prove to be highly significant for £2.5m valued Kavango. Since listing last summer the company’s story hasn’t attracted a great deal of attention, despite the progress it has made on the ground. Exploration plays can be extremely racey stocks and with the size of target Kavango is going for, the deployment of the new technology could give it just the edge it needs.

Author: Daniel Flynn

The Author does not hold any position in the stock(s) and/or financial instrument(s) mentioned in the piece.
The Author has not been paid to produce this piece by the company or companies mentioned above.
Catalyst Information Systems Ltd, the owner of MiningMaven.com, has not been paid for the production of this piece by the company or companies mentioned above.
MiningMaven.com and Catalyst Information Systems Ltd are not responsible for its content or accuracy and do not share the views of the author. News and research are not recommendations to deal, and investments may fall in value so that you could lose some or all of your investment. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance

Published in: Blog, on: 22 January 2019

[skiboy10] 24/2/2019 03:23

Article from back in November

‘We only need to find one deposit to confirm our theory is correct’: Kavango Resources on hunting for sulphide orebodies in Botswana

Last month saw Kavango Resources (LSE:KAV) announce the first results of its airborne EM survey to find massive sulphide orebodies in Botswana. The surveying has so far identified 26 conductors along the Kalahari Suture Zone (“KSZ”) for follow up groundwork, exceeding management’s expectations.

With Kavango’s shares currently trading at 2.2p, below July’s 2.5p IPO price, the market has yet to buy into its story. However, with the company hoping to find a deposit similar to Russia’s giant Norilsk mine, there remains a great deal to play for. Here, Mike Moles, one of Kavango’s founders, explains the significance of the firm’s early progress.



Massive deposits

The KSZ is a 450km long magnetic anomaly buried beneath 20-30m of Kalahari sand. It was first drilled and explored by Canadian companies in the 1980s and 1990s. However, work was discontinued due to the depth of cover and lack of outcrop . Kavango returned to the KSZ in 2011, acquiring a number of prospecting licences with the intention of re-evaluating it with modern exploration techniques.

Kavango is focussed on exploring for massive sulphide orebodies containing nickel, copper, and platinum group elements. Mining consultant MSA Group has backed the potential presence of these deposits on the KSZ, and Kavango has suggested that the area has a similar geological setting to the giant Norilsk copper/nickel deposits in Siberia.

The company listed on the Standard List segment of the main market of the LSE in July, raising £1.5m by placing shares at 2.5p each to fund an airborne electromagnetic survey (AEM) over prospective parts of the KSZ together with follow-up ground work, and drilling of identified targets. In the months since listing, the firm has completed the first phase of this work, identifying 26 conductive anomalies.
Identifying the best targets

Moles tells us that the number of conductors identified in Phase 1 of the survey is very encouraging. However, he says that identifying so many conductors has the potential to slow down the follow-up exploration:

‘Each of the detected conductors need to be assessed and prioritised for follow-up. This follow-up usually entails further, ground based, geophysics and soil geochemistry. These techniques help to identify the exact location of the conductor, its depth from surface and its size and shape. When you have this number of conductors, it is not really feasible to drill them all. You have to prioritise the targets and this can only be done effectively by incorporating all the relevant data into computer generated 3D models.’

Clearly, it takes time to separate this number of conductors into those that need to be drilled and those that do not. Kavango has therefore postponed the next phase of the AEM survey until the follow-up work has caught up. Phase 2 of the surveying is likely to start in January.

Moles tells us that, although crucial, the follow-up work is time-consuming and is likely to result in a delay to Kavango’s overall exploration programme:

‘We can only do around a kilometre of these ground surveys a day and we need to complete 6 or 7kms on each target. With so many conductors to assess, the programme is turning out to be a more time-consuming process than we first thought,’ says Moles.
Could one particular target lead to a pivotal discovery?

Despite this delay, Moles points out that Kavango only needs to find one sulphide deposit on the KSZ to demonstrate its prospectivity and that the Norilsk model is applicable. What’s more, there already appears to be a serious contender for this pivotal discovery, with Moles telling us that one conductor has stood out from the others due to the presence of zinc at the surface.


AEM Survey being conducted on Kavango’s KSZ tenements (Sept 2018)

Zinc is one of the most mobile base metals, meaning it is relatively soluble in the groundwater. Metal sulphide deposits at depth often produce dissolved metal ions in the groundwater. In arid terrains, the groundwater is drawn up to the surface leaving metal ions deposited in the sandy soil. The presence of metal ions in the soil (especially zinc) can be detected through soil sampling. One of the conductors detected in the Phase 1 AEM survey appears to be overlain by a significant zinc in soil anomaly.

‘This is very exciting and the target has become our current priority. We are running geophysical surveys over it at the moment, and if they confirm that this conductor has the characteristics of a metal sulphide deposit then we would like to drill a hole into it as soon as possible.’
Wider work

Aside from its airborne survey, Kavango has also been increasing its land holdings in Botswana. Last month, it announced that it had been granted three additional prospecting licences, extending its ground holding along the KSZ by further 2,300km2. It now holds a total of 15 prospecting licences covering around 80% of the structure. With two of the new permits immediately adjoining the area covered by Phase 1 of the airborne survey, Kavango said the move was ‘strategically important’ in allowing it to adequately cover critical areas of prospectivity.

Elsewhere, the company has started surveying its Ditau Camp prospect. Earlier exploration by the firm identified a 7km long magnetic body with coincident metal in soils anomalies. Moles tells us that drilling of this area could be imminent:

‘We have previously identified coincident geophysical and base metal anomalies at Ditau, and we are now carrying out ground geophysics on this target. Subject to the results of our current work, drilling could begin early in the new year.’
Breaking out

Kavango has struggled to engage private investors since listing. However, the company’s first significant milestone will be proving up its belief that the KSZ fits the Norilsk model. This requires the discovery of at least one significant metal sulphide deposit of the Norilsk type. This could happen soon. And that could prove to be the catalyst for a re-rate in the company’s stock.

Proof of concept will come from the identification of just one sulphide orebody from the conductors Kavango has already located. According to Moles, the firm is already making an encouraging amount of progress towards achieving this. If Kavango can deliver this critical piece of newsflow and the market begins to show much more interest in the project, then any subsequent momentum could leave the company’s shares looking cheap at their current price.


Author: Daniel Flynn


Published in: Blog, on: 15 November 2018

[skiboy10] 24/2/2019 03:23

Article from back in November

‘We only need to find one deposit to confirm our theory is correct’: Kavango Resources on hunting for sulphide orebodies in Botswana

Last month saw Kavango Resources (LSE:KAV) announce the first results of its airborne EM survey to find massive sulphide orebodies in Botswana. The surveying has so far identified 26 conductors along the Kalahari Suture Zone (“KSZ”) for follow up groundwork, exceeding management’s expectations.

With Kavango’s shares currently trading at 2.2p, below July’s 2.5p IPO price, the market has yet to buy into its story. However, with the company hoping to find a deposit similar to Russia’s giant Norilsk mine, there remains a great deal to play for. Here, Mike Moles, one of Kavango’s founders, explains the significance of the firm’s early progress.



Massive deposits

The KSZ is a 450km long magnetic anomaly buried beneath 20-30m of Kalahari sand. It was first drilled and explored by Canadian companies in the 1980s and 1990s. However, work was discontinued due to the depth of cover and lack of outcrop . Kavango returned to the KSZ in 2011, acquiring a number of prospecting licences with the intention of re-evaluating it with modern exploration techniques.

Kavango is focussed on exploring for massive sulphide orebodies containing nickel, copper, and platinum group elements. Mining consultant MSA Group has backed the potential presence of these deposits on the KSZ, and Kavango has suggested that the area has a similar geological setting to the giant Norilsk copper/nickel deposits in Siberia.

The company listed on the Standard List segment of the main market of the LSE in July, raising £1.5m by placing shares at 2.5p each to fund an airborne electromagnetic survey (AEM) over prospective parts of the KSZ together with follow-up ground work, and drilling of identified targets. In the months since listing, the firm has completed the first phase of this work, identifying 26 conductive anomalies.
Identifying the best targets

Moles tells us that the number of conductors identified in Phase 1 of the survey is very encouraging. However, he says that identifying so many conductors has the potential to slow down the follow-up exploration:

‘Each of the detected conductors need to be assessed and prioritised for follow-up. This follow-up usually entails further, ground based, geophysics and soil geochemistry. These techniques help to identify the exact location of the conductor, its depth from surface and its size and shape. When you have this number of conductors, it is not really feasible to drill them all. You have to prioritise the targets and this can only be done effectively by incorporating all the relevant data into computer generated 3D models.’

Clearly, it takes time to separate this number of conductors into those that need to be drilled and those that do not. Kavango has therefore postponed the next phase of the AEM survey until the follow-up work has caught up. Phase 2 of the surveying is likely to start in January.

Moles tells us that, although crucial, the follow-up work is time-consuming and is likely to result in a delay to Kavango’s overall exploration programme:

‘We can only do around a kilometre of these ground surveys a day and we need to complete 6 or 7kms on each target. With so many conductors to assess, the programme is turning out to be a more time-consuming process than we first thought,’ says Moles.
Could one particular target lead to a pivotal discovery?

Despite this delay, Moles points out that Kavango only needs to find one sulphide deposit on the KSZ to demonstrate its prospectivity and that the Norilsk model is applicable. What’s more, there already appears to be a serious contender for this pivotal discovery, with Moles telling us that one conductor has stood out from the others due to the presence of zinc at the surface.


AEM Survey being conducted on Kavango’s KSZ tenements (Sept 2018)

Zinc is one of the most mobile base metals, meaning it is relatively soluble in the groundwater. Metal sulphide deposits at depth often produce dissolved metal ions in the groundwater. In arid terrains, the groundwater is drawn up to the surface leaving metal ions deposited in the sandy soil. The presence of metal ions in the soil (especially zinc) can be detected through soil sampling. One of the conductors detected in the Phase 1 AEM survey appears to be overlain by a significant zinc in soil anomaly.

‘This is very exciting and the target has become our current priority. We are running geophysical surveys over it at the moment, and if they confirm that this conductor has the characteristics of a metal sulphide deposit then we would like to drill a hole into it as soon as possible.’
Wider work

Aside from its airborne survey, Kavango has also been increasing its land holdings in Botswana. Last month, it announced that it had been granted three additional prospecting licences, extending its ground holding along the KSZ by further 2,300km2. It now holds a total of 15 prospecting licences covering around 80% of the structure. With two of the new permits immediately adjoining the area covered by Phase 1 of the airborne survey, Kavango said the move was ‘strategically important’ in allowing it to adequately cover critical areas of prospectivity.

Elsewhere, the company has started surveying its Ditau Camp prospect. Earlier exploration by the firm identified a 7km long magnetic body with coincident metal in soils anomalies. Moles tells us that drilling of this area could be imminent:

‘We have previously identified coincident geophysical and base metal anomalies at Ditau, and we are now carrying out ground geophysics on this target. Subject to the results of our current work, drilling could begin early in the new year.’
Breaking out

Kavango has struggled to engage private investors since listing. However, the company’s first significant milestone will be proving up its belief that the KSZ fits the Norilsk model. This requires the discovery of at least one significant metal sulphide deposit of the Norilsk type. This could happen soon. And that could prove to be the catalyst for a re-rate in the company’s stock.

Proof of concept will come from the identification of just one sulphide orebody from the conductors Kavango has already located. According to Moles, the firm is already making an encouraging amount of progress towards achieving this. If Kavango can deliver this critical piece of newsflow and the market begins to show much more interest in the project, then any subsequent momentum could leave the company’s shares looking cheap at their current price.


Author: Daniel Flynn


Published in: Blog, on: 15 November 2018

[skiboy10] 18/2/2019 15:34

From LSEToday 12:26 Price: 3.38Presto113 1,111 postsRE: Drill cores Hole #1 at surface !!!This bod is taking the necessary steps as they said they would...always better walking before running which is wise...I really like the savvy guys running KAVANGO and the regular management tweets and pictures , show we are making progress...gla

[skiboy10] 18/2/2019 00:52

Kavango’s Mike Moles on how firm’s new tech could mark a ‘major step forward’ in Botswana (KAV)

Kavango Resources (LSE:KAV) rose 1.9p on Monday after revealing the imminent launch of its next phase of airborne electromagnetic (AEM) surveying over Botswana’s Kalahari Suture Zone (KSZ). Importantly, the company also revealed that it has contracted a high-power new technology to carry out the work. It expects this to ramp up the speed at which it can highlight potential copper, nickel, and PGE mineralisation in the area dramatically. Speaking exclusively to MiningMaven, Kavango’s exploration director Mike Moles told us the significance of this development and how it could help the company in its quest to identify Norilsk-like mineralisation at the KSZ.

Surveying targets

In Monday’s update, Kavango announced that it has now mobilised the second phase of its AEM survey. The work is being carried out over the business’s 15 prospecting licences in Southwest Botswana. Much of this sits on the KSZ, which is a highly-prospective, 450km2-long magnetic anomaly.

Kavango hopes to identify massive sulphide orebodies containing vast amounts of nickel, copper, and platinum group elements beneath the KSZ’s surface. Mining consultant MSA Group has backed the potential presence of these deposits on the KSZ, which was first explored in the 1980s and 1990s. Meanwhile, Kavango has suggested that the area has a similar geological setting to the giant Norilsk copper/nickel deposits in Siberia.

The airborne EM survey is the first stage in the company’s efforts to identify these sulphide orebodies. It detects and prioritises potential locations for these deposits, which Kavango can then follow up with more detailed groundwork and drilling.

Flying for the second phase of the survey is expected to begin later this month, with the first phase completing at the end of last year. It will take between four to six weeks to complete and will cover up to 2,062 line-kilometres in the Hukunstsi area of Botswana.

The highlight of Monday’s announcement was the news that Kavango has contracted the services of a leading airborne geophysical survey player called SkyTEM for its latest phase of work. SkyTEM offers a ground-breaking, high-power surveying system that has been optimised to reach a depth of up to 300m below the earth’s crust.

It reaches these depths by using a high current and low base frequency of 12.5hz. According to Kavango, the technology has not been used in Africa before and is more effective than the older systems currently on the market.

Increasing efficiency

Moles tells us the technology will allow Kavango to investigate for orebodies at a much deeper level and with higher resolution than it was able to in the first phase of its survey.

The company identified 26 conductive anomalies over 2,000 line-km of the KSZ project during this stage of work. However, the technology used did not penetrate deep enough beneath the surface. As such Kavango was unable to tell which anomalies were low priority near-surface conductors like clays and shales and which went much deeper.

In layman’s terms, the deeper an anomaly is, the more likely to be prospective for mineralisation. This makes it a higher priority drilling target for Kavango. As such, the firm was forced to carry out groundwork on all 26 targets to determine whether they were worth following up. Moles tells us this was a difficult task that took longer than expected to complete.

He believes the new technology will make it much easier for Kavango to differentiate between the two types of anomalies.

‘We will immediately be able to see which conductors have a depth component to them and represent high priority targets. Likewise, it will be much easier for the business to identify and ignore those surficial conductors that are very often just clays and other conductive materials that lie within the first 50-60m below the surface,’ he told us.

‘The technology we contracted in Phase One used a much higher frequency and was not getting deep enough to differentiate between the shallow and deep targets. If we had SkyTEM’s technology back in September when we launched the campaign, we could have reduced the number of conductors worth following up from 26 to about six or seven straight away. Using our new approach, we should be to turn over these conductors much more quickly in Phase Two.’

To assess the effectiveness of SkyTEMS’ technology, Moles told us that Kavango also plans to run lines over some of the areas it surveyed in Phase One and compare results. However, he tells us he is already very confident that the results will be positive:

‘We are confident that this new technique will work. A huge amount of test work has been completed in the past to demonstrate its effectiveness. We think it will represent major step forward in our exploration strategy.’

If Moles’ confidence translates into results this could prove to be highly significant for £2.5m valued Kavango. Since listing last summer the company’s story hasn’t attracted a great deal of attention, despite the progress it has made on the ground. Exploration plays can be extremely racey stocks and with the size of target Kavango is going for, the deployment of the new technology could give it just the edge it needs.

Author: Daniel Flynn

[skiboy10] 18/2/2019 00:51

Kavango’s Mike Moles on how firm’s new tech could mark a ‘major step forward’ in Botswana (KAV)

Kavango Resources (LSE:KAV) rose 1.9p on Monday after revealing the imminent launch of its next phase of airborne electromagnetic (AEM) surveying over Botswana’s Kalahari Suture Zone (KSZ). Importantly, the company also revealed that it has contracted a high-power new technology to carry out the work. It expects this to ramp up the speed at which it can highlight potential copper, nickel, and PGE mineralisation in the area dramatically. Speaking exclusively to MiningMaven, Kavango’s exploration director Mike Moles told us the significance of this development and how it could help the company in its quest to identify Norilsk-like mineralisation at the KSZ.

Surveying targets

In Monday’s update, Kavango announced that it has now mobilised the second phase of its AEM survey. The work is being carried out over the business’s 15 prospecting licences in Southwest Botswana. Much of this sits on the KSZ, which is a highly-prospective, 450km2-long magnetic anomaly.

Kavango hopes to identify massive sulphide orebodies containing vast amounts of nickel, copper, and platinum group elements beneath the KSZ’s surface. Mining consultant MSA Group has backed the potential presence of these deposits on the KSZ, which was first explored in the 1980s and 1990s. Meanwhile, Kavango has suggested that the area has a similar geological setting to the giant Norilsk copper/nickel deposits in Siberia.

The airborne EM survey is the first stage in the company’s efforts to identify these sulphide orebodies. It detects and prioritises potential locations for these deposits, which Kavango can then follow up with more detailed groundwork and drilling.

Flying for the second phase of the survey is expected to begin later this month, with the first phase completing at the end of last year. It will take between four to six weeks to complete and will cover up to 2,062 line-kilometres in the Hukunstsi area of Botswana.

The highlight of Monday’s announcement was the news that Kavango has contracted the services of a leading airborne geophysical survey player called SkyTEM for its latest phase of work. SkyTEM offers a ground-breaking, high-power surveying system that has been optimised to reach a depth of up to 300m below the earth’s crust.

It reaches these depths by using a high current and low base frequency of 12.5hz. According to Kavango, the technology has not been used in Africa before and is more effective than the older systems currently on the market.

Increasing efficiency

Moles tells us the technology will allow Kavango to investigate for orebodies at a much deeper level and with higher resolution than it was able to in the first phase of its survey.

The company identified 26 conductive anomalies over 2,000 line-km of the KSZ project during this stage of work. However, the technology used did not penetrate deep enough beneath the surface. As such Kavango was unable to tell which anomalies were low priority near-surface conductors like clays and shales and which went much deeper.

In layman’s terms, the deeper an anomaly is, the more likely to be prospective for mineralisation. This makes it a higher priority drilling target for Kavango. As such, the firm was forced to carry out groundwork on all 26 targets to determine whether they were worth following up. Moles tells us this was a difficult task that took longer than expected to complete.

He believes the new technology will make it much easier for Kavango to differentiate between the two types of anomalies.

‘We will immediately be able to see which conductors have a depth component to them and represent high priority targets. Likewise, it will be much easier for the business to identify and ignore those surficial conductors that are very often just clays and other conductive materials that lie within the first 50-60m below the surface,’ he told us.

‘The technology we contracted in Phase One used a much higher frequency and was not getting deep enough to differentiate between the shallow and deep targets. If we had SkyTEM’s technology back in September when we launched the campaign, we could have reduced the number of conductors worth following up from 26 to about six or seven straight away. Using our new approach, we should be to turn over these conductors much more quickly in Phase Two.’

To assess the effectiveness of SkyTEMS’ technology, Moles told us that Kavango also plans to run lines over some of the areas it surveyed in Phase One and compare results. However, he tells us he is already very confident that the results will be positive:

‘We are confident that this new technique will work. A huge amount of test work has been completed in the past to demonstrate its effectiveness. We think it will represent major step forward in our exploration strategy.’

If Moles’ confidence translates into results this could prove to be highly significant for £2.5m valued Kavango. Since listing last summer the company’s story hasn’t attracted a great deal of attention, despite the progress it has made on the ground. Exploration plays can be extremely racey stocks and with the size of target Kavango is going for, the deployment of the new technology could give it just the edge it needs.

Author: Daniel Flynn

[skiboy10] 14/2/2019 14:31

Sirius had a huge nickel discovery in AUS back in 2012. Market cap went from 7M to 500M+ in three months. Not too shabby! Not saying it will happen here but it can happen.

[skiboy10] 14/2/2019 14:29

Mark Bennett of Sirius Resources on the Nova Nickel Deposit | Presentation

[daniel levi bmd] 12/2/2019 15:15

FYI

Andalas Energy & Power. Honesty Is The Best Policy! Hold For Colter

Dan
x

[paleje] 11/2/2019 10:32

This has done very well and I've sold my small amount which was a punt and a good one, maybe too early, but it's getting a lot of attention on twitter and still nothing really solid so pays to be careful. GL 'remainers':)

[skiboy10] 08/2/2019 18:14

Volume and share price increasing nicely