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(Sharecast News) - Galileo Resources released details over an option and joint venture agreement it had entered into with Garbo Resource Solutions on Tuesday, covering the Shinganda copper-gold project in Zambia.
The AIM-traded firm said the option agreement gave it the right to earn an initial 51% interest in the central Zambia project, subject to any necessary regulatory approval, by spending $0.5m on exploration and evaluation over two years.
It said it could subsequently increase its interest through entering into a joint venture to develop a mining operation, ranging from 65% interest for a large deposit of greater than one million tonnes of contained copper equivalent, up to an 85% interest in a smaller deposit of less than 200,000 tonnes of contained copper equivalent.
The project area covered part of a "major" 10 kilometre structural trend, with two previously-developed small-scale open pit copper-gold mines.
Galileo said "very limited" historic drilling on the property was reported to have intersected 1.07% copper over a true width of 28.3 metres, at shallow depth within supergene copper oxides.
Drilling on the structure off-property to the west by Vale recorded two metres at 3.93% copper and 1.72 grams of gold per tonne.
Historic grab sampling in an exploration pit towards the south of the project area, also by Vale, with reported assay values of 10.45% copper and 11 grams of gold per tonne, would be followed up in the field by Galileo for confirmation purposes.
Galileo said it was planning to review past exploration data, followed by a drilling programme focussed on testing the tenor and extent of the shallow copper-gold mineralisation indicated by previous drilling and nearby mining.
"This project fits the Galileo model in that the licence areas have good copper and gold intersections from previous campaigns," said chairman and chief executive officer Colin Bird.
"The agreement gives us the opportunity for new deposit discovery and/or small mine production potential.
"We look forward to working on this project commencing early in the new year."
At 1952 GMT, shares in Galileo Resources were down 3.11% at 0.78p.
19 Mar 2024 14:03
IN BRIEF: Galileo drill results show lithium enhancement at Kamativi
Galileo Resources PLC - Mining company focused on Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa - Says phase one drill results for its 80% owned Kamativi lithium-tin project in Zimbabwe show "extensive" lithium enhancement. Results peak at 1.0% of lithium oxide over four metres. Adds that geological mapping and prospecting have identified mineralisation/alteration in pegmatites over at least 1.5 kilometre strike length, which has only been partially drill tested to date. Chief Executive Officer Colin Bird says: "An unusual feature of this discovery is the spread of highly anomalous lithium through the mica schist host rock, as opposed to being solely contained within the pegmatite. We have no doubt that discordant pegmatites are the drivers to lithium content and our mapping programmes have located more discordant pegmatites than previously recognised. On the basis that the nearby Kamativi mine was a long-producing tin operation it comes as no surprise that we also see anomalous tin associated with these discordant pegmatites, in some cases coincident with lithium."
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