LONDON (Alliance News) - Metal Tiger PLC on Wednesday said it is encouraged by the "flow of strong assay results" coming from its joint venture in the Kalahari copper belt in Botswana, as the thick intersections of high grade copper and silver are proving to be "remarkably consistent".
Metal Tiger acquired strategic interests in 14 prospecting licences in Botswana back in November after it set up a joint venture with MOD to focus on the prospecting licences at various stages of development situated along the Mahumo structural corridor in the Kalahari copper belt.
The 14 prospecting licences covered by the joint venture are adjacent to MOD's existing Mahumo project, which is thought to have around 4.3 million ounces of silver, of which the majority is classed as measured and indicated.
As Metal Tiger has a two-prong strategy to invest in companies at a corporate level whilst also investing directly in projects, the London-listed firm quickly chose to take a 4.92% stake in MOD at a corporate level soon after the joint venture was formed. Metal Tiger also has warrants over MOD shares that would push its stake up if exercised by May 2018.
Metal Tiger owns a 30% stake in the venture alongside MOD's 70% stake. It has released a string of test results from the ongoing work under the venture during this year, and on Wednesday said the consistent flow of positive results are boosting confidence that the main T3 prospect could be mined using an open pit.
T3, or Target 3, is undergoing a phase one resource diamond drilling programme and the pair plan to start metallurgical testwork and to appoint a technical study manager to oversee a scoping study designed to estimate the viability of the T3 resources for open pit mining.
MOD has appointed Royce McAuslane as the study manager of the scoping study, which should be completed by the end of the year, followed by a pre-feasibility study starting in "early 2017", subject to the results of the scoping study being positive.
Overall, 23 diamond drill holes have been completed on the asset under the joint venture, and two holes are currently being drilled. There are three diamond drill rigs in operation to speed up the programme, and the pair are still on track to deliver a maiden resource estimate for the asset in the third quarter of 2016.
There is a fourth diamond drill rig on site, but that is currently testing targets outside of the area which will obtain a mineral resource estimate. Julian Hanna, the managing director of MOD, said the fourth rig is targeting "compelling deeper targets" outside of the resource area.
The planned metallurgical drilling and test work programme will commence this month under the direction of the metallurgical consulting group, Independent Metallurgical Operations Pty Ltd, which will conduct the test work on a range of different sulphide ores from T3, from their base in Perth, Australia.
"We are highly encouraged with the continuing progress and professionalism of our joint venture partners in Botswana. The regular flow of news to market of late is demonstrable evidence of the progress being achieved," said Paul Johnson, chief executive of Metal Tiger.
"Testing of other targets on the T3 dome is an important step forward and it is of significance that the wider T3 area remains largely unexplored and is, in part, as geologically prospective as the ground which is currently the focus of drilling at T3," he added.
The latest assay results published by Metal Tiger and MOD on Wednesday covered four diamond drill holes and showed wide intersections of 1.0% to 2.0% copper mineralisation alongside "significant silver". Assay results for a fifth hole are still being compiled but are expected shortly.
The most significant downhole intersections published Wednesday included two 29.0 metre intervals discovered in two separate holes, both graded at 1.8% copper whilst one hole returned a gold grade of 34.0 grammes per tonne compared to the other hole which had a grade of 32.0 grammes per tonne.
A 17.2 metre intersection was also found in a third hole graded at 1.4% copper and 14.0 grammes of gold per tonne of ore.
MOD, as the operator, published its own statement on Wednesday, and the company's Managing Director Hanna said T3 was already generating copper intersections that "compare favourably on a global scale" despite the target only being discovered four months ago.
Metal Tiger shares were trading up 4.1% to 3.36 pence per share on Wednesday, and the stock is trading more than 3.8 times higher than at the end of 2015.
By Joshua Warner; joshuawarner@alliancenews.com; @JoshAlliance
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