LONDON (Alliance News) - Cradle Arc PLC on Monday said its mining licence covering the Thakadu and Makala deposits in Botswana has been extended until 2020.
The Botswana Ministry of Mineral Resources, Green Technology & Energy Security has extended the licence, which includes the Thakadu open pit and Makala underground deposit, until the end of May 2020.
"We can, subject to obtaining the requisite finance in due course, start to plan for the additional drilling required in the future to enhance the confidence of the existing resource, a vital step towards completing a feasibility study for a potential underground mining operation using access from the base of the existing open pit," said Cradle Arc Chief Executive Kevin van Wouw.
The indicated mineral resource estimate at Thakadu is 2.3 million tonnes at 1.11% copper and 11 grams of silver per ton of ore. Its inferred resource estimate is 5.4 million tonnes at 0.63% copper and 9 grams of silver per ton of ore.
Makala, 700 metres north east of Thakadu, is a higher grade deposit and its inferred mineral resource estimate its is 11.5 million tonnes at 1.46% copper and 34 grams of silver per ton of ore.
"We have always believed that the Makala and Thakadu deposits present a great opportunity for Cradle Arc. Thakadu ores were mined and transported to our Mowana copper mine by its previous owners as recently as 2015, so we have significant existing knowledge of the potential quality of the copper sulphide ore which also has significant silver credits," said van Wouw.
Shares in Cradle Arc were up 1.1% at 1.31 pence on Monday.