Resource Mining Corporation Ltd (ASX:RMI) will get the reverse circulation (RC) drill spinning from the middle of next week for its inaugural drilling campaign at the highly prospective Mpanda Copper-Gold Project in Tanzania.
This program will consist of 12-14 RC drill holes of 70-100 metres depth testing numerous high-grade prospects defined by soil, auger, trench, geological mapping, channel and rock sampling.
Eight locations defined
RMI has defined an initial eight highly prospective drill hole locations with a further four to six holes planned upon confirmation of results from ongoing auger and trenching work.
The initial two RC holes will be at the Stalike Prospect where channel sampling has intersected 5 metres at 1.13% copper from 8 metres and open at depth.
A further six RC drill holes are planned within the Mpanda Ndogo Prospect where copper mineralisation has been confirmed by the presence of mineralised basal rocks underlying the soil, auger and trench copper anomalies.
This prospect is considered to have significant resource potential given the size of the known copper anomaly along strike in this location is recognised as being in excess of five square kilometres.
Building on momentum
Resource Mining Corporation’s executive chairman Asimwe Kabunga said: “Exploration results to date at the Mpanda Copper-Gold Project have been outstanding and have provided the company with numerous high-grade copper-gold targets.
“To build on this momentum the company has defined an RC drill program to test these targets and we have high expectations for positive results.
"This inaugural drilling will be carried out in parallel with ongoing geological field mapping, trenching and auger drilling, to locate additional high-grade targets for the current works or future programs.”
Mpanda Project anomalies and the initial eight RC drill hole locations.
A drilling contract has been signed with JICL Drill Ltd for the inaugural RC drilling program within the Mpanda Project with this work expected to begin mid next week and be completed within 2-3 weeks.
Initial Stalike drilling
The Stalike drilling will test an area under and adjacent to shallow artisanal workings which were collected vertically from an opened pit wall with the basal rocks being highly mineralised and grading 5 metres at 1.1% copper, including 1 metre at 2.3%.
A further six holes have been planned based on results of large auger drilling, trenching and detailed geological mapping programs at Mpanda Ndogo anomaly.
In the central portion of the prospect two drilled auger holes produced a last metre sample ending in highly elevated copper values of 0.20-0.21% as well as numerous grades in excess of 500ppm at the base of auger drilling along a 200-metre width.
This provides significant support for the soil anomaly and the presence of mineralised basal rocks underlying this copper anomaly.
Trenching within the prospect provided significant geotechnical information as well as confirmatory anomalous copper grades increasing to depth within all trenches completed above soil anomalies.
About Mpanda
RMC’s Mpanda Project comprises a strategic tenement portfolio covering 1055.96 square kilometres which surrounds the high-grade producing Katavi Copper Mine.
RC drill targets are being defined to test deeper mineralisation in other prospects (Magumbu, Kabungu, Kapalala) and this information will provide RMC with a series of potential new drill hole locations in the coming weeks.
The company has the ability to extend the drilling program into other prospects that are still undergoing auger drilling and trenching test work.
Drilling is expected to be completed by early July with assay results available a further 3-4 weeks later due to the use of a registered Tanzanian laboratory for all results.