EXPLORATION
Kula’s exploration team has successfully completed the Phase 2 exploration programme at our first copper site in the North West province. This follows the Phase 1 geomagnetics and soil geochem programme which was completed earlier in the year.
The site has a small open pit which was mined from 2013 to date. The Phase 2 exploration involved a trenching programme to explore other areas within the tenement which show potential for future mining and drilling sites which were identified in the Phase 1 programme.
Trenching in the area was mainly concentrated on the eastern part of the license adjacent to the main pit. The target of the trenching was to achieve a depth of around 14-21m in order to expose the copper mineralization in the area.
Location of Site, NW Province
Excavator Digging One of the Trenches
TRENCHING
Geophysics interpretation of faults was also used to site trenches and trenching was done cutting across the structures in order to expose the mineralization which is structurally controlled.
Silimau Chirwa, Kula’s Senior Exploration Geologist who led the expedition, was satisfied with the results.
“The site has a lot of potential going forward. The material left in the existing pit is still of significant copper values with the rich zone ranging in values from 2.0% to 3.0% Cu on average. High malachite nugget zones can even give grades of between 10 to 18% Cu. Corrections to the poor mining technique employed during the initial mining will be one of the challenges, but this can be overcome by employing smart and cheap mining methodology and efficiency in sorting out waste from ore”, said Chirwa.
RESTORATION OF SITES
Kula’s CEO, Barry Hodgkinson, was upbeat about the potential of the copper site, “We are satisfied that the Phase 1 and Phase 2 exploration programme has achieved the outcomes when we set out to further explore the area. We are at a stage where we can proceed with core drilling in the area, and even to proceed with shallow mining of the existing pit”.
Kula’s exploration team ensured all trenches which were dug were renovated and filled in line with Zambian and international environmental standards.
“I would like to commend the Kula exploration team on the excellent restoration of the trench sites. We are a proud Zambian company that cares deeply for the environment, and we hold ourselves to the highest standard in this regard”, said Hodgkinson.
Further activity at the site is scheduled for the second quarter of 2021.
