INV METALS INC. : http://www.invmetals.com/ : QwikReport
Kaoko, Namibia
The ~8,000 square km Kaoko property, comprised of 11 Exclusive Prospecting Licences, is located in the Kaokoland region of northwestern Namibia. Previous work by Teck has identified numerous copper prospects, confirmed by drilling which intersected copper sulphide and oxide zones, hosted by the Damara Group, a geological environment characteristic of and considered analogous to the African Copperbelt deposits in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. For example, at Okohongo, Teck intersected 1.9% copper and 27.9 g/t silver over 26.2 metres, and at the Epunguwe prospect drilling intersected 26.0 m grading 1.5% copper and 12.1 g/t silver. The majority of the prospects have had very limited drilling and remain open.
The African Copperbelt is one of the greatest sediment-hosted stratiform copper-cobalt provinces in the world, totalling ~140 million tonnes of copper and 6 million tonnes of cobalt and including a number of world-class deposits that contain greater than 10 million tonnes of copper. The Kaoko property covers an area as large as the entire Zambian Copperbelt. With the multitude of targets and mineralized environments present, the potential to make a discovery of a world-class, low cost, open pit copper deposit in a stable political environment is high.
About 90% of the mineralization and deposits in the Zambian copper belt are located in a narrow rock sequence at the contact between an underlying red bed sequence and overlying shales. Teck identified a similar rock sequence at Kaoko and, most importantly, located numerous copper showings close to the same type of contact.
Through a program of stream sediment sampling, regional and detailed geological mapping, induced polarization geophysical surveys, and reverse circulation and diamond drilling, Teck identified dozens of either poorly documented or previously unknown copper-silver showings throughout the property.
Most significant showings are located immediately at or proximal to the sandstone (Nosib Formation) - shale (Ombombo Formation) contact. Surface showings are largely dominated by secondary copper species (malachite, antlerite, chrysocolla, dioptase, chalcocite, etc.), are mostly stratabound, and include disseminated, veinlet, breccia and vein ore styles. Where hypogene sulphide minerals (chalcopyrite, bornite, chalcocite) have been identified, these are typically disseminated.
Throughout the property, the target Nosib-Ombombo contact is >90% covered by thin veneers of colluvium, calcrete and/or alluvium. In many places, target stratigraphy is covered by alluvial valleys hundreds of meters to kilometres across, providing the potential for near-surface mineralization with effectively no surface expression. In spite of this cover challenge, systematic exploration by Teck has demonstrated the widespread occurrence of copper-silver mineralization at or near the Nosib-Ombombo contact. Although exposure of target stratigraphy is highly discontinuous, stratigraphically comparable mineral showings have been identified over strike lengths of hundreds of meters to kilometres at numerous locales. The widths of mineralized zones are highly variable, but reach several tens of meters locally. At Okohongo for example, chip sampling by Teck returned grades of 1.48% Cu and 56 g/t Ag over 47 m (~30m true width), at an occurrence that had not been previously drilled. These strike extents, widths and grades are comparable to those exhibited by world class deposits in the Zambian Copperbelt. In several cases growth faults (commonly reactivated as reverse faults) and/or Nosib sandstone pinch-outs, have been identified and appear to influence distribution and grade of mineralization. These structural/stratigraphic traps are analogous to those identified in the Zambian Copperbelt.
The following is a brief description of the some of the targets identified by Teck.
Okohongo
At Okohongo, oxide mineralization is exposed in a series of trenches and old pits. As mentioned above, a Teck channel sample returned 47 m grading 1.5% copper and 56 g/t silver. A borehole under this trench returned 26.2 metres grading 1.9% copper and 27.9 g/t silver. The mineralization remains open.
Manuela
Historic rock sampling at Manuela completed by Teck identified a number of copper-rich showings along and adjacent to major structures in the target area. A reconnaissance mapping and sampling program confirmed the general structural setting of the area, as well as the location of several copper occurrences hosted by Nosib sandstones. An induced polarization survey detected several anomalies. There is no previous drilling in this area.
Horseshoe
The Horseshoe target is an extensively mineralized graphitic shale-siltstone copper-bearing horizon. Intersections include 4.5 m grading 0.7% copper and 18 g/t silver, and 10.6 m grading 0.4% copper and 4 g/t silver.
Oruvandjai
At Oruvandjai, Teck intersected broad widths of anomalous copper sulphide mineralization hosted by Nosib sandstone, including 91.5 m grading 0.1% copper and 1.6 g/t silver and 26 m grading 0.3% copper. The area is structurally complex and requires further interpretation. There are untested induced polarization anomalies in the area.
Sesfontein
INV initiated a regional 1:25,000 scale geological mapping program in the Sesfontein area in November, 2009. During the course of the on-going program, INV discovered fifty-five copper showings over a strike length of 26 kilometres. The new copper showings are proximal to the key sandstone -- shale/dolostone contact. Of the fifty-five showings noted at Sesfontein, ten showings extend over a length of more than 100 meters. Individual showings vary in width from a few centimetres up to 4 metres, and in length from spot showings up to 650 meters of discontinuous mineralization in the same lithological unit. Outcrop rock samples returned grab sample values ranging from weakly anomalous (<100 ppm copper) to 3.4% copper and 128 g/t silver, as well as 21.1% copper, along with 174 g/t silver and 2.56 g/t gold from a mineralized quartz vein. At a single showing, a 4 metre wide channel sample returned 4.64% copper and 147 g/t silver.
Epunguwe
At Epunguwe, Teck drilled 7 diamond holes and 3 percussion holes, with a best intersection of 26.0 m grading 1.5% copper and 12.1 g/t silver.
INV has committed to fund a minimum of $3 million in exploration over the first two years of the agreement with Teck. The budget for late 2009 -- 2010 is $2.2 million, which includes reverse circulation drilling of approximately 5,100 metres. The program will include a blend of evaluating existing high-priority targets such as Okohongo, Manuela and Horseshoe, as well as building a pipeline of new targets, such as the new discoveries at Sesfontein
For additional information and graphics for the Kaoko copper-silver property, see INV's corporate presentation.