Ivanhoe Mines’ exploration team with drill core from the 2023 exploration campaign. (Credit: IVANHOE MINES)
Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) (OTCQX: IVPAF) Founder and Executive Co-Chair Robert Friedland and President Marna Cloete are excited to announce today that the company has made a significant high-grade copper discovery on recently acquired joint venture licences in the Western Foreland, west of the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Ivanhoe Mines’ geological team have aptly named the discovery KITOKO, which means “beautiful” or “gift” in several local languages in the DRC.
The Kitoko discovery confirms the presence of a significant high-grade copper mineralizing system between 1,000 meters and 1,140 metres below the surface. Kitoko fine-grained copper mineralization is hosted in near flat-lying siltstone of the lower Grand Conglomerate, like that observed at the tier-one Kamoa, Kakula, Makoko and Kiala deposits. Also, like these deposits, the Kitoko mineralization is bottom-loaded with the highest copper grades occurring at the base of the mineralized zone. As mineralization occurs at the Kakula orebody, the lower section of the mineralized zone features occurrences of high-grade chalcocite and bornite copper sulphide minerals, with chalcopyrite copper sulphide mineralization more prevalent towards the top (see Figure 3). The currently defined mineralized zone is trending southwest over 1.9 kilometres of strike, with a dip extent of between 600 meters and mineralization remains open in all directions (See Figure 4).
The Kitoko discovery is approximately 25 kilometres west of the ultra-high-grade Kakula Mine, and five kilometres south and southeast of the Makoko deposit and is located inside a package of newly acquired joint venture licences in the Western Foreland. The new package of licences increases Ivanhoe’s highly prospective Western Foreland land position by 10% to 2,654 square kilometres.
Under the terms of the joint venture that covers the 247 square kilometres of newly acquired licences, Ivanhoe has an initial interest of 10% with an earn-in right to increase its ownership by funding ongoing exploration activities. Ivanhoe expects to make further exploration spending commitments in 2024, to increase Ivanhoe’s interest to 60%.
Ivanhoe Founder and Executive Co-Chair Robert Friedland commented:
“Ivanhoe’s latest high-grade discovery of Kitoko confirms the effectiveness of our exploration model for identifying tier-one copper mineralization across the Western Foreland. Our proprietary knowledge is the result of over 20 years of in-depth geological research in this previously unexplored terrain.
“This year’s drilling success proves that our geological team has the ability to unearth further major copper discoveries across the Western Foreland. We are fortunate to control such a large exploration land package with tier-one potential, in the identical geological domain as the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex, the world’s greenest and fastest-growing major copper mining complex.
“Our geologists are excited to find very high-grade copper very similar to the massive tier-one Kakula orebody, now discovered in the deeper parts of the Western Foreland basin that remains completely unexplored. When combined with the recent Mineral Resources at the nearby Makoko and Kiala deposits, the Kitoko discovery marks a turning point for our strategy in the Western Foreland. We are excited to explore options for near-term, high-grade copper production across our majority-owned licenses.
“Importantly, the Lobito Rail Corridor to the nearest coastal port in Angola runs across this emerging world-class copper district… The railway and port will provide strategic advantages in terms of inbound and outbound transport and lower carbon emissions. In fact, the Lobito Corridor will dramatically improve the economics of the entire DRC mining industry, which is powered primarily by hydroelectricity. The Lobito Corridor will lower mining cut-off grades and increase the amount of economically recoverable copper that our world desperately needs from the Western Foreland… and exploration properties in both Angola and the DRC will become far more attractive due to the very existence of the Lobito Corridor.
“The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo strongly encourages exploration efforts, and Ivanhoe’s team are proud to lead the way. Ivanhoe’s talented and dedicated people possess sophisticated exploration technologies and invaluable intellectual property, together with a global track record of success. We are committed to unlocking the full potential of the DRC’s endowment and we envision world-leading and ultra-green copper production across the Copperbelt for generations to come.”
Ivanhoe began exploration activities on the extensive Western Foreland land position in July 2017. Initially, activities were focused on the construction of all-season access roads, bridges and the development of new camp facilities. In parallel, Ivanhoe undertook airborne and ground-based geophysical surveys and revisited previously acquired geophysical and geochemical data sets. Targets, and subsequent discoveries, were identified first based on analysis of geological models from the airborne and ground geophysics, as well as surface and sub-surface geochemical sampling, and ultimately confirmed by diamond drilling. By year-end 2023, the company expects to have completed more than 166,000 metres of diamond drilling since 2017, including 36,000 metres completed year-to-date.
The newly discovered high-grade mineralization at Kitoko is associated with siltstone and inter-banded gritty layers of sandstone, formed in periods of relatively low sediment input into the basin, within a large package of Grand Conglomerate diamictite. The siltstones contain early pyrite that reacted with ore fluids to deposit copper. Multiple packages, or layers, of pyritic siltstones, have been identified and are exploration targets when they occur in prospective basin locations.
The Kitoko discovery is hosted in the Grand Conglomerate overlaying the Kibaran basement directly, whereas the Kakula, Kamoa, Makoko and Kiala deposits occur where the Grand Conglomerate is underlain by Mwasha sandstones. This highlights the potential for copper mineralization across a variety of underlying aquifer conditions and therefore increases the proportion of the Western Foreland that is prospective for high-grade mineralization.
Like the Kamoa and Kakula deposits, copper mineralization at Kitoko is hosted in the lowest reductant sedimentary layer. The deposition of copper mineralization occurs in basins where the circulating copper-bearing fluids are focused into sub-basins and shelf edges. Ivanhoe’s 80-to-100%-owned exploration licences, plus the new joint venture licence package, cover approximately 175 kilometres of prospective strike length for this style of mineralization.
Drilling is continuing at Kitoko to define the limits of mineralization, which remains open in all directions. When the extent of the mineralized system has been confirmed, infill resource drilling will begin. All-weather access roads have been constructed to enable operations to continue throughout the DRC rainy season, which typically runs from November through April. In conjunction with the drilling, detailed mineralogical studies on associated alteration have begun to complement the existing geological understanding.
Exploration will continue to test other high-value exploration targets in conjunction with the continued drilling of Kitoko in 2024 and beyond.
Ivanhoe geologists have developed proprietary geological models based on increased knowledge of the architecture of this emerging copper district and the formation of high-grade mineralization, including grade distribution. This knowledge has been increased substantially during the mining of the high-grade Kakula deposit, demonstrating the advantage of an operating mine adjacent to active exploration.
The discovery was solely targeted using knowledge of shelf architecture. The intersection of high-grade mineralization, at over 1,000 meters depth in the Western Foreland, confirms the criteria used for targeting blind mineralization across the 2,654-square-kilometre license package.5;’
Source: Company Press Release