Jervois Mining reports more gold, copper intercepts in Uganda
The drill results are being used to prepare future field plans.
Jervois Mining (ASX:JRV) has reported that final assay results from the latest drilling program at its historic Kilembe mine in Uganda continue to expand prospective areas and understanding of the property.
Jervois acquired Kilembe in mid-2019 after a merger with Toronto-listed M2 Cobalt. It is on the hunt for VMS-style copper-cobalt mineralisation of the type that was extracted when the Kilembe mine was operational.
Meanwhile, the company said today it has suspended all activity in Uganda in response to the COVID-19 spread. There is no fixed date for remobilisation.
Exploration results
Work at the Kilembe area properties has so far represented 1,905m of diamond drilling in 21 holes over 2019 and 2020.
Highlights from the final assay results include 6.1m at 2.1 grams per tonne gold and 0.24% copper, hit at a depth of 101m. This intersection included 1m at 11.50g/t gold and 1.36% copper.
Another hole hit mineralisation at 70m, with a 6m intersection assaying at 1.9g/t gold and 0.43% copper.
The area in which the Kilembe project is located comprises five exploration licences close to the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Uganda’s cobalt attraction
The project is located in a region that has been, and still is, the world’s most prolific source of cobalt.
A Jervois presentation noted Uganda has similar geology to the cobalt-rich DRC but remains comparatively unexplored.
And, unlike the DRC, Uganda has a stable government, a legal system inherited from British rule, and a transparent mining code.
The latest intercepts come against a background of Uganda emerging as a gold producer, with the metal’s exports now having overtaken its previous number one – coffee.
A Reuters report earlier this month, quoting Uganda’s central bank, said that in 2019 the East Africa country had exported US$1.25 billion (A$2.18 billion) of gold in 2019 against US$514 million (A$896 million) in 2018.