Belararox signs deal to acquire the Kalahari copper project in Botswana
Belararox has signed a deal to acquire the Kalahari copper project in Botswana in a move that secures a second significant copper-prospective play for the company in a highly prospective and mining friendly jurisdiction.
The company already owns the Toro-Malambo-Tambo (TMT) asset in Argentina, strategically smack bang in the middle of several large operating mines and neighbours Filo del Sol, the project being acquired by BHP and Lundin for US$4 billion.
This agreement covers the acquisition of 100% of KCB Resources, the owner (through its subsidiaries Blackrock Resources and Northern Nickel) of 4,286km2 of prospective tenure across 14 prospecting licences on the Kalahari Copper Belt in Botswana.
Notably, there are several world-class copper-silver orebodies in proximity and along strike of the licences, including Sandfire’s Motheo copper mine, MMG’s Koemacau mine and Cobre’s flagship Ngami copper project.
Potential for large-scale discoveries
The project encompasses a substantial tenement package covering favourable stratigraphy and structural settings within a sediment-hosted copper mineral system, and offers significant potential for large-scale copper discoveries.
“With this acquisition Belararox now has another copper project in another world-class metallogenic province,” Belararox exploration director Jason Ward said.
“The Kalahari Copper Belt hosts several significant deposits and we believe that there are more to be discovered there.
“Botswana is a very attractive jurisdiction with great prospectivity and the projects we have acquired are in the right geological setting to host copper and silver mineralisation.”
Exploration plans in the works
The region’s most significant controls on mineralisation are well understood, providing a solid foundation for the company’s exploration strategy to explore, discover and develop large deposits in the most prospective geological settings.
“This region, home to several world-class copper-silver orebodies in close proximity and along strike of our licences, represents a significant opportunity for BRX,” managing director Arvind Misra said.
“Recent audio-magnetotellurics and magnetics surveys have already highlighted several areas for immediate follow-up exploration, further enhancing the potential of this project.”
An airborne gravity survey and gravity profile inversion modelling across the tenement package is planned, along with a 2D seismic survey ahead of RAB or aircore drilling.
An induced polarisation (IP) survey will further verify targets to be followed up with RC and/or DD drilling.
Meanwhile, the company remains on track to commence maiden drilling at its TMT project in Argentina in October 2024.