Katoro progresses drilling programme at Haneti

12th January 2021 By: Tasneem Bulbulia - Senior Contributing Editor Online

Aim-listed Katoro Gold has recorded progress on the maiden drill programme targeting the discovery of nickel and platinum group metals (PGMs) at the Haneti nickel project, in Tanzania.

Katoro holds a 65% ownership interest in Haneti with 35% held by Power Metal Resources.

The programme involves 2 000 m of rotary air blast (RAB) drilling at Haneti, with a planned 50 holes of about 40 m depth.

The RAB drill holes are being drilled on profiles across the three target areas to provide enhanced information on the subsurface shape and orientation of the ultramafic rock bodies being targeted and to allow for the optimisation of a planned follow-on diamond drill programme.

By end of drilling on January 6, 22 holes and 863 m had been drilled at the Mwaka Hill target, with the plan to move to the Mihanza Hill target during the week starting January 11.

The first two batches of samples from the RAB drilling at Mwaka Hill have been prepared and the first sample batch will be dispatched to SGS Tanzania, an accredited laboratory, for assay testing as soon as the accompanying QA/QC standards are received on site (expected this week).

Drilling began on December 29, 2020 and has continued daily, with the exception of New Year’s Day, for an average daily drilling rate of 96 m a day. The delay in starting the drilling and logistical challenges presented by the current rainy season have not impacted on the overall programme with drilled metres now in line with the planned schedule.

The potential impact on the planned programme of the Covid-19 pandemic and of the January to March rainy season is being monitored carefully on site with no issues at this time. There may be some rain related access challenges to be overcome as the drill rig is moved over to the Mihanza Hill target area, the company indicated.

Concurrently to the drilling programme, geological fieldwork is continuing with geological mapping of surrounding ultramafic target areas; and detailed mapping at Mwaka Hill and Mihanza Hill.

Moreover, in terms of geophysics, three ground magnetic survey lines and one radiometric survey line have been completed over the Mwaka Hill drill fence profile with the same work due to be started at Mihanza Hill.

Lastly, fieldwork results will supplement the existing geophysics data, helping to optimise the planned RAB drill hole placement, and in conjunction with the results from the RAB drilling programme, will assist in targeting for the currently planned follow-up diamond drilling programme.