KEFI Minerals mobilises drilling rig to Hawiah licence

The AIM-traded firm said the drilling rig and team had been mobilised to Hawiah, for a programme designed to test the extent of the gold mineralisation in the upper oxidised zone, as well as for a significant subsurface copper-gold-zinc deposit.

It said it would be an initial 2,500 metre scout drilling programme along what was currently judged to be the most prospective portion of the gossanous ridgeline at Hawiah.

Previous work had shown that the area was enriched in gold, the board said, and had “abundant” secondary copper showings.

Geophysical surveys had identified a “strong and continuous” anomaly under the ridge, that it said indicated “massive” sulphide mineralisation was likely to be present at between 50 and 300 metres below the ridge.

High-priority drill targets had been defined towards the southern end of the gossanous ridgeline by the interpretation of results from the recently-completed induced polarisation and resistivity geophysical survey.

They were also defined by the interpretation of geochemical data collected from trenches across the ridgeline, as well as geological mapping, which confirmed that the sequence of rocks across the ridgeline conformed with the expected zonation across a volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit.

The company said the work had provided a more robust interpretation of the geometry of the potential primary base-metal sulphide mineralisation.

Initial drilling was planned to target the strongest copper grades, which lay over the strongest induced polarisation and resistivity geophysical anomaly.

Hawiah is located in Saudi Arabia's Wadi Bidah Mineral District, which is a 120-kilometre-long copper-gold-zinc volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) belt, where more than 24 VMS occurrences were defined by the US Geological Survey and French Geological Survey over a number of years of research.

KEFI explained that it is the operating partner of Gold & Minerals - the joint venture company with its long-standing partner, Saudi conglomerate ARTAR.

That joint venture had registered applications for an additional eight licence areas within the Wadi Bidah Metallogenic Belt, with the issuance of those additional licences set to give Gold & Minerals a “dominant position” in the area.

“We are pleased that drilling of our Hawiah prospect in Saudi Arabia has commenced,” said KEFI Minerals executive chairman Harry Anagnostaras-Adams.

“Hawiah has all the hallmarks of being a great target within a significant copper-gold-zinc VMS district.

“Major deposits have already been discovered and developed in the Arabian Nubian Shield and we are confident of positive results from our exploration programme, the results of which we will report as results warrant over the coming weeks and months.”