Junior explorer Golden Deeps (GED) has officially kicked off a diamond drilling program at its Nosib Block project in Namibia.
The 1000-metre program will include eight holes designed to test extensions to a shallow, high-grade copper-lead-vanadium zone at the namesake Nosib prospect, as well as to test copper-silver mineralisation at depth.
Previous drilling in the project area returned hits such as a 24-metre intersection grading 1.33 per cent copper, 4.77 per cent lead, 1.37 per cent vanadium oxide, and 3.67 grams of silver per tonne (g/t) from three metres deep.
This intersection included a six-metre zone grading 3.67 per cent copper, 14.9 per cent lead, 4.4 per cent vanadium oxide, and 12.16g/t silver.
Golden Deeps said it hopes to extend the copper-lead-vanadium zone along strike to the northeast.
The Nosib Block project lies just 16 kilometres west of Golden Deeps’ Khusib Springs project and 20 kilometres along strike from its Abenab project.
According to Golden Deeps, copper mineralisation was first discovered in Nosib back in 1915, with mine access development work taken on at the project between 1917 and 1920. Nevertheless, some key developed areas have never been mined.
Further Namibian drilling plans
Alongside the Nosib drilling program, Golden Deeps is also planning a key drilling program at its Khusib Springs project to test for a repeat of the Khusib Springs shoot, which previously produced roughly 300,000 tonnes of ore at 10 per cent copper and 584 g/t silver in the 1990s.
Golden Deeps said this area was only mined to a depth of 300 metres and closed in 2003 with an existing decline in place.
Golden Deeps CEO Jon Dugdale said back in September finding a repeat of the Khusib Springs shoot would be a “game-changer” for the company.
Both the Nosib and the Khusib Springs prospects lie within Namibia’s Otavi Mountain Land Copper District, which Golden Deeps said was world-class and home to some major historic mines.
On top of its Namibian assets, Golden Deeps also owns two gold projects in New South Wales’ Lachlan Ford belt.
Shares in Golden Deeps closed grey at one cent each this afternoon. The company has a $7.8 million market cap.
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