Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN, Stock Forum) advanced exploration efforts at Kipushi Mine located in the Democratic Republic of Congo when the company released results today from the third batch of assays from its underground diamond-drilling program at Kipushi.
According to the news release, results included the first hole, KPU040, which drilled the historical Big Zinc zone from the hanging-wall drill drift and intersected high grades of base and precious metals mineralization.
Highlights from those results included 43.0% zinc, 5.5% copper, 244 g/tonne silver, 71 g/tonne germanium and 0.1 g/tonne gold over 70 metres.
Within the same interval, the hole also intercepted an especially rich zone that produced 19.9% zinc, 21.1% copper, 1,573 g/tonne silver, 65 g/tonne germanium and 0.80 g.tonne gold over 9.7 metres.
Company Executive Chair, Robert Friedland, noted, “Now, our discovery of high-grade copper-zinc-silver mineralization with significant gold and germanium values within the Big Zinc zone confirms our hypothesis that copper zones, which also are rich in precious metals, exist within the deep, unmined portions of the Kipushi Mine. These zones now present new and compelling targets for our ongoing exploration.”
There were other intersections which showed potential to expand the southern limit of the historical Big Zinc resource which included hole KPU042 that returned 42.0% zinc, 0.5% copper, 14 g/tonne silver and 45 g/tonne germanium.
There was also 42% zinc, 0.3% copper, 10 g/tonne silver and 36 g/tonne germanium over 37.9 metres at KPU033 and 40.6% zinc, 0.4% copper, 19 g/tonne silver and 43 g/tonne germanium over 27.5 metres at KPU037.
Lars-Eric Johansson, Chief Executive Officer, added, “We are delighted by our discovery of a significant zone of high-grade copper, germanium and precious metals within the Big Zinc. We will continue drilling off the Big Zinc from the 1,272-metre hanging-wall drift to delineate and explore this remarkable mineral discovery.”
He went on to explain the value of germanium, a key component of high-efficiency solar cells, “At current spot prices of approximately $1,900 a kilogram (approximately $59 per troy ounce) for germanium and $16.50 an ounce for silver, the germanium and silver grades have the potential to significantly add to the overall metal value at Kipushi.”
Then he concluded, “The Big Zinc is sulphur rich, which also represents a potentially significant value addition given the scarcity of primary sulphur supply in the Copperbelt region, and the demand for acid in conventional in-country oxide recovery circuits.”
Ivanhoe Mines was in the news recently when the company announced the activation of the mining right for Platreef project five days ago.
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