Si6 Metals is set to hit the ground running in Botswana as it builds on a developing program in southern Africa. Drilling is poised to kick off on the Maibele North nickel-copper project, where geophysical surveying has identified a deep electromagnetic target. The company is also seeking approval to commence drilling at the Monument gold project in WA after recently topping up the tank on the back of a successful $2 million placement.
The company’s drilling program in Botswana consists of a deep diamond hole into an untested electromagnetic target below the Maibele North resource. The program also includes reverse circulation drilling across a number of adjacent discoveries at the Airstrip and Dibete prospects where an induced polarisation survey identified a swag of new targets.
Si6 has submitted a program of works for its Monument gold project near Laverton in Western Australia, where the company is targeting gold-bearing structures along strike from Dacian Gold’s Mt Morgans operation.
Si6 Metals Executive Chairman, Patrick Holywell said:
“With our ongoing drilling program at Botswana underway and our POW approved to commence drilling at the Monument Gold Project in WA, we are thrilled that some of our existing shareholders are participating in a capital raising which will provide funding to continue and expand on these programs.”
“We find ourselves in an enviable position with key projects in two geographical regions - a fantastic project in WA that we have just been given the green light to commence drilling at early in 2021 and at the same time as our drilling is continuing in Botswana. We are witnessing continued commitment for exploration and mining in Botswana from companies including Sandfire Resources which only strengthens our belief that the country remains a highly prospective exploration jurisdiction.”
The company’s Maibele project is located on the revered Limpopo Mobile Belt in the east of Botswana. Si6’s tenure lies approximately 400km north-east of the capital of Gaborone, proximate to where the borders of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana meet.
Si6 joins a cohort of ASX-listed copper and nickel explorers in Botswana, where the likes of Sandfire Resources, Cobre and Kopore Metals are exploring extensive ground holdings across the lucrative Southern African Copper Belts.
The company’s Maibele project consists of seven leases which cover more than 1,500 square kilometres of the Limpopo Belt and Zimbabwean Craton. The project covers more than 20km of strike and is prospective for a range of different styles of mineralisation including sediment-hosted copper, orogenic gold and intrusive hosted nickel-copper-PGE mineralisation which appear similar to the Julimar and Nova-Bollinger discoveries in WA.
A sizeable, near surface nickel sulphide resource already sits within the Si6 tenure. The Maibele North discovery boasts more than 2.38 million tonnes at 0.72 per cent nickel and 0.63 g/t 5PGE. The discovery was last drilled in 2015, with drilling intersecting nickel mineralisation below the current resource and along strike from the prospect. The company’s diamond drill hole is designed to test a deep electromagnetic target along the interpreted northern plunge of the existing nickel resource.
The company is also set to undertake reverse circulation drilling at the nearby Airstrip and Dibete prospects, where previous drilling has returned an assortment of high-grade drill intercepts. Results from Airstrip include an eye-catching 8m intersection at 10.39 per cent copper and 630 g/t silver from only 52m, whilst Dibete intercepts include 38m at 1.72 per cent copper and 119.5 g/t silver. These results would seem to present a significant incentive to step up exploration across the project area which will be worth watching.
However, Si6 hasn’t limited its exploration to southern Africa having recently acquired the option to purchase the Monument Gold project west of Laverton in WA. This project sits within the venerated Laverton Tectonic Zone, where gold mining operations in the region boast a global endowment of more than 30 million ounces of gold.
Enticingly, the Monument project is also located along the same structure which hosts the 2.1-million-ounce Mt Morgans operation to the south, where early exploration has identified a wealth of prospects along the Mt Morgans structure, including the Waihi and Korong discoveries.
The Korong gold deposit offers an open pit resource of 860,000 tonnes at 1.8 g/t gold with analysis of the gold system identifying a number of steeply plunging shoots that remain untested by drilling and extend along more than 12km of strike. An evaluation of the targets suggests the host structure may contain a number of ‘Korong’ deposits which may translate into a significant upgrade in tonnage to the overall resources within the region.
Si6’s exploration program is scheduled to commence in early 2021 and will include systematic testing along strike from the Korong deposit. This testing will likely take place at depth with Si6 looking to build its resource inventory across the gold-bearing terrane.
The company’s recent placement, which banked more than $2 million and built the company’s cash position to more than $4 million, has left it well placed to jumpstart exploration in both Botswana and WA. With drilling underway at Maibele, Si6 now appears to be in the box seat and set deliver a stream of updates in early 2021. The strategy appears to have Si6 well placed to beat many of its peers to the punch as it kicks off the new year.
Is your ASX listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
