Cobre (ASX:CBE) has signed a collaboration agreement with Norwegian energy company Equinor (OSE:EQNR) to evaluate in situ copper recovery (ISCR) parameters at its Ngami Copper Project in Botswana.
Equinor will conduct test programs assessing lixiviant performance and copper recovery under dynamic flow conditions. Cobre says the results will support the development of a dynamic flow model for Ngami’s mineralisation and help Cobre refine its ISCR design.
The agreement comes as Cobre commissions the well field for a proposed ISCR demonstration plant, with initial water-injection and flow-testing programs underway.
The company plans to use initial results for hydrogeological test work before progressing to copper-silver recovery through the same well field. Community engagement for the proposed plant has also been completed as part of an ongoing environmental impact assessment.
Recent diamond drilling at the Cosmos target has intersected copper-silver mineralisation across 800m of strike, with zones grading at least 1% copper (Cu) returned in all five holes.
Results include 5.84m @ 0.5% Cu and 10.3 grams per tonne silver (Ag) from 178.16m in NCP67, including 0.79m @ 1.44% Cu and 18.6g/t Ag.
Other intersections include 5.09m @ 0.73% Cu and 17.4g/t Ag from 197.92m in NCP69, including 2.09m @ 1.40% Cu and 28.4g/t Ag.
Cosmos forms part of Ngami’s conceptual Exploration Target of 205–308 million tonnes @ 0.31–0.46% Cu and 5.5–8.3g/t Ag. The target lies 8km along strike from the Comet deposit, which hosts an indicated and inferred mineral resource estimate of 11.5Mt @ 0.52% Cu and 11.6g/t Ag.
The Exploration Target is conceptual, with insufficient work completed to estimate a mineral resource and no certainty that further exploration will result in one.
Meanwhile, follow-up drilling has begun at Cobre’s Okavango Copper Project under its partnership with Sinomine (SZSE:002738). Cobre and BHP Group (ASX:BHP) have also completed seismic data processing and initial interpretation across the Kitlanya West, Kitlanya East, and Ngami projects ahead of planned target drilling.
Write to France Pinzon at Mining.com.au
Images: Cobre
