Modern Mining July 2016

MINING News

ASX-listed Lucapa Diamond Company and its partners have announced the start of a drilling programme to test high-priority kimberlite targets at the Lulo diamond project in Angola. The Lulo concession cover 3 000 km 2 in Lunda Norte province and is located within 150 km of Catoca, the world’s fourth biggest diamond mine. The aim of the drilling programme is to help identify the primary kimber- lite source, or sources, of the large, high Lucapa testing kimberlite targets at Lulo value alluvial diamonds being recovered from Lulo, which include Angola’s biggest recorded diamond – a 404-carat Type IIa D-colour gem which sold for US$22,5 mil- lion in February 2016. The first kimberlite target being drilled is L259 – beneath which several large premium-value diamonds, including the 404-carat stone, have been recovered. Previous gravity and ground electro- magnetic (EM) surveys have a identified

Maiden drill programme underway by Orion Gold Orion Gold, listed on the ASX, has confirmed that the maiden drill programme at its Marydale gold project and historical Prieska copper mine zinc-copper project, both in South Africa’s Northern Cape Province, is now underway. Drilling has begun at the Marydale gold project, a virgin discovery of possible epi- thermal origin, located 60 km from the historical Prieska copper mine. Drilling will test the geological model for the miner- alisation by in-filling historical drilling at the project with oriented core drilling. Drilling is also underway at the Prieska mine zinc-copper project, focusing on near surface mineralisation at the company’s +105 Level exploration target.  a 78-108 hectare body at L259 consistent with a weathered near-surface expression of a kimberlite. The kimberlite drilling is being con- ducted using the Landcruiser-mounted Sedi drill rig purchased by the Lulo part- ners. The diamond rig can drill 61 mm diameter holes to extract core from a depth of up to 70 m. The Sedi drill rig also has auger drilling capacity. The drilling programme is scheduled to continue throughout 2016. Options being considered to expedite the programme are the addition of a second drilling rig with a deeper and wider capability. 

Drilling of the L259 kimberlite target at Lulo (photo: Lucapa).

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July 2016  MODERN MINING  11