| | Published : June 06th, 2007 | High-Grade Mineralisation Extended for at Least 350 Metres to the South |
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June 6, 2007
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African Copper-High-Grade Mineralisation Extended for at Least 350 Metres to
the South of Pit Limits at Dukwe - Drilling of TITAN geophysical anomalies result in an extension of known mineralisation for 350 metres to the south
- Known mineralisation at Dukwe now extends continuously over 2.4 kilometres of strike extent
- Inclined holes returned broad intersections of mineralisation up to 157 metres wide with grades similar to the main Dukwe Resource
- Vertical in-fill drill holes show continuity of mineralisation to 165 metres below surface
- 1.30% copper and 6 g/t silver over 15.5 metres from inclined drilling (close to true width)
- 1.18% copper and 6.2 g/t silver over 37.1 metres from inclined drilling
- 2.23% copper and 23.6 g/t silver over 116.5 metres from sub-vertical in-fill drilling (not true width)
- 1.38% copper and 6.5 g/t silver over 112.8 metres from sub-vertical in-fill drilling (not true width)
- Drill results will be incorporated into a new resource estimate expected to be complete by the end of June 2007.
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LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(CCNMatthews - June 6, 2007) - African Copper Plc ("African Copper" or the "Company") (TSX:ACU)(AIM:ACU)(BSE:AFRICAN COPPER) announces results from the recently completed in-fill drill evaluation at its flagship Dukwe Mining Project in northern Botswana for areas to the south of the proposed open pit (Figure 1).
The Dukwe Project is hosted within the NNE striking, steeply east dipping Bushman Shear Zone (BSZ). The lineament is a 200km long regional structure which is between 200 to 400m thick. All known resources at Dukwe currently exist within a 2 kilometre extent of the BSZ. This south-of-pit drilling disclosed in this press release (see Tables 1 and 2 below) was designed to follow-up an extensive TITAN geophysical survey completed late last year. High amplitude anomalies were detected to the south of any previous drilling. High grade mineralisation was encountered over a 350 metre strike extent to the south of any previous drilling, extending the known mineralisation at Dukwe to over 2.4 kilometres. The deposit remains open to the north, south and to depth. The deepest holes at Dukwe pierced the mineralisation at 650 metres below surface.
"The discovery of previously unknown mineralisation within the deformation zone at Dukwe was a direct result of utilizing the TITAN geophysical survey system," commented Joseph Hamilton, CEO. "This cutting-edge technology has allowed us to extend mineralisation within sight of our processing facility. We are excited by the success that has been achieved in the drill testing of the first TITAN generated target. These results clearly indicate that the mineralisation identified within the proposed pit area continues to be significant to the south of the pit. The anomalies that we have identified to the immediate north of the known mineralisation are larger, deeper and more extensive than to the south. We look forward to the future drill programmes to the north of the pit area with the objective of extending mineralisation in that direction."
All copper mineralisation within the primary sulphide zone at the Dukwe Mining Project occurs as chalcopyrite hosted by a complex assemblage of hydrothermal quartz veins and vein breccias within metamorphosed carbonate rocks. This characteristic assemblage is continuous along strike and is subject to the pinch-and-swell deformation associated with the regional BSZ. The near surface parts of this zone have been enriched in a supergene blanket, while the zones closest to surface have been oxidized with the development of copper carbonate, silicate and oxide minerals as well as native copper. This mineralized breccia package has a variable overall true width ranging from less than 10m to 80m.
Historical drilling was extremely sparse in the area to the south of the proposed pit, illustrated in Figure 1 as areas labeled Section Line 1 to Section Line 16. The drilling disclosed in this press release has determined the southern extent of oxide/supergene mineralisation. It is anticipated that results from this activity may add to the resource available within the open pit limits.
This south-of-pit drilling was part of a larger programme in which a total of 114 new holes were drilled over a strike length of 1.8 km and comprised a combined total of Diamond drill and reverse circulation drill advance of approximately 17000 meters. A full series of illustrative drill sections indicating intersections at greater than 0.25% Cu achieved during this south-of-pit drill programme may be referenced on the African Copper website www.africancopper.com. A tabulation of the intersections at greater than 0.25% Cu is included in Tables 1 and 2 for reference.
Industry standard sampling and assaying protocols consistent with previous drill evaluation at the deposit have been applied. A total of 9,353 samples excluding QA/QC samples were submitted to ALS Chemex in Johannesburg for assay including both TCu and ASCu. Upon receipt and completion of assay data from ALS Chemex, a total of 609 samples were selected and sent for umpire analysis to SGS laboratories in Johannesburg; these results are currently awaited. On receipt and verification of the umpire samples, the new assay data will be incorporated with historical data and applied in the calculation of the new National Instrument 43-101 compliant resource estimate.
Caracle Creek International Consulting have been retained by African Copper to complete a fully compliant National Instrument 43-101 resource estimate inclusive of this latest phase of evaluation drilling. It is anticipated that this work will be completed by end-June. A pit optimization incorporating the latest mining and processing parameters will be undertaken in June to finalise the optimal open pit production plan.
African Copper, PLC
African Copper is a tri-listed (AIM, TSX, Botswana Stock Exchange) international exploration and development company. African Copper is developing its first copper mine at the Dukwe Mining Project scheduled to commence production in the first quarter of 2008. The flotation concentrator at Dukwe has been designed for a 3,000 tonne-per-day throughput producing approximately 44 million pounds of copper in concentrate annually at full production. Initial production is expected to be from open pit, followed by underground mining of sulphides. Additional information with respect to Dukwe is contained in a technical report prepared by RSG Global dated December 1, 2006 entitled "Dukwe Copper Project - Database Review, Geological Modeling and Grade Estimation of the Dukwe Copper Project". A copy of this report may be obtained on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
The Company's other interests are the Matsitama Exploration Project concessions adjacent to the Dukwe Mining Project, which contain ten high priority drill-ready targets and 35 lower priority targets. Mr. Joseph Hamilton, P.Geo. and Chief Executive Officer of African Copper, is a "qualified person" as such term is defined in National Instrument 43-101. This press release has been prepared under Mr. Hamilton's supervision. Mr. Hamilton has reviewed the data disclosed in this press release for accuracy. For more information on African Copper, please visit www.africancopper.com or email info@africancoppper.com.
TABLE 1: Inclined Drill Holes
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Hole From To Width Copper Silver Section
Name (m) (m) (m) (%) (g/t)
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ERA1 227.7 243.2 15.5 1.30 6.0 S 1
------------------------------------------------------------------
ERA2 238.2 275.3 37.1 1.18 6.2 S 3
including 238.2 256.9 18.7 1.68 4.5 S 3
and 262.3 275.3 13.0 0.89 10.7 S 3
------------------------------------------------------------------
ERA5 224.0 299.8 75.8 0.37 2.6 S 8
including 224.0 235.1 11.1 1.12 2.7 S 8
and 239.7 242.8 3.1 1.11 6.8 S 8
and 293.1 299.8 6.7 0.52 4.6 S 8
------------------------------------------------------------------
ERA6 180.7 337.8 157.1 0.32 1.7 S 12
including 180.7 186.2 5.5 0.37 1.0 S 12
and 196.4 198.5 2.1 5.96 7.1 S 12
and 202.7 203.7 1.0 6.33 19.0 S 12
and 246.7 254.5 7.8 1.46 9.1 S 12
and 275.5 282.1 6.6 0.68 6.0 S 12
and 334.5 337.8 3.3 2.37 5.8 S 13
------------------------------------------------------------------
ERA7 322.1 334.3 12.2 0.55 3.3 S 16
------------------------------------------------------------------ Note to Table 1: These intersections are not true widths since all holes were drilled from east to west into the mineralized zone that dips steeply to the east. Samples of half core were cut and placed into sealed bags at the Dukwe minesite camp under the direct supervision of African Copper employees. These were transported weekly by commercial carrier to Johannesburg. All sample preparation and analyses were completed at ALS Chemex laboratories in Johannesburg (ISO 17025 accredited and independent of African Copper). Copper assays are completed using standard preparation of crushing to 70% less than 2 mm followed by splitting and pulverizing to 85% less than 75 micron. Analyses are generally completed utilizing 27 element four-acid ICP-AES in addition to a four-acid ore-grade element digestion followed by ICP-AES. Acid-soluble copper analyses were included. Any overlimit analyses are reanalyzed using an ore-grade four-acid digestion with AA or ICP-AES finish. QA/QC procedures included the submission by African Copper of systematic duplicates, blanks and both low-grade and high-grade standard samples within the sample batches submitted to ALS Chemex. Control samples comprise 20% of all samples submitted. Referee sample analyses have not yet been received or reviewed. Mr. Joseph Hamilton, P.Geo. and the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, has reviewed the results presented above for accuracy.
Table 2: Vertical In-fill drilling results
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Hole From To Width Copper Silver Section
Name (m) (m) (m) (%) (g/t)
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GP1 192.6 195.6 3.0 0.88 1.8 S 19
201.6 203.6 2.0 2.49 3.5 S 19
217.6 222.2 4.6 0.39 1.4 S 19
226.4 231.9 5.5 3.58 11.4 S 19
234.9 237.9 3.0 1.12 5.0 S 19
-----------------------------------------------------------------
GP2 130.0 159.0 29.0 1.19 2.8 S 19
196.6 213.3 16.7 1.53 130.9 S 19
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AINF30 77.6 89.5 11.9 2.44 7.3 S 13
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AINF32 87.7 100.9 13.2 2.09 5.3 S 8
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AINF35 75.0 79.5 4.5 0.47 2.7 S 11
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AINF36 85.6 93.6 8.0 4.41 16.8 S 6
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AINF37 73.0 76.0 3.0 0.36 1.7 S 13
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AINF38 49.6 68.8 19.2 0.39 2.7 S 11a
including 49.6 52.2 2.6 0.89 4.5 S 11a
and 60.6 68.8 8.2 0.54 3.1 S 11a
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AINF39 62.0 64.0 2.0 2.55 5.5 S 11
85.0 86.0 1.0 1.91 2.0 S 11
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AINF41B 43.0 53.0 10.0 0.39 1.5 S 12
71.0 91.0 20.0 1.26 2.8 S 12
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AINF42 24.3 98.5 74.2 1.07 3.6 S 12a
including 24.3 35.8 11.5 1.10 1.6 S 12a
and 43.2 52.9 9.7 0.62 1.8 S 12a
and 60.0 87.5 27.5 2.13 3.9 S 12a
and 94.8 98.5 3.7 0.34 27.5 S 12a
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AINF44 84.0 93.0 9.0 1.28 3.7 Individual
Section
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AINF45 74.5 81.5 7.0 0.69 3.6 S 16 & S15
91.1 92.1 1.0 1.16 6.0 S 16 & S15
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AINF46 34.9 37.6 2.7 0.85 1.8 S 9
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AINF46B 40.6 53.6 13.0 0.56 0.8 S 9
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AINF47 11.6 13.6 2.0 1.93 4.5 S 7
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AINF47B 41.5 166.6 125.1 1.11 4.8 S 7
including 41.5 43.8 2.3 0.83 1.3 S 7
and 49.3 75.2 25.9 2.78 8.9 S 7
and 122.2 124.8 2.6 0.66 17.5 S 7
and 128.1 155.1 27.0 1.45 5.0 S 7
and 161.5 166.6 5.1 4.58 20.5 S 7
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AINF47C 51.0 94.5 43.5 1.81 5.3 Not Shown
including 51.0 81.4 30.4 2.09 6.5 Not Shown
and 91.5 94.5 3.0 4.58 8.2 Not Shown
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AINF48 79.0 94.0 15.0 1.35 4.9 S 8
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AINF53B 43.9 58.8 14.9 3.10 4.4 S 10
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AINF54 39.6 156.1 116.5 2.23 23.6 S 5
including 39.6 51.5 11.9 2.46 9.1 S 5
and 60.7 69.7 9.0 8.34 208.4 S 5
and 78.0 106.6 28.6 4.76 11.2 S 5
and 113.5 125.0 11.5 0.59 30.5 S 5
and 130.6 135.4 4.8 0.59 1.3 S 5
and 141.2 156.1 14.9 0.38 1.0 S 5
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AINF55 41.8 154.6 112.8 1.38 6.5 S 4
including 41.8 60.7 18.9 3.45 23.8 S 4
and 81.4 86.0 4.6 0.59 1.0 S 4
and 106.5 116.6 10.1 0.67 1.5 S 4
and 125.6 154.6 29.0 2.69 6.8 S 4
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AINF56 15.9 26.6 10.7 1.38 1.0 Not Shown
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AINF56B 25.6 150.6 125.0 0.82 2.6 S 8
including 25.6 29.4 3.8 0.69 2.5 S 8
and 93.6 101.6 8.0 1.84 5.6 S 8
and 114.6 122.6 8.0 1.79 2.4 S 8
and 126.6 150.6 24.0 2.64 6.2 S 8
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AINF57 39.6 102.6 63.0 0.52 45.2 S 11
including 39.6 43.3 3.7 0.77 2.5 S 11
and 60.6 66.2 5.6 2.00 4.9 S 11
and 75.8 80.8 5.0 2.16 3.8 S 11
and 92.1 94.8 2.7 0.31 1.1 S 11
and 100.8 102.6 1.8 2.06 1501.0 S 11
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AINF58 40.8 138.6 97.8 1.31 2.3 S 12
including 40.8 50.7 9.9 0.68 4.9 S 12
and 73.5 98.7 25.2 4.01 4.1 S 12
and 104.6 105.9 1.3 1.52 1.0 S 12
and 113.8 118.0 4.2 0.95 2.3 S 12
and 127.3 130.5 3.2 1.54 2.6 S 12
and 134.6 138.6 4.0 1.31 4.3 S 12
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AINF59 57.3 73.0 15.7 0.39 2.2 S 14
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AINF6 80.6 130.8 50.2 1.66 7.1 S 18
including 80.6 110.5 29.9 2.19 10.4 S 18
and 115.6 122.6 7.0 0.76 2.0 S 18
and 127.6 130.8 3.2 3.90 5.3 S 18
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AINF60 74.6 83.9 9.3 2.29 4.6 S 17a
102.4 104.6 2.2 0.60 3.5 S 17a
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AINF61 67.0 68.3 1.3 0.39 1.0 S 17
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AINF62 28.3 35.3 7.0 0.56 2.1 S 17
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AINF63 73.2 76.2 3.0 0.62 2.0 S 17a
81.2 97.2 16.0 0.98 1.8 S 17a
----------------------------------------------------------------- Note to Table 2: These intersections are not true widths since all holes were drilled sub-vertically into the mineralized zone that dips steeply to the east. Samples of half core were cut and placed into sealed bags at the Dukwe minesite camp under the direct supervision of African Copper employees. These were transported weekly by commercial carrier to Johannesburg. All sample preparation and analyses were completed at ALS Chemex laboratories in Johannesburg (ISO 17025 accredited and independent of African Copper). Copper assays are completed using standard preparation of crushing to 70% less than 2 mm followed by splitting and pulverizing to 85% less than 75 micron. Analyses are generally completed utilizing 27 element four-acid ICP-AES in addition to a four-acid ore-grade element digestion followed by ICP-AES. Acid-soluble copper analyses were included. Any overlimit analyses are reanalyzed using an ore-grade four-acid digestion with AA or ICP-AES finish. QA/QC procedures included the submission by African Copper of systematic duplicates, blanks and both low-grade and high-grade standard samples within the sample batches submitted to ALS Chemex. Control samples comprise 20% of all samples submitted. Referee sample analyses have not yet been received or reviewed. Mr. Joseph Hamilton, P.Geo. and the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, has reviewed the results presented above for accuracy.
This press release contains or refers to forward-looking information, including statements related to future production, mineral resource estimates, potential mineralisation, potential mineral resource and mineral reserves, exploration and mine development plans, timing of the development of the Company's projects in Botswana, exploration results, and other statements which are not historical facts. When used in this press release, words such as "schedule", "could", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "believe", "intend", "may" and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that its expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements include risks related to failure to convert estimated mineral resources to reserves, the grade and recovery of ore which is mined varying from estimates, future prices of copper, capital and operating costs varying significantly from estimates, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, changes in equity markets, inflation, changes in exchange rates, delays in the development of projects, conclusions of economic evaluations, political risks arising from operating in Africa, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, and other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry. Forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, and other factors that could case actual results to differ materially from expected results. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company assumes no responsibility to update them or to revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law.
Figure 1 - Dukwe Mining Project Drill Hole Locations http://www.ccnmatthews.com/docs/acu0606_DUKWE.pdf
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CONTACT INFORMATION:
African Copper Plc Naomi Nemeth Vice President, Investor Relations (416) 214-2922 Email: Info@africancopper.com Website: www.africancopper.com
or
Numis Securities Limited (NOMAD) John Harrison / James Black +44 (0) 20 7260 1000
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INDUSTRY: Manufacturing and Production - Mining and Metals
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Data and Statistics for these countries : Botswana | All Gold and Silver Prices for these countries : Botswana | All
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African Copper Plc
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PRODUCER |
CODE : ACU.L |
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ProfileMarket IndicatorsVALUE : Projects & res.Press releasesAnnual reportRISK : Asset profileContact Cpy |
African Copper is a copper producing company based in United kingdom. African Copper develops copper and silver in Botswana, and holds various exploration projects in Botswana. Its main asset in production is MOWANA MINE in Botswana, its main asset in development is THAKADU in Botswana and its main exploration property is MATSITAMA in Botswana. African Copper is listed in Canada, in Germany, in United Kingdom and in United States of America. Its market capitalisation is GBX 44.6 millions as of today (€ 40.1 millions). Its stock quote reached its highest recent level on July 20, 2007 at GBX 97.50, and its lowest recent point on June 05, 2015 at GBX 0.03. African Copper has 1 485 110 016 shares outstanding. |
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