Exploration
Exploration provides the critical 'pipeline' of projects . . .
Zambia
Zambia has been a commercial copper producing country for over 80 years achieving peak output of 720,000 tonnes per year of copper in the early 1970's, however following a steady decline during the years of nationalization of the industry, production reached a low in the early 1990's of 250,000 tonnes per year.
The resurgence of mining investment following divestiture of the former national mining company, ZCCM in the mid-1990's and the introduction of a tax regime to encourage foreign direct investment in the copper industry created a significant recovery in national copper production, exports and tax revenue.
The Zambian Copperbelt remains one of the world's great copper provinces. With limited copper exploration since the 1970's and with 40% of the country still to be geologically mapped, Zambia hosts outstanding exploration opportunity. Equinox has applied modern exploration technology and concepts to leverage its opportunity.
The Equinox team knows how to explore in Zambia, having been active in the country since 1996. The company has an extensive portfolio of exploration properties in Zambia with outstanding copper potential, on the Copperbelt and in the North Western Province, covering 3 of the 4 mineralized ‘domes' in Zambia.
Furthermore the significant number of radiometric anomalies actively being investigated offers great potential to increase the Company's current uranium resources.
Equinox will maintain an accelerated exploration effort in parallel with Lumwana development to maintain an exploration ‘pipeline' of projects.
Lumwana Exploration
The Lumwana mining license covers 1,355 km2 and is located on the Mwombezhi Dome. It is one of the most prospective areas of Zambia for largescale, copper-cobalt deposits. In late 2004, Equinox demonstrated the success of its exploration strategy with the ‘blind' discovery at Chimiwungo North, the first new discovery in the Lumwana region in over 40 years.
Modern geological tools utilized by Equinox at Lumwana include the application of high-resolution aeromagnetics and detailed induced polarization (‘IP') geophysical surveys and these were critical in Equinox's success. Equinox has coupled these modern exploration techniques with revised geological concepts in a strategy to maximize its opportunity in some of the most prospective parts of the Central African Copperbelt.
Equinox has identified numerous targets at Lumwana including:
- The Kanga Prospect, located south of the Malundwe pit at
Lumwana where mining has commenced. Subsequent to 10 reverse
circulation percussion (‘RCP') drill holes in 2006 an additional 28
RCP holes totaling 4,916m have been drilled along 2km of strike
during 2007. All RCP holes intersected the ore schist horizon with
intercepts ranging between 5 - 20 metres in width encountered at
the predicted down-hole position.
- The Malundwe deposit, the first to be mined, remains open to
the north and south, with the southern extensions now appearing to
merge with the Kanga Prospect;
- The Kababisa Prospect lies approximately 5km north of the Lumwana process plant currently under construction. Equinox undertook a timedomain IP program that identified significant, coherent, strike parallel IP anomalies extending for over 3km. Recent RCP drilling intercepted this zone of mineralization with strong similarities to the nearby Malundwe orebody. Consequently this target will be reviewed in 2008 with the intention being to extend mineralization northward to deliver a resource.
Equinox considers Chimiwungo North and the other ‘near mine' targets as showing significant potential to develop into resources which could be exploited during Lumwana mine life.
Equinox is expanding its exploration effort now that the Lumwana Mine is nearing commissioning so as to maintain an exploration ‘pipeline' of projects.
Projects Elsewhere in Zambia
Equinox holds extensive exploration permits in Zambia, around the Copperbelt, to the east around Kasanka, to the northwest surrounding the Lumwana Mining License and in the Kabompo region further to the northwest.
In the Kafue Dome of the Copperbelt the Kitwe-Mwekere properties adjoin a number of the current major Copperbelt mining operations. The most prospective targets within these tenements include the Ndola West, Ngala and Mwekere prospects. All of these are in the Lower Roan sequence which extends for approximately 90km along the border between Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (‘DRC'), between the leases surrounding the Bwana Mkubwa Mine (First Quantum Minerals) in the southeast, to the Mufulira Mine (Mopani Copper Mines) in the northwest.
This sequence also hosts a number of recent discoveries, including the Frontier and Nina prospects of First Quantum that are located within 2km on the DRC side of the border. Equinox controls most of the ground on the Zambian side of the border.
Equinox has focused its exploration efforts on the following prospects:
- The Ndola West Prospect comprises copper mineralization hosted within the Lower Roan sequence on the Copperbelt, where the mineralized stratigraphy abuts the Kafue Dome. The prospect is considered to have equivalent geology to the Mufulira deposit, some 60km along strike to the northwest, also on the northern flank of the Kafue Dome.
Previous work by Equinox intersected some substantial widths of high-grade copper mineralization. In late 2007 Equinox conducted a follow up RCP and diamond drill program to further investigate the same strike of sequence, as well as the broader stratigraphy in which that mineralization is hosted. High-grade results of note include an intersection of 14m @ 6.29% Cu from 81m which terminated in mineralization at 95m. Further diamond drilling has recently been completed at this project and results are awaited.
- At Lolwa on the Kapompo Project, uranium mineralization had
been identified during the 1980's by AGIP, but the target was not
fully tested. Equinox tested the target with completion of 2,787m
in 29 holes, 12 of which intersected uranium mineralisation between
1m and 4m (down-hole) thicknesses over several kilometers of
strike.
- At the Cheyeza prospect, 16km south of Lolwa, field mapping and soil sampling have identified ironstone and sediments with minor chalcopyrite and possibly chalcocite.
Globally
Elsewhere, Equinox has interests in Australian base metals exploration through equity interests in Liontown Resources Limited, (ASX: ‘LTR') and Alturas Minerals Corp. (TSX-V: ‘ALT') for gold and copper-gold exploration in Peru.
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