6
MODERN MINING
May 2014
MINING News
TSX-listed Ivanhoe Mines says that early
results from the company’s underground
diamond drilling programme at the Kipushi
copper-zinc-germanium-lead and precious-
metals mine in the DRC have established
significant down-dip extensions of the
unmined high-grade Big Zinc Discovery.
Ivanhoe’s drilling has extended the Big
Zinc mineralisation to a depth of approxi-
mately 1 700 m below surface, which is an
additional 200 m deeper than the previous
lowest level of the Big Zinc Discovery’s his-
torical measured and indicated resources
as they were recorded 20 years ago, before
the Kipushi mine was placed on care and
maintenance by its former owner in 1993.
“Based on the initial indications we
have seen to date, this has been a very
encouraging start to our long anticipated
exploration of the principal, known min-
eralised assets at Kipushi,” said Robert
Friedland, Ivanhoe’s Executive Chairman.
The drilling has been designed to
confirm and update Kipushi’s estimated
historical resources and to further expand
the mineralisation on strike and at depth.
Drilling to date has been conducted
from the 1 220-m level and from a drill sta-
tion at the 1 252-m level. Three holes have
been drilled on the southern end of the Big
Zinc, testing down-plunge continuity and
extensions to the south.
Hole KPU001, drilled at -67 deg on a
bearing of 298 deg, drilled through mas-
sive sphalerite and dolomite from 46,4 m
to 399,36 m. This approximately 353-m
intersection extends to a depth below sur-
face of 1 550 m.
A second hole, KPU002, drilled on the
same azimuth as KPU001 but at an incli-
nation of -61 deg, also intersected the Big
Zinc from 32,05 m to 372,4 m (total inter-
section length of approximately 340 m) to
a depth of 1 590 m below surface.
Hole KPU003, drilled on a bearing
of 273 deg, aimed to test the southern
plunge of the Big Zinc. This hole success-
fully intersected massive sphalerite and
dolomite from 31 m to a drilled depth of
550 m down-hole, or 1 700 m below sur-
face. Importantly, the hole also intersected
significant copper mineralisation (chalco-
pyrite and bornite) from 194,4 m to 225 m
down hole and a breccia-hosted zone of
copper mineralisation (chalcopyrite) from
439 m to 461,6 m.
Ivanhoe extends Big Zinc Discovery at Kipushi
Drill testing of the Serie Recurrente
copper-mineralised zone on the northern
limb of the Kipushi mineralised system
is also ongoing. The first hole, KPU004,
drilled at an angle of -45 deg on a bear-
ing of 005 deg, successfully intersected a
copper-rich mineralised zone from 56,5 m
to 71,5 m down-hole, including zones of
massive chalcopyrite from 58,4 to 59,4 m
and from 60,0 to 62,1 m.
Two drill rigs are in operation; a third rig
has arrived at the site and will soon start
drilling. Dewatering at the mine is ongoing
and access to the important 1 272-m-level
hanging wall drift is expected shortly,
which will allow Ivanhoe to begin the drill
programme’s phase of twinning the his-
torical drilling.
“Drilling at Kipushi continues to iden-
tify thick intersections of strong sphalerite
and chalcopyrite mineralisation,” said Lars-
Eric Johansson, Ivanhoe’s CEO. “We will
continue to carry out more extensional
drilling to enable us to identify potential
high-grade material down-plunge below
the 1 500-m level. Given the close proxim-
ity of Kipushi to several copper smelters in
neighboring Zambia, the intersections of
copper-rich chalcopyrite and bornite min-
eralisation encountered in the drill holes
below the former mine workings are highly
encouraging.”
Crews have been upgrading under-
ground and surface infrastructure to
support the start of the drilling pro-
gramme since access was restored to the
mine’s principal working level at 1 150 m
below surface in December 2013.
The Kipushi mine is on the Central
African Copperbelt in southern Katanga
Province, approximately 30 km south-west
of the provincial capital of Lubumbashi
and less than one kilometre from the inter-
national border with Zambia.
The idled mine flooded in early 2011
due to a lack of pumping maintenance
One of the compact rigs conducting Ivanhoe’s underground drilling programme (photo: Ivanhoe).
