- Verity locks in four prospecting licence renewals covering core Botswana projects
- Permits cover advanced high-grade copper-silver discoveries at Airstrip and Dibete
- Verity holds 2868km2 in district hosting the Selebi nickel-copper mines
Special Report: Verity Resources has gained another two years of tenure over its key copper-silver and nickel-copper-PGE projects in eastern Botswana.
Botswana’s Ministry of Minerals and Energy renewed four prospecting licences covering core landholdings along the Limpopo Mobile Belt.
The renewals have secured Verity Resources (ASX:VRL) three most advanced assets in Botswana.
These comprise the high-grade Airstrip and Dibete copper-silver discoveries and the Maibele North inferred resource of 2.4Mt at 0.72% Ni, 0.21% Cu and 0.63g/t 4PGE+Au (JORC 2012).
Historical drilling at Airstrip returned several high-grade intercepts, including 11m at 7.63% Cu and 462g/t Ag from 52m as well as 1.13m at 21.58% Cu and 1023g/t Ag from 65m.
Airstrip mineralisation remains open at depth and along strike.
About 5km away at Dibete, historical hits included 25m at 2.17% Cu and 77g/t Ag from 27m along with 6.15m at 7.20% Cu and 182g/t Ag from 24.85m.
Mineralisation at Dibete remains largely untested below 120m.
“Renewal of these four licences secures our position over the Airstrip and Dibete copper-silver discoveries and the Maibele North resource for a further two years,” said Verity director Patrick Volpe.
“This is the ground that carries our defined copper, silver, nickel, PGE and gold endowment in Botswana, and holding it on a firm footing gives us the runway to get back to uncovering the potential of the large-scale copper-silver targets.”
Prospective district
Renewal of the tenure cements Verity’s position within the same structural corridor as the Selebi and Selebi North nickel-copper-cobalt mines held by Nasdaq-listed NexMetals.
The Selebi Phikwe concentrator and smelter complex also sits about 50km away from Verity’s ground.
“The district has changed considerably since this ground was last actively drilled,” Volpe said.
“Selebi and Selebi North are being brought back into the frame by NexMetals, and the Selebi Phikwe plant and smelter remain in place.
“We hold a meaningful position in that corridor, and we intend to capitalise on it.”
Selebi and Selebi North operated until 2016, with NexMetals now progressing redevelopment studies.
In July last year it received a US$150 million letter of interest from the Export-Import Bank of the United States, underscoring renewed institutional interest in the district.
The Selebi Mines project hosts an NI 43-101 resource of 24.7Mt at 3.42% CuEq inferred and 3.0Mt at 2.92% CuEq indicated.
Verity’s portfolio extends beyond the three flagship areas at Airstrip, Dibete and Maibele North, which together represent less than 10% of its 2868km2 landholding in Botswana.
A regional VTEM dataset has identified 23 untested anomalies across the portfolio, the majority of which sit outside the three flagship prospect areas.
A first-pass soil sampling program is also continuing over a 903km2 area within another recently granted permit.
The campaign is designed to assess the tenement’s potential for copper, silver, gold and nickel mineralisation.
Results from the program will be used to prioritise targets for follow-up ground geophysics and maiden drill testing.
This article was developed in collaboration with Verity Resources, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
