Ben Turney, Chief Executive Officer of Kavango Resources (LON:KAV) Talking With Zak Mir

Been a while since we last spoke to Ben, the recent news was the company announcement of an agreement to acquire six new PLs.

The PLs cover ground adjacent to Kavango’s existing Karakubis Block next to the Namibian border, currently the priority focus in its KCB copper/silver exploration programme. The PLs are also adjacent to the Company’s South Ghanzi block in the KCB, giving Kavango a single, contiguous project area to explore.

Kavango is particularly keen to test the combined potential of PL049/2020, PL052/2020 (in the Karakubis Block) and PL203/2016 (within the area to be acquired and satisfaction of certain other conditions).  The Company believes these three PLs cover a single regional system that incorporates notable domed structures, which are key exploration targets in the search for large-scale copper/silver mineralisation.

Ben Turney, Chief Executive Officer of Kavango Resources, commented:

“The new licences join up our Karakubis and South Ghanzi blocks, providing us with a contiguous, highly prospective system to explore along strike from major discoveries such as Sandfire Resources’ (ASX:SFR) T3 deposit and Khoemacau Copper Mining’s Zone 5 deposit.

Figure 1: Map of Kavango’s KCB landholding

We now have uninterrupted control of the single system in this portion of the Kalahari Copper Belt (KCB). We believe today’s acquisition significantly increases our chances of making a discovery here. We will  push ahead in the KCB, by reviewing exploration data for the new licence areas and the results of our recently completed IP surveys at the Karakubis project area. Our goal is to identify high-confidence drill targets to pursue in Q1 next year.

With the completion of the Purebond financing imminent, we are in an extremely strong position to execute our ambitious plans.”

Acquisition terms

Kavango has agreed to acquire a 90% working interest in the six PLs by acquiring 90% of the issued shares of Icon Trading (Pty) Ltd (“Icon”) and Ashmead Holdings (Pty) Ltd (“Ashmead”), two subsidiary companies of GET.

Kavango shall have exclusive right to appoint directors to the board of both Icon and Ashmead.

To complete the Acquisition, Kavango will pay GET a total of AUD$2.5 million in cash in the three following instalments:

–     AUD$1.5 million on the completion of the Acquisition

–     AUD$500,000 90 days after the completion of the Acquisition

–     AUD$500,000 180 days after the completion of the Acquisition

The names of the PLs, along with their existing owner, status, and expiry date, can be found in Figure 2 below.

Figure 2: Details of the GET PLs

The agreement will complete on the receipt of necessary permissions in Botswana on or after 30 OCtober 2023 and satisfaction of certain other conditions.

Under the terms of the transaction, Kavango will assume the benefit of the outstanding intercompany loans for historic exploration onto its balance sheet. Icon and Ashmead  will retain ownership of all historic exploration data gathered by them.

Financing update

Kavango continues to finalise the circular and prospectus for the forthcoming Stage 2 financing with Purebond (announced >>> 09 May 2023 for £4.6million at 1p per share). The Company expects to publish the Circular in the coming days and call the general meeting to seek approval from independent shareholders of a waiver in accordance with Rule 9 of the Takeover Code (Whitewash) in relation to this transaction.

In the event there is a delay in completing the Stage 2 financing, Purebond has indicated to Kavango’s board its readiness to lend the Company sufficient funds to complete the Acquisition.