Kavango Resources plc (LSE:KAV), the Southern Africa focused metals exploration and gold production company, is pleased to present a Technical Update on the ongoing structural work on the Hillside Project (“Hillside”), Zimbabwe. The analysis and insights are provided by the Technical team in conjunction with Murgana Structural Consulting, Sofia, Bulgaria.
Overview
At the Nightshift, Bill’s Luck, and Steenbok Prospects at Hillside, within Zimbabwe’s Filabusi Greenstone Belt, gold-bearing quartz veins have been confirmed to occur within well-developed shear zones. Preliminary structural interpretations highlight the importance of understanding the broader kinematic framework of these shear zones, as it provides critical insights into the controls on mineralisation. This knowledge is expected to inform the anticipated geometry of mineralised domains, guide more effective exploration strategies, and assist with vein recognition in drill core. Furthermore, if stretching lineation influenced fluid flow during mineralisation, the associated shear zone kinematics may offer valuable predictive guidance on the plunge orientation of potential orebodies.
Ben Turney, Chief Executive Officer of Kavango Resources, commented:
“As Kavango continues to make progress helping to unlock Zimbabwe’s goldfields, we will start to release some more technical announcements, alongside our standard market releases. We will title these as “Technical Updates” and the primary audience will be exploration and mining experts.
In this first Technical Update, we have successfully completed a study that has constrained the structural controls on gold mineralisation in three key shear zones of the Filabusi Greenstone Belt. Understanding the structural controls for gold mineralisation is crucial for discovering gold mines.
At Hillside, the oblique-dominated shear zones and reactivated fabrics represent significant targeting criteria for ongoing gold exploration. We are encouraged by what we have proven and believe this will us accelerate development of our Steenbok, Nightshift and Bill’s Luck mining targets.”
Highlights
· Analysis of the results from regional traverse mapping, exploration-scale structural mapping and detailed core-logging showed that mineralisation across the Bill’s Luck, Nightshift and Steenbok Prospects associates with shear zones that have acted as fluid conduits and controlled the alteration, vein density and gold mineralisation.
· Excellent correlation between high-strain domains, intervals with higher intensities of the alteration and gold mineralisation has been confirmed in all targets.
· Meso-scale structural analysis showed the synkinematic character of the mineralised vein-system.
· Oriented rock samples were collected across the Night Shift, Bill’s Luck, and Steenbok shear zones to analyse shear-related fabric development and their relationship to gold mineralisation. Microstructural analysis combined with petrography and ore mineralogy studies is planned to provide additional details on the relationships between deformation, fluid circulation, alteration and mineralisation.
· The shear zones host auriferous quartz veins and exhibit transpressional, oblique strike-slip kinematics with a dominant dextral sense of shear at Night Shift and Bill’s Luck targets and sinistral lateral component at Steenbock, thus enhancing predictability of mineralised vein orientation.
· The oblique shearing is associated with moderately to steeply NE-plunging mineral and mineral stretching lineation at Night Shift and Bill’s Luck targets, whereas at Steenbock it is moderately to gently SW-plunging.
· Meso-scale indicators showed that the visible mineralisation is synkinematic to the shearing, occupies structurally controlled sites and shows indications for accumulations parallel to the mineral stretching lineation, the later interpretation still considered as preliminary.
· Late-stage reactivation and evidence of sub-horizontal lineation suggest multiple deformation episodes affecting the Steenbok shear zone.
· Alteration zones with pervasive sericitisation, carbonate, and sulphide staining were documented, spatially associated with milky quartz veins.
Domains of higher strain with sheared, smokey-gray, syntectonic quartz-veins are associated with the intervals that have the best assay results so far.Ongoing structural work in Zimbabwe
Recent structural and kinematic analysis across the Bill’s Luck, Night Shift, and Steenbok prospects at Hillside, within Zimbabwe’s Filabusi Greenstone Belt has provided significant insight into the controls on gold mineralisation.
The Bill’s Luck and Night Shift shear zones are interpreted as segments of the regionally extensive WNW-trending Redwing shear zone, which, along with the regional NE-trending Irisvale-Lancaster shear zone (hosting the Steenbok prospect), truncates the Filabusi and Fort Rixon greenstone belts. These shear zones are believed to have developed around 2.59 Ga during NNW-SSE contraction associated with deformation along the Northern Marginal Zone of the Limpopo Belt.
Structural analysis reveals that the Redwing Shear Zone has a pronounced dextral strike-slip kinematics. The shear zones at Bill’s Luck and Night Shift exhibit oblique-slip character with partitioned strain distributed across a network of discrete, anastomosing shear zones. Structural fabrics, including steep NNE-dipping mylonitic foliations and NE-plunging stretching lineations, support a dextral-oblique (normal) shear sense in the southern exposures near the Insiza River. This geometry is consistent with a dextral oblique-slip system that evolves along strike from dominantly strike-slip in the southeast to more oblique-slip character north-westward toward the Bill’s Luck and Night Shift prospects, although this remains to be proven.
In contrast, the Irisvale-Lancaster shear zone at Steenbok preserves a more complex deformation history, marked by three distinct phases: These episodes reflect a protracted and multiphase deformation history, which requires further mapping and analysis. The current interpretation of the gold-mineralisation event correlates with an early stage of regional-scale sinistral transpression.
Importantly, the gold-bearing quartz veins hosted in both the Redwing and Irisvale-Lancaster shear zones appear to have formed synchronously with early stages of shearing. Field observations suggest that stretching lineation played a key role in fluid flow pathways during mineralisation. Consequently, orebodies are expected to plunge parallel to lineation-steeply to moderately NE or ENE at Bill’s Luck and Night Shift, and moderately SW at Steenbok. These findings confirm the structural control on gold mineralisation in the Filabusi Greenstone Belt and provide predictive vectors for targeting mineralised shoots.
Kavango’s Operations in Zimbabwe
Kavango is exploring for gold deposits in Zimbabwe that have the potential to be developed into commercial scale production quickly through modern mechanised mining and processing. The Company is targeting both open-pit and underground opportunities.
Kavango has two projects on the Filabusi greenstone belt, Hillside and Nara.
Kavango owns 100% of the Hillside Gold Project, having exercised its option in April 2024. Here, the Company has three high priority targets it aims to bring into production over the next 18 months: Bill’s Luck, Steenbok and Nightshift. At Nightshift, Kavango is investigating the potential for a selective open-pit mining operation, followed by underground mechanised mining. Meanwhile, at Steenbok, Kavango is pursuing a high-grade mechanised underground mining opportunity. Kavango is currently analysing the latest drill data from Bill’s Luck and will provide an update shortly.
In addition, Kavango will soon acquire 100% of the Nara Gold Project, having exercised its option in June 2025. Here, the Company is exploring for a large-scale, mechanisable underground gold deposit. The primary target zone is around the historic N1 mine, where the Company is assessing the potential to expand artisanal workings both at depth and along strike.
Further information in respect of the Company and its business interests is provided on the Company’s website at www.kavangoresources.com and on Twitter at #KAV.
For further information, please contact:
Kavango Resources plc
Ben Turney
+46 7697 406 06
