Australia-based exploration company Sipa Resources on Tuesday announced that an “extensive” nickel exploration programme is under way at the Kitgum Pader joint venture (JV) project, in Uganda.
The Kitgum-Pader project contains two new mineral discoveries, Akelikongo nickel/copper sulphide and Pamwa lead/zinc/silver, both made by Sipa during 2014 and 2015 respectively.
Sipa stated that the intrusive-hosted nickel/copper sulphide mineralisation at Akelikongo was one of the most significant recent nickel sulphide discoveries globally, exhibiting strong similarities to major intrusive-hosted nickel ore bodies, such as Nova, Raglan and Voisey’s Bay.
The exploration programme is being managed by Sipa on behalf of its JV partner Rio Tinto, which holds a 51% stake in the project.
The programme includes regional gravity surveying, soil sampling and diamond drilling.
The ground gravity surveying has been under way since mid-August. The surveys are designed to provide three-dimensional data to determine the nature, shape and plunge of intrusions believed to be related to geochemically anomalous soils. The results will assist in defining diamond drill targets to test for further intrusions that are fertile for nickel sulphides.
An initial diamond drilling programme comprising 2 500 m of diamond drilling has already started, covering selected regional targets and potential extensions of the Akelikongo discovery. Drilling is scheduled to continue until the end of 2018 and into 2019 with work planned to coincide with the most amenable dry season field conditions.