MARKET interest in AIM-listed Zambezi Resources grew overnight, with shares jumping 25% after the company added uranium to its advanced gold and copper exploration portfolio in Zambia.
The Perth-based company surged from 11.5p to 14.5p on the back of a 6.4% uranium sample from its Oryx prospect, a 6km radiometric anomaly that will be worked during this year's field season.
The sample contained a mineral property known as Davidite, a uranium-bearing mineral with a uranium content between 5-10%. Davidite has been mined at Radium Hill in South Australia.
Zambezi has also identified several smaller uranium anomalies from the helicopter-borne radiometric survey, which covered only 10% of its 17,333sq.km tenement holding. The company has uranium rights over 100% of its ground.
Managing director Julian Ford told MiningNews.net the results indicated the potential for high-grade uranium mineralisation over a large area.
He said the extensive fieldwork and data interpretation accumulated over the past two years would aid exploration at Oryx.
The uranium interest adds a fresh aspect to Zambezi, which hopes to drill out resources at two gold projects and secure suitors for its two major copper plays by year's end. The company also holds a 49% interest in Zambezi Nickel, a spin-out of its two nickel projects.
Ford said while the primary focus was on bringing the Chakwenga gold play into production, Zambezi was committed to developing a full pipeline of projects from within its extensive holdings, starting with its second gold project at Chumbwe and its two copper projects, Chalimbana and Cheowa Neningombe.
The Chakwenga project area comprises a delineated a strike length totalling almost 6km, with additional targets being identified.
Drill availability has meant the first holes were put in only late last year with a complete set of results expected by the end of the first quarter. Trench assays have returned best results of 22m grading 2.13 grams per tonne gold and 1m grading 73.3gpt gold.
Ford said resource drilling would continue throughout this field season, with favourable results leading to a capital raising and feasibility study in 2007. He stressed that the priority project could change in that time.
Ford would not be drawn on a resource target other than to say an operation at Chakwenga would be significant.
Chumbwe is a "very large gold system with multiple shears and interpreted intrusives" over an area of about 15sq.km, of which only 10% has been tested.
The project has so far returned best RC drill results of 7m grading 5.2gpt gold, 2m grading 53gpt gold and 3m grading 1.91gpt gold.
Ford predicted Zambia was on the verge of becoming one of the next major gold producers following in the footsteps of established gold players Tanzania, Ghana and Mali, and hot on the heels of emerging gold nation, Burkina Faso.
"We're in elephant country," he said.
"These aren't small projects we're looking at here – these a large-scale operations."
Ford said the company strategy placed the focus on near-term gold production with a view to farm out its copper plays, which generally have long development periods.
He said Zambezi had held talks with several companies during the African Mining Indaba and was confident a suitable joint venture partner would be found to advance its copper projects.
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