Anvil Mining ups Kinsevere high grade copper/cobalt resource 400 percent

Anvil Mining’s Kinsevere-Nambulwa copper-cobalt deposits, 27 km north of Lubumbashi, the provincial capital of the Katanga Province of the DRC are, like so much of that region, looking very promising. The Measured and Indicated mineral resource has been increased by over 400% to 865,300 t of contained copper. AMCK, a joint venture company formed by Anvil and Mining Company of Katanga (MCK), has completed an update of the copper resource inventory at the Kinsevere project. AMCK has an exclusive Contrat d’Amodiation (Lease Agreement) with Gã©camines, the title holder of the mineral properties.

The total Measured and Indicated resource is now 20.09 Mt at 4.3% Cu, with a further Inferred Resource of 20.92 Mt at 3.4% Cu. The previous mineral resource estimate, announced in November 2005, was based on the Phase 1 drill programme of some 8,000 m carried out on the Tshifufia, Tshifufiamashi and Kinsevere Hill deposits. The 2006 Phase 2 drill programme of 17,220 m, which focussed entirely on the Tshifufia deposit, resulted in the discovery of a much thicker mineralized copper zone at Tshifufia than expected.

Bill Turner, President and CEO of Anvil Mining, commented, ”The drilling results from Tshifufia have exceeded our expectations and, due to the size of the latest mineral resource estimate and the significant further potential that exists, we have decided to double the scale of the planned Stage II SX-EW plant from 30,000 to 60,000 t/y of
SX-EW copper. Given this unexpected, but positive, change in plan, the Feasibility Study on the Stage II SX-EW development will now be completed during the second quarter of 2007.”

Phase 2 drilling on the neighboring Tshifufiamashi and Kinsevere Hill deposits will be undertaken this year.

In addition to the oxide copper resource drilling at Tshifufia, six diamond holes were drilled beyond the base of weathering (about 100 m below surface) last year, to further test the underlying sulphide mineralization. The first of two deep diamond holes drilled at Tshifufia in 2005, intersected 85 m of 9.5% Cu in the oxide zone, followed immediately by 272 m of 3.2% Cu in the underlying sulphide zone. Comparable results have been reported from the Phase 2 program. An Inferred mineral resource of 15.4 Mt at 2.9% Cu has been defined from the eight holes drilled into sulphides, to date.

Subsequently, Anvil has entered into an agreement to acquire an additional 15% interest in the mining rights for the Kinsevere-Nambulwa copper-cobalt deposits. The additional interest will be acquired from MCK. Anvil’s interest in AMCK and the Kinsevere-Nambulwa Joint Venture will increase from 80% to 95% on closing of this transaction.

John Chadwick is editor of International Mining magazine ”“ www.im-mining.com. International Mining’s February issue includes a comprehensive focus on the Central African Copperbelt.