Shuka Minerals Plc said on Tuesday its latest drilling at the Kabwe Zinc Mine in Zambia returned high-grade zinc intercepts, including a peak reading of 69.6% via portable XRF analysis.
The third hole in a three-hole program, KBDD11, intersected two significant zinc-bearing zones. The first interval spanned 18.4 meters from 3.3 to 21.7 meters depth, averaging 7.45% zinc with peak grades of 18.9% zinc and 0.61% copper. A second interval over 27.1 meters from 68.9 to 96.0 meters depth averaged 19.60% zinc, including a basal zone of 6.1 meters grading 5.07% lead. The highest zinc grade recorded was 69.6%, alongside a 2.7% vanadium peak.
The drilling targeted a previously untested mineralized body south of the Speaks and Mine Club zones, with the hole drilled at an 80-degree inclination and 350-degree azimuth to a total depth of 155.30 meters. Handheld XRF readings were taken at three readings per meter, though the company noted these are exploratory guides requiring certified laboratory verification.
Shuka has expanded its current drilling campaign to 2,500 meters, aiming to delineate additional resources at Kabwe. The project follows a 2023 NI 43-101 report by Behre Dolbear, which estimated 1.944 million tonnes of indicated and inferred resources in the Speaks zone grading 12% zinc and 2% lead, and 0.666 million tonnes in the Mine Club zone grading 11.7% zinc and 0.8% lead.
