Advancing a High-Grade Target with Early Production Upside
Steenbok provides Kavango with the potential for scaled mechanised underground development at Hillside. Drilling has confirmed the presence of gold-bearing shear zones beneath active workings.
Kavango’s initial scoping hole at Steenbok, SKDD001, intersected a strongly mineralised shear beneath existing stopes, with highlight intersections of:
- 2.53m @ 29.08 grams per tonne (“g/t”) Au from 97.47m, including 0.34m @ 212.07g/t Au
- 1.32m @ 1.80g/t Au from 214.46m
- Several broad zones of anomalous gold indicating multiple structures
These results were supported by a soil sampling programme outlining a 1.5km² gold-in-soil anomaly. The mineralisation appears structurally complex, with east–west and SSW–NNE trending shears cutting across greenstones and granites. The gold intersected is closely associated with structures already being worked by community gold miners at surface, as seen below:
Two High-Grade Parallel Reefs, Mined From Surface by Small-Scale Miners
Interpreted vein shears hosting gold mineralisation (dip and continuity estimated)
- Hole SKDD002:
- 1.5m @ 5.41g/t from 76m (including 0.8m @ 7.25g/t Au from 76.7m),
- 2m @ 6.36g/t Au from 81m,
- 1.25m @ 7.72g/t Au from 122.16m (including 0.4m @ 19.29g/t Au).
- Hole SKDD002B:
- 1m @ 9.28g/t Au from 9m,
- 1m @ 3.19g/t Au from 88m,
- 1.7m @ 2.44g/t from 165.3m,
- 1m @ 2.94g/t Au from 268m.
- Hole SKDD004:
- 2m @ 1.37g/t Au from 359m.
- Hole SKDD006:
- 1.92m @ 6.21g/t Au from 138.83m (including 0.5m @ 17.78g/t),
- 5.75m @ 3.42 g/t from 143.7m (including 1m @ 13.29g/t Au),
- 1m @ 2.49g/t Au from 243.4m.
- Hole SKDD007:
- 3m @ 3.03g/t from 91m (including 1m @ 7.78g/t Au),
- 1m @ 6.3g/t Au from 272.5m
Highlight gold intersections from Kavango’s Steenbok drilling to date
The pattern and grade of recent gold intercepts at Steenbok support Kavango’s interpretation of a structurally hosted vein system. This model is consistent with high-grade, shear-hosted gold deposits seen in Western Australia; reinforcing the company’s broader exploration approach in Zimbabwe.
Geological mapping and internal modelling suggest the mineralised structure at Steenbok may extend over a strike length of at least 1.5 kilometres. Kavango will now test this further through follow-up exploration and drilling, including geotechnical work to assess rock competency and inform potential future mine planning.
Meanwhile, small-scale contract mining is producing high-grade ore at Steenbok, which is trucked 13km to Kavango’s central Hillside processing facility. This provides early revenue and operational insights while exploration continues.
To support a possible scale-up, Kavango has commissioned the design and build of a 200 tonne per day modular processing plant. The plant is intended to be relocatable, allowing flexible deployment across Hillside’s multiple targets depending on results and economics.
Steenbok offers a combination high-grade mineralisation, early production, and structural upside. Kavango’s goal is for the project to provide a template for scalable development across Hillside over the coming 12 months.
