Hana Mining reveals one of Africa's largest silver and copper districts

Canadian junior, Hana Mining, reckons its Ghanzi copper/silver project in Botswana is on part of a belt which will rival Zambia's Copperbelt in size

MAUN, BOTSWANA - 

Canada's junior explorer Hana Mining CEO Mareck Kreczmer believes his company has on its hands part of one of the largest copper and silver deposits in Africa that can rival the Zambian copper belt. Speaking during a tour of the exploration site north west of Botswana near the town of Maun, he said Hana has identified rich deposits of copper and silver over an area of roughly 2,200 sq km.  Australian junior, Discovery Metals, is exploring the neighbouring Boseto deposit and has come up with a similar sized resource, and there is huge potential for the sizes of both projects to be extended as exploration continues.

The Hana area consists of five license blocks which contain "widespread sediment hosted copper silver mineralisation over a 600km cumulative strike length" said the company.

"The area is an extension of the Zambian copper belt that continues into Namibia", said Kreczmer. He added that former explorers only found small deposits of the minerals in different areas and did not connect the dots together to see the bigger picture. Previous explorers were Anglo American, Gencor (now BHP Billiton), Anglovaal, Newmont, DeBeers, US Steel Corporation and Delta Gold.

Kreczmer said that the company had released results of its first NI 43-101 resource estimate for the Ghanzi copper-silver project, which showed an inferred resource of 2.0bn lb of copper and 34.9m oz of silver from 60.4m tonnes. This resource estimate according to Hana is based on a 0.75% Cu cutoff grade and averages 1.51% Cu and 17.98 g/t Ag. Discovery's Boseto deposit is also put at 60.4 m tones grading 1.4% Cu and 19.5 g/t Ag.

Mineralization at Ghanzi is classified as a sediment-hosted copper-silver deposit similar to the Central African Copper Belt of Zambia and DRC. Kreczmer said it is akin to the Kupferschiefer, in Poland and Germany. Kuperschiefer mineralization occurs to a vertical depth of at least 700 meters and is open. Kreczmer said he is planning on having an open pit mine which will be easier to mine and less costly.

During the tour, Kreczmer and project manager, Jacques Janse Van Rensburg focused on showing the Banana zone which represents 40.7m tonnes of the total resource defined to date. They both said that this zone is the current focus of the Company's drilling efforts and development focus for 2009 and 2010.

Hana said that to date a total of 15,000metres of diamond drilling in 98 holes has been completed as well as 6,600metres in 50 holes of RC drilling. Of the 98 diamond drill holes, that have been completed, Hana said 96 have intersected copper-silver mineralisation. In addition, of the 50 RC holes completed, 43 have intersected mineralisation.

Asked about environmental issues, with the project close to the Kalahari Game Reserve, Kreczmer said there will be an environmental consultant from Denver, USA who will look into the environmental impact of the project. He will also look at what's best from a social environmental point of view so as to work with local communities and see how they can benefit with lesser damage and/or losses. The environmental consultant has previously worked for the World Bank. Kreczmer also added that he would like to work with the community and see how best to help them.

In a bid to empower the local people and transfer skills, Hana has employed three local geologists. Kreczmer told Mineweb the company is planning on employing three new geologists who will also be Botswana nationals.

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