Patriot Resources has hit the ground running at its new Zambian copper licence, with initial mapping exposing geological features strikingly similar to those hosting the Central African Copperbelt's giant copper deposits.
After acquiring the ground only one week ago, the company immediately dispatched its geology team to the prospective site, located just 17km along strike from the world-class Fishtie/Kashime copper deposit, owned by global industry heavyweights First Quantum Minerals and Mimosa Resources.
Patriot says its early-stage fieldwork has already borne fruit, identifying what is interpreted as the surface expression of a stratigraphic rock unit comparable to the geology hosting the Fishtie mineralisation. Specifically, geologists mapped a siliceous siltstone unit with magnetite-ankerite-apatite banding, similar to the prospective copper hosting sequence at Fishtie/Kashime.
Adding to the intrigue, a review of data produced by a regional magnetic survey highlighted a low-magnetic shear zone, or structural jog, coincident with the newly mapped siltstones. With the structure running for an impressive 3km in length and 700m in width, Patriot now has a well-defined target window for the next stage of work.
The company also says its interpreted basin geology is considered a satellite of the revered Central African Copperbelt, a geological terrane straddling Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, host to some of the largest and highest-grade copper deposits in the world.
Patriot believes the mineralisation style it is chasing shares many similarities to what produced Ivanhoe Mines’ colossal Kamoa deposit in the DRC - a geological anomaly and the world’s third largest copper mine containing a monstrous 34 million tonnes of copper.
Patriot Resources managing director Dominic Duggan said: “Within days of announcing the acquisition of the Licence, we have mapped what we interpret to be the surface expression of the Fishtie-style mineralisation within our licence. That is a fast start on ground we acquired for a modest upfront cost, and it sets up a clear pathway to target definition and Phase 1 drilling.”
The acquisition is a timely addition to Patriot’s recent maiden drilling success at its Tonic prospect in the Mumbwa District to the south, where it has confirmed a new copper-silver-zinc-cobalt discovery starting impressively from surface.
The recent first-ever drill campaign at Tonic delivered some solid hits, including a 17m intersection grading 0.41 per cent copper from just 29m downhole, which contained a higher-grade core of 3m at a punchy 1.19 per cent copper.
Patriot's latest discovery remains an early-stage but highly encouraging prospect, with recent work significantly expanding its target.
The company says its mineralised trend now stretches 5.5km southeast from Tonic through its Block 2 into its Block 1 tenure, with all three target zones aligned along the northwest-southeast striking Mumbwa Fault Zone. It sits on the same regional structure that hosts Sinomine Resource’s more than 100-milion-tonne Kitumba copper deposit, just 18km from Tonic.
With early mapping at its new Mkushi licence already firming up drill targets that appear analogous to significant regional deposits, Patriot is rapidly assembling the pieces for a serious copper exploration drive in Zambia. For a company that only recently locked in on its copper, it seems to be finding its feet in elephant country at the perfect time for an all-time price high copper environment.
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By Andrew Todd
