Xanadu says new Zaraa discovery could cause step-up at Kharmagtai
Xanadu Mines, a copper and gold exploration company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), reported significant copper mineralization at its new discovery Zaraa at its flagship Kharmagtai mine in Umnugovi Province.
The miner has recently accelerated its exploration at its flagship mine in Kharmagtai. As a result of the ramp up in exploration efforts, the company reported in late April that 19 new large-scale targets were identified, with Zaraa being the most significant.
“We are extremely pleased with the rapid progress at the new Zaraa discovery. The early intersection of strong porphyry veining and visible copper sulphide mineralization in several drill holes confirms Zaraa is an important new discovery within the Kharmagtai district,” Xanadu’s Managing Director and CEO Andrew Stewart said in a statement on May 16.
Xanadu said that the significance of the copper-gold porphyry at the Zaraa discovery has the potential to essentially change the direction of the Kharmagtai project.
“Zaraa represents a significant copper-gold porphyry system with the potential to deliver a step-change for the project,” Stewart said.
“The current drill strategy is designed test the true scale of the Zaraa porphyry center and test for near surface expression of this potentially large system. The discovery of Zaraa reinforces the exploration potential of the rapidly-growing Kharmagtai porphyry district,” Stewart added.
The company considers Kharmagtai to be one of the most promising porphyry coppergold projects in Asia, seeing as it is within the South Gobi porphyry copper province, which hosts most of the known porphyry deposits including Oyu Tolgoi and Xanadu’s other porphyry copper-gold exploration project Oyut Ulaan.
Xanadu has made it clear that it intends to add tons and grade to its existing resources through discovery of additional high-grade deposits within Kharmagtai. The company has four active rigs currently drilling around the clock.
Of the 19 large scale targets identified in April, only eight has been reported to be tested and five have produced significant mineralization. Xanadu is likely to test the remaining targets in the coming months.