NW Botswana: A Mineral Exploration Target for Tsodilo Resources Ltd.
TORONTO, ONTARIO - Tsodilo Resources Limited ("Tsodilo" or the "Company") (TSX Venture Exchange: TSD) is pleased to announce that Dr. Mike de Wit will be presenting an update on the Company's exploration projects in northwest Botswana at the 5th Annual investment seminar conducted by MineAfricaTM on December 5, 2011 in London, UK. The seminar with premier sponsors TMX Group and Haywood Securities coincides with the London Mines and Money conference, a leading event for the global mining and investment sectors.
Tsodilo through its wholly owned Botswana subsidiary, Gcwihaba Resources Limited ("Gcwihaba"), completed its reconnaissance drilling program at the end of the third quarter. During the course of this work three main mineral domains have been identified over the Gcwihaba permits. The Company has started on a detailed drilling program over these domains and purchased a second diamond drill rig to assist in this program. Both drill rigs are currently drilling high priority Phase II targets.
This first of these mineralised areas is the Xaudum Magnetite Banded Ironstone Formation ("BIF") deposit in the northern part of its prospecting licences. The presence of the layered and massive magnetite banded ironstone formation associated with the Xaudum Magnetic Anomaly in the northern part of the area has been isolated and is intimately associated with deformed diamictites resembling glacial deposits. These rocks have been identified as being part of a Rapitan-type iron formation both in terms of age and lithology, and extend over some 50km in a north-south direction and are several kilometers wide.
New geochronological dates from zircons from the interbedded diamictites that have been intersected within the magnetite BIF sequence in the northern part of the license areas were obtained. A neoproterozoic 206Pb/207 Pb weighted mean age of 743±62 Ma was obtained from detrital zircon grains. This age strongly suggests that the diamictites, which have been interpreted to be glacially in origin, are of the same age as the 'Grand Conglomerate' that exists in the Copper Belt in Zambia. The new dates confirm the previous suggestions by Tsodilo of a correlation between the mineralized Pan African rocks and basement in Ngamiland with those in the Central African Copper Belt and those in the Matchless Amphibolite Belt ("MAB').
Secondly, and just south of the Magnetite BIF deposit is the Central Shale basin which chronostratigraphically has now been identified to be equivalent to the black shales of the Zambian Copperbelt. These north-eastward trending mineralized meta-sediments are identical to the host rocks of the Kalimbila Cu-Ni-Co deposit, which is part of the Copper Belt in western Zambia and north of Ngamiland. With the new geochronological dates, the Company is presently applying it new Gocad software to develop a 3-D model of the stratigraphy in order to define drill targets. The Central Shale Basin to the north-east of the project area contains a meta-sedimentary sequence which geologically is very similar to the stratiform Cu-Co (Copper-Cobalt) province of the central African Copperbelt. Sediments are composed of black shales, meta-pelites, meta-arenites, dolomites, with interbedded evaporates. Most lithologies are mineralized with pyrite, pyrrhotite, and chalcopyrite.
And thirdly, copper and gold showings of skarn-type targets, south-east of this banded magnetite iron deposit and central to the prospecting area, are associated with meta-basic rocks (garnet-epidote-scapolite-albite amphibolite) and indicate that the mineralization model here is likely to be associated with an Iron Oxide Copper Gold ore deposit ("IOCG"). Low-titanium magnetite associated with these units supports this interpretation. The airborne geophysical data suggests that the sulphide-rich Matchless Amphibolite Belt ('MAB') traverses the Company's southern licenses and south of the shale basin. Mineralization is also associated with skarn deposits. These are related to massive magnetite, meta-basites, meta-mafic units and granofels in contact with carbonates and metasediments. Mineralization here is characterized by Cu, Ni, Ti, V, (Copper, Nickel, Titanium and Vanadium) and La (Lanthanum) and Ce (Cerium) both of which are rare earth elements (REE's). Elevated levels for Au (Gold) have also been recorded in samples. The copper and gold showings associated with meta-basic rocks (garnet-epidotescapolite-albite-amphibolite) suggest that the mineralization model of this part of Ngamiland could be associated with an Iron Oxide Copper Gold ore deposit ("IOCG").
About Tsodilo Resources Limited: Tsodilo Resources Limited is an international diamond and metals exploration company engaged in the search for economic kimberlites and metal deposits at its Newdico (Pty) Limited ("Newdico") and Gcwihaba Resources (Pty) Limited ("Gcwihaba") projects in northwest Botswana. The Company has a 97% stake in Newdico (3,949 km² under Precious Stone - diamond licenses). The Gcwihaba project area: 3,728 km² under Precious Stone - diamond licenses; 12,096 km² Metal (base, precious, platinum group, and rare earth) licenses; and, 6,925 km² under Radioactive Minerals licenses is 100% held by the Company. Tsodilo manages the exploration of both the Newdico and Gcwihaba license areas. Overall supervision of the Company's exploration program is the responsibility of Dr. Mike de Wit, President and COO of the Company and a "qualified person" as such term is defined in National Instrument 43-101. Dr. de Wit has reviewed the information contained herein and approved the contents of this Press Release.
The Company has offices in Toronto, Canada and Gaborone and Maun, Botswana. Please visit the Company's website, www.TsodiloResources.com, for additional information and background on our projects.
National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, Form 43-101F1 and Companion Policy 43-101CP requires that the following disclosure be made: All references contained herein with respect to the potential quantity and grade derived by any method is at this stage of development conceptual in nature. At the present time, there has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the target being delineated as a mineral resource.
This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future (including, without limitation, statements relating to the development of the Company's projects) are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect the current expectations or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to the Company. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on the Company. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, changes in equity markets, political developments in Botswana and surrounding countries, changes to regulations affecting the Company's activities, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, the uncertainties involved in interpreting exploration results and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration business. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein.
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. This news release may contain assumptions, estimates, and other forward-looking statements regarding future events. Such forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and are subject to factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control, which may cause actual results or performance to differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.
