EV1 Begins Drilling Into Chikundo's Highest-Priority Copper Targets
Evolution Energy Minerals has moved its Chikundo Copper Project from surface exploration to subsurface testing, with a 3,350-metre reverse circulation campaign now underway in southern Tanzania. The programme will first target the Malachite Pit and main Chikundo anomaly before optional holes assess three additional prospects.
- 17-hole RC programme covering approximately 3,350 metres
- Nine priority holes targeting the Malachite Pit and main copper anomaly
- Eight optional holes reserved for Chikundo West, Chikundo North and Nangurugai
- Historical narrow intersections include up to 5.27% copper
- Assay results will be reported after laboratory validation under the JORC Code
Chikundo Moves Into Subsurface Testing
Evolution Energy Minerals Limited (ASX:EV1) has begun its maiden reverse circulation drilling programme at the Chikundo Copper Project in southern Tanzania, giving the company its first direct test of whether copper indications at surface continue into the underlying rock.
The campaign comprises 17 planned holes for approximately 3,350 metres. Nine priority holes, covering about 1,800 metres, will focus on the historical Malachite Pit and the northeast-trending Chikundo copper anomaly. Eight further holes, totalling roughly 1,550 metres, remain optional and may be deployed at Chikundo West, Chikundo North and Nangurugai as geological observations emerge.
Drilling Targets Visible Copper and Geochemical Signals
EV1 is testing a target package built from more than one exploration signal. Surface mapping identified visible malachite and azurite within a gossanous, chlorite-sericite altered zone, while soil sampling outlined coincident copper and pathfinder-element anomalies supported by airborne magnetic and VTEM data.
The strongest historical soil result at Chikundo was 5,870 parts per million copper, alongside peak tellurium of 70.9 parts per million and bismuth of 82.5 parts per million. Those figures indicate a strong surface geochemical expression, but they do not establish the thickness, grade or continuity of any underlying copper deposit. That is the question the current drilling must answer.
Historical High Grades Remain Narrow
Several priority holes are intended to twin or extend historical diamond drill holes that were only selectively assayed for copper. The company cites NRD11-047, which returned 0.4 metres at 5.27% copper, and NRD11050, which returned 0.6 metres at 1.35% copper and 1.0 metres at 1.03% copper.
Those intersections are notable grades but narrow widths, and the historical selective assaying limits how much can be concluded before the new programme generates a more systematic dataset. EV1’s managing director Craig Moulton said the drilling is intended to generate the information needed to assess the scale and continuity of the Chikundo copper system.
Logging Will Determine Optional Follow-Up
Most holes are designed to reach about 200 metres at a dip of -60 degrees and an azimuth of 352 degrees, while one Nangurugai hole is planned to 150 metres at a dip of -70 degrees. Daily geological logging and portable XRF analysis will guide the programme, with the optional holes providing flexibility to follow the strongest observations.
EV1 said samples will be sent to the laboratory in batches, with assay results released only after they have been received, validated and assessed under the JORC Code. The immediate catalyst is therefore not a resource estimate or production decision, but evidence on whether the surface anomalies translate into sulphide mineralisation at depth and along strike.
Bottom Line?
The drilling start is a meaningful exploration milestone, but Chikundo remains an untested target system. The decisive evidence will be the width, continuity and grade of validated assays from the nine priority holes.
Questions in the middle?
- Will the Malachite Pit drilling confirm sulphide mineralisation beneath the weathered surface zone?
- Do the historical narrow high-grade intersections extend into wider or more continuous mineralised zones?
- Will geological observations justify deploying the eight optional holes across the broader Chikundo target portfolio?
