Shuka Minerals (AIM:SKA), an African-focused mine operator and developer, said it has completed KBDD11, the eleventh and final drill hole of this phase at its Kabwe Zinc Mine in Zambia.
The hole was the third of three targeting a newly identified, near-surface orebody a few hundred metres south of the mine's unmined Speaks and Mine Club zones.
Portable XRF readings across mineralised intervals ranged up to 69.6% zinc, with lead grades as high as 20% and copper mineralisation also confirmed.
The drilling identified two distinct high-grade zones: 18.4 metres at 7.45% zinc from 3.3 metres depth, and 27.1 metres at 19.60% zinc from 68.9 metres, including a 6.1 metre basal zone carrying 5.07% lead.
An existing NI 43-101 report from Behre Dolbear in 2023 estimated the Speaks orebody at 1.944 million tonnes grading 12% zinc and 2% lead, with Mine Club holding a further 0.666 million tonnes at 11.7% zinc; the newly drilled body sits in addition to those resources.
Geologists likened the structure's mineralogy to the No. 2 orebody drilled in KBDD01-05, and interpreted it as a steeply dipping, pipe-like body.
"70% Zinc in situ grades are among the highest grades recorded worldwide at any orebody," said chief executive Richard Lloyd, adding the team has nicknamed the structure the "Sperm Whale" for its shape.
The pXRF results await verification through certified laboratory assays, with results from Pit 2 holes KB001 to KB005 expected shortly, ahead of a Phase 2 drilling campaign later in the year.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
Shuka Minerals completed its final Phase 1 drill hole at Kabwe and intersected a previously unknown, near-surface orebody with peak portable XRF readings of 69.6% zinc—among the highest grades recorded worldwide. The discovery extends Phase 1 drilling, and the company now holds three separate zinc resources at the site (Speaks, Mine Club, and this new body), with laboratory assay verification pending before Phase 2 drilling later in the year.
The discovery of a high-grade, near-surface orebody adjacent to unmined Speaks and Mine Club zones materially expands Kabwe's resource base and de-risks the project's grade profile, though the investment case remains contingent on laboratory confirmation of XRF results and successful Phase 2 drilling to define the new body's full extent and mineable tonnage.
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