Shuka Minerals (AIM:SKA), the AIM and AltX-listed African mine operator and developer, said assay results from ALS Labs have confirmed exceptionally high zinc grades at its Kabwe Zinc Mine in Zambia, with the newly discovered "Sperm Whale" target delivering the standout numbers.
The results cover holes KBDD06 to KBDD11, drilled in the Speaks and Mine Club area, following on from results announced on 23 September. Holes KBDD06 to KBDD08 tested the previously identified "Swimming Pool" area, while KBDD09 to KBDD11 targeted the untested "Sperm Whale" zone.
Maximum individual zinc grades reached 46.7% in KBDD09, 41.2% in KBDD10 and 49.7% in KBDD11, figures the company said compare favourably with earlier pXRF readings and exceeded pre-drill expectations.
KBDD09 also returned a 55.6-metre intersection grading 12.09% zinc from 63.5 metres, including a 6.7-metre section at 29.45% zinc, while KBDD11 returned 28.5 metres at 15.99% zinc from 68.3 metres, including 12 metres at 26.63% zinc.
The Swimming Pool holes were more modest but still notable: KBDD08 returned 8 metres at 3.51% zinc from 98 metres, including 3.45 metres at 8.09% zinc, while KBDD07 returned no significant intersections above the 1.5% zinc threshold.
"However, the results from the Sperm Whale target far exceeded pre-drill expectations," said chief executive Richard Lloyd, noting that mineralisation increased with depth across all three holes and that a clear footwall contact would aid future mining and ore extraction.
A 2023 NI 43-101 report by Behre Dolbear put the Speaks orebody at 1.944m tonnes of indicated and inferred resource grading 12% zinc and 2% lead, with the Mine Club orebody holding 0.666m tonnes at 11.7% zinc and 0.8% lead, plus silver and vanadium oxide credits. The company said the newly discovered Sperm Whale mineralisation, encountered at surface, would add to those existing resources.
In July, Shuka said its Phase 1 programme at Kabwe had been extended to about 2,500 metres, with a 10,000-metre Phase 2 and a JORC/NI 43-101 resource and reserve upgrade planned later in 2026; it also conditionally raised £750,000 from Zambian investment firm Menel Energy and Resources."
Lloyd reiterated the company's target of lifting the historical remaining resource by at least 50%, adding that the next drilling phase would focus on increasing pierce-point density at the No 2 orebody to upgrade resource confidence and on defining the geometry of the Sperm Whale deposit.
ALS is still analysing samples for silver, vanadium, germanium and gallium, with those results expected in due course.
