The Zambian Minister of Mines has approved the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the Konkola West Copper project.
This allows a subsidiary of KoBold Metals to earn in Tertiary Minerals Zambia's exploration licence.
The KoBold subsidiary, Mwinilunga Exploration, will commence drilling on the licence later this month.
The Konkola West project spans a vast area of 72 km2 and is situated approximately 18 km to the northwest of Chingola in the heart of the Central African Copperbelt.
The project aims to explore the potential extensions of three deposits - Lubambe, Mingomba, and Konkola - which are situated east of the licence and stretch north into the Musoshi mining complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
This collection of deposits forms a continuous zone of mineralisation that spans 15 kilometres.
It holds a significant amount of over 775 million tonnes of copper, with grades ranging between 2% and 3%.
Konkola West, situated approximately 2 km southwest of the Mingomba deposit, boasts a significant historic resource estimate of nine million tonnes of contained copper.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
