Exploration Of The Xade Complex, Botswana

Abstract

The Xade Complex occurs in the Central Kalahari semi-desert of Botswana. It was initially identified in 1976 during the first regional aeromagnetic survey of the country (Reeves, 1978). Cover sequences comprise 200-900 m of Karoo Supergroup sediments and basalts, and overlying Kalahari Group sediments. Two boreholes were drilled as part of the follow-up Kalahari Drilling Project (Meixner and Peart, 1984), the one intersecting gabbronorite at 815 m and the other weathered basalt at 419 m, passing into dolerite. The gabbronorite has yielded an U-Pb zircon age of 1109.0±1.3 Ma (Hanson et al., 2004), which is coeval with the Umkondo Igneous Province. The Anglo American Corporation (Ambot) subsequently held exploration licenses over the Complex as part of their Kalahari Gold Project (Ambot 1998). A single Ambot borehole, drilled on a seismic line traversing the southern portion of the Complex, intersected amygdaloidal lava at 621 m, passing into dolerite and shales assigned to the Waterberg Group. More recently, Manica Minerals Ltd has held licenses over the Complex, having initially drilled a further three boreholes in partnership with Mvelaphanda Resources Ltd. Exploration of the Complex is currently being advanced in a Joint Venture with Australian company Impact Minerals Limited which has earned a majority share in the project. The current phase of exploration, still in progress, has included aeromagnetic reflying of a selected target area at a high resolution, extensive geochemical surveying using MMITM technology, trial high temperature SQUID time-domain electromagnetic profiling (HTS TDEM), and the drilling to date of a further two deep boreholes. The current target area encompasses a possible feeder (or exit) dyke system and its entry zone into the complex.