Drilling

This is the ultimate test of exploration – all of the desktop, sampling and geophysical work leads to drilling targets.  Kimberlite targets, in many cases, can only be properly tested by drilling because a few metres of overburden precludes pitting, clay horizons prevent auger samples being collected from bedrock and many other valid reasons.

When drilling kimberlites, it is sufficient in the first instance to simply collect rock chips to identify kimberlite from which indicator minerals may be recovered.   If the rock encountered is not kimberlite, geophysical measurements are made to be certain that it is the source of the magnetic anomaly but if not, a second hole may be drilled, on geophysical evidence, some metres from the first.

The choice of method is therefore easy to make – Rotary Air Blast drilling – or, if uncontaminated samples are required, Reverse Circulation Percussion drilling.  Drilling on gold or other mineralised targets may, however, require core to be recovered so that assays can be carried out on split core samples.

Savannah has employed a Dar es Salaam based drill contractor to initiate the drilling of kimberlite-based targets.  The first targets being drilled are to the east of the watershed, near Tabora (picture above).  Early results confirm an excellent “hit rate” converting geophysical anomalies to kimberlites.  A second drill, leased from Clarity Mineral Services, awaits shipment to Tanzania from Nairobi (picture below); personnel have been sourced to operate this rig and it is planned that it will begin work to the south of Tabora and west of the watershed in the very near future.  This drill has the capability to operate in percussion or core mode and will greatly assist in meeting our objective of rapid anomaly assessment.

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