London-listed Galileo Resources has engaged a Zambian contractor to start a drill programme of about 700 m as part of the initial phase of exploration on licence 28001-HQ-LEL located in Zambia, with rig mobilisation scheduled for later this week.

The licence is located within the Western Foreland domain, the district potentially hosting Kamoa-Kakula-style copper deposits in Zambia.

The company says the licence is ideally located along strike of the Kamoa-Kakula mining complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and adjacent to a substantial exploration licence area across the border in Angola acquired by Ivanhoe Mines, which is targeting further extensions of the Western Foreland.

The company explains that it will be testing potential redox front targets, where suitable combinations of adjoining lithology have created the correct environment for copper deposition.

It notes that the decision to drill has been preceded by an extensive programme of reconnaissance and the reparation of roads and bridges to provide safe access for drilling equipment.

Collation of all necessary permits and approvals and the establishment of contacts with local chiefdoms has been facilitated by Cooperlemon Consultancy, Galileo’s partner in the project.

Galileo in September 2023 entered into a joint venture (JV) agreement with Cooperlemon Consultancy in relation to the exploration for copper at the large-scale exploration licence.

"The operational activities outlined represent the company's initial drilling and extended fieldwork at our prime licence in the Northwest region of Zambia. The licence is well situated in the Zambian Western Foreland trend, which hosts the Kamoa mine across the border in the DRC, about 100 miles northeast of our activities.

“We are pleased to have reached this juncture and look forward to the initial results, which will certainly add to our database and hopefully confirm our expectations for geological architecture supporting our prognosis,” says Galileo executive chairperson Colin Bird.