Agricola resources Ofex

EARLY STAGES........COULD BE ANOTHER AGRICOLA IN THE MAKING.

Friday, December 16, 2005
COPPER and gold focused explorer Zambezi Resources has added uranium to its extensive Zambian portfolio, identifying an anomaly about 6km in length and spanning 1.2km within its Chumbwe project area.

The anomaly was delineated from radiomatic data recovered during a high-resolution helimagnetic survey searching for further copper-gold occurrences on 610sq.km of the Chongwe copper belt.

Soil samples have been resubmitted for uranium analysis and rock specimens will undergo petrographic work to "identify the nature of any uranium-bearing minerals", according to AIM-listed Zambezi. Results from this work should be back early next year.

The anomaly confirms "radioactive and associate" elements recorded within the Zambian Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development back in the 1970s.

Managing director Julian Ford said a decision on how best to attack the anomaly would follow further assessment on its significance.

He told MiningNews.net it was in the foetal stages but was "very big" and if it materialised would form the basis of a separate uranium project.

If that were the case, Zambezi would look to farm it out to a uranium-focused company.

Earlier this month Zambezi released half-yearly results for its 49%-owned nickel spin-off, Zambezi Nickel, which is aggressively pursuing the development of its two main nickel projects ? Paulwi and Mitabi West.

Zambezi Nickel was floated onto the AIM in October and has so far completed trenching and a helimagnetic program. The trenching returned a best intercept of 42m grading 0.9% nickel, while the geophysics identified "new nickel sulphide potential".
Resources for both projects were expected in the fourth quarter of next year.

Zambezi Nickel chief executive Paul Rankine says the company will be in "an excellent position to drill test both the massive and disseminated nickel sulphide targets at Mitaba and Paulwi" once the 2005 field season data is processed.

Zambezi Resources has 10 projects within Zambia at the moment of which the Chumbwe gold project is the most advanced, where Ford hoped to have an inferred resource by early next year.

He says drilling at Chumbwe will continue for the duration of 2006 with a best-case scenario of development in 2007 and possible production in 2008.

Ford says he has been spoilt with opportunity since joining Zambezi in 2004 and the biggest problem for the company was which projects it should develop on its own and which ones should be farmed out.