Exploration
Southern Africa
39 holes above 1%
Location: Malawi
Resource:
Rare earth elements
Thirty-nine of the drill holes intersected
significant zones of rare earths mineralisation
grading above one per cent total rare earth
oxides (TREO). The drilling programme is a
key component of the ongoing initial phases
of the feasibility study for Songwe, fully
funded following investments by Mkango’s
strategic partner Talaxis in January 2018.
According to William Dawes, CEO of
Mkango, these intersections are reported as
down-hole widths and do not necessarily
represent true thicknesses and attitude of the
mineralised zones, the estimation of which will
require further refining of the geological model.
Mkango holds interests in three exclusive
prospecting licenses in Malawi: the Phalombe
licence, the Thambani licence, and the
Chimimbe Hill licence. The main exploration
target in the 80%-held Phalombe licence is
the Songwe Hill rare earths deposit, which
features carbonatite-hosted rare earths
mineralisation and was subject to previous
exploration in the late 1980s. Mkango
completed an updated pre-feasibility study for
the project in November 2015 and a feasibility
study is currently under way, the initial phases
of which include the recently completed
10 900m drilling programme.
Results from a further 45 drill holes have
been released by Canadian exploration
company Mkango Resources. The company
recently completed a 10 900m diamond drill
programme at the Songwe Hill rare earth
elements (REE) project.
Trek Minerals’ exploration results at the Kroussou project in Gabon has been
tremendously positive.
West Africa
Outstanding recoveries at Kroussou
Location: Gabon
Resource: Lead
Initial metallurgical test work of a composite ore sample from the Dikaki
channel at ASX-listed Trek Minerals’ Kroussou project in Gabon, has
returned outstanding recoveries and concentrate grades.
According to Bradley Drabsch, managing director of Trek Minerals, the
results confirm that the project is capable of producing world-class lead
and zinc concentrates.
“We can now be confident that Dikaki will produce saleable, in fact,
desirable, zinc and lead concentrate products. These are first-pass test
results and they continue to demonstrate the clear potential of the
Kroussou project to deliver zinc and lead resources of both scale and
exceptional quality,” says Drabsch.
The results indicate that two separate products — a lead and a zinc
concentrate — can be produced from Dikaki. According to Drabsch,
the lead concentrate produced from these first-pass, non‐refined tests,
would rate as among one of the highest-grade concentrates in the world,
with individual concentrate grades up to 79% lead (Pb). The overall un‐
optimised lead concentrate graded >70% Pb with >90% recovery.
The zinc concentrate, still requiring further work to refine, produced a very
saleable product of up to 58% zinc (Zn) in the highest-grade concentrate.
The overall zinc concentrate graded 53% Zn at 65% recovery, with the
majority of the zinc losses reporting to the lead rougher concentrate.
Mkango Resources’ Songwe Hill in Malawi is likely to be a
promising prospect.
www.africanmining.co.za
Of the zinc reporting to the zinc rougher, 90% was recovered. Further
optimisation on zinc depression in the lead rougher is expected to
significantly improve the overall zinc recovery. The independent test work
was undertaken by METS Engineering in Perth, Western Australia.
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