PROJECTS AND EXPLORATION
including 5.02 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au) over 20.0m and
5.36 g/t over 13m.
“Sadiola mine is reportedly for sale and is believed to have
exhausted its oxide feed. However, while we recognise that Diba
may be a potential source of future oxide feed for Sadiola, we also
consider it has significant standalone oxide and growth potential,”
says Poulton.
MKANGO APPOINTS ENGINEER
connect with the Kakula South ventilation decline to increase
the air flow to the underground working areas in the large-
scale mechanised Kakula mining operation, allowing for more
development and production mining crews.
The copper grades in the underground connection drift have
been steadily increasing as the development approaches Kakula’s
siltstone unit (fine-grained sedimentary rocks). The siltstone at
Kakula is instrumental in the formation of the highest copper
grades and is key to the bottom-loaded nature of copper
mineralisation in the deposit.
FORCE FORGES CONTRACTS
• Location: Malawi
• Phase: Feasibility
• Resource: Rare Earth Elements
• Location: Malawi
• Phase: Exploration
Songwe Hill in Malawi.
Rare Earths development company Mkango Resources has
appointed Senet, a DRA Global company, as lead engineer and
project manager for the completion of the Feasibility Study at the
company’s Songwe Hill project Malawi.
The Feasibility Study is funded by Mkango’s strategic partner,
Talaxis, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Noble Group Holdings.
A number of workstreams for the study are underway, including
mining studies, comminution, flotation, hydrometallurgical test
work, and studies in relation to the environmental, social and
health impact assessment.
KAKULA INTO HIGH GRADE
• Location: DRC
• Phase: Development
• Resource: Copper
Underground development at Ivanhoe’s Kakula copper mine in
the Central African Copperbelt of the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC) has reached the high-grade ore deposit.
According to Robert Friedland and Yufeng ‘Miles’ Sun, co-chairmen
of Ivanhoe, the advancement of the first connecting underground
drift, designed to tunnel through the centre of the high-grade
orebody and open up the mine’s initial mineral reserves, has
reached the edge of the high-grade ore.
Grades of about 4% copper have been returned from sampling,
and grades are expected to significantly increase as the
development crews advance the drifts toward the deposit’s
central mining zones that are in excess of 8% copper.
“This intersection marks a significant milestone in the context of
our exploration and development efforts at Kamoa-Kakula that
began more than 13 years ago,” says David Edwards, geology
manager at the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Project. “Now that you can
see and touch Kakula’s high-grade copper ore, it really hits home
that we are well underway toward building the first of multiple
high-grade copper mines in the area.”
The Kakula connection drift is being developed to rapidly gain
access to the highest grades in the centre of the deposit, and also
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African Mining Publication
Perth-based Force Commodities has pre-sold its entire high-
grade lead-silver entitlement from a mine yet to be built in
Malawi. According to Jason Brewer, MD at Force, the key project
milestones would also coincide with a start to a new onsite drill
programme at the company’s 51%-owned 1 400km² Tshimpala
base metals project in Malawi.
Force commenced activities in-country in June 2019 but hand-
held XRF assays of grab samples have returned exceptionally high-
grade silver of 2,411 g/t. The new drill programme is scheduling a
150 Reverse Circulation (RC) hole campaign for a total of 2 500m.
“This programme aims to delineate an initial JORC resource for
Tshimpala and builds on other bulk and sampling assays returning
a minimum of 60% lead and 735 g/t silver with up to +80% lead
grades in some chemical assays results,” says Brewer.
“We are currently finalising open-pit and mine development
studies for Tshimpala with negotiations well advanced with short-
listed contractors for both the mining and beneficiation contracts,”
Brewer adds.
Force has locked down a binding offtake agreement for its
entitlement with the privately-held global commodity trading
house, the Swiss-based Transmine Trading.
“Pricing under the Offtake Agreement is to be based on market
standard terms and for material transported in sealed containers
from the mine site to port,” says Brewer.
“The agreement provides for provisional payments to Force upon
delivery of material at Beira against
assays, and the balance upon
delivery.”
Mining activities at Tshimpala are
anticipated to be conventional
shallow open pit operations with
no drilling or blasting required.
Detailed operating and capital costs
are currently being finalised.
The Company has also executed
a recent agreement with
Malawian-based engineering and
construction company, Shire Civils
to acquire mobile crushing and
screening plant and equipment for
the project.
African Mining
• Resource: Lead-silver
Force’s lead-silver bulk samples
from the Tshimpala project in
Malawi.
African Mining January 2020
9