COUNTRY IN FOCUS •
Image by Natanaelignting on Freepik
ERITREA IN FOCUS
The small East African state of Eritrea is looking to develop its mining potential , writes Dr Nicolaas C Steenkamp .
Following years of conflict with neighbouring Ethiopia , the state of Eritrea gained its independence in 1993 , but border conflicts with Ethiopia flared up over the following years . The combination of continuous conflict and general poverty in the region has resulted in very little exploration or development of mining activities post-independence .
The state of Eritrea is bordered by Ethiopia in the south , Sudan in the west and Djibouti in the southeast , with an extensive coastline along the Red Sea and includes the Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands .
Geological setting Eritrea has an interesting geographical distribution with three distinct regions identified . The east of the highlands are the hot , arid , coastal plains stretching down to the southeast . The cooler , more fertile highlands reach up to 3 000m varying from the subtropical rainforest at Filfil Solomona to the cliffs and canyons of the southern highlands . The Afar Triangle or Danakil Depression of Eritrea is the location of a triple junction where three tectonic plates are diverging away from one another .
The country is virtually bisected by a branch of the East African Rift . The geological setting of Eritrea consists of Neoproterozoic terranes and Tertiary to Recent volcanic rocks . Marine sediments of Mesozoic to Recent age are exposed in the coastal area of the country along the Red Sea .
Eritrea is known to host significant VMS ( volcanogenic massive sulfide ), Orogenic gold and evaporites deposits . There are known occurrences of asbestos , barite , copper , feldspar , iron , kaolin , lead , marble , nickel , potash , sylvite and zinc . The bulk of the geological and mining information was compiled during the Italian rule of the region , with mainly academic studies from European universities in more recent years .
Mining activities The main mining activities , as with most of the region , have been focused on small scale and artisanal mining of gold . The Eritrean authorities have however been discouraging artisanal mining . The gold mineralisation is hosted quartz veins , associated quartz stock works and shear hosted gold deposits throughout the country , concentrated in the central highlands and southwestern lowlands .
There are two major mineralisation belts that carry potential VMS occurrences and shear hosted gold deposits . The main belt is the central and southern highlands belt , referred to as the Asmara- Nakfa belt , which includes VMS deposits of Debarwa , Adi Nifas , Midrezien and Embaderho . The second belt , known as the Augaro- Adobha belt , is the VMS mineralisation that includes Harena , Bisha , Kerkebet and Harabsuit deposits in the western lowlands .
There has been a significant uptick in the number of international companies which have engaged in exploration and the start of formal mining activities . Gold and silver are mined at the Bisha Mine . There have also been studies to determine the mineralisation potential of Chromite , Nickel and Platinum Group Element ( PGE ) mineralisation in the Bisha region .
Further investments have been made in Eritrea ' s copper , zinc and Colluli potash mining operations by mainly Australian and Chinese mining companies . The potential of Rare Earth Elements ( REE ) and Ta and Li associated with pegmatite veins in the granitic intrusions . The potential of geothermal energy is also actively being investigated . There are no current oil or gas reserves that are being considered for further exploration or development .
The production of cement from the factory in Massawa has also been able to contribute towards the domestic demand for construction projects . A range of other industrial minerals are also mined , although on a smaller scale , such as limestone , clay , marl and gypsum .
www . africanmining . co . za African Mining Publication African Mining African Mining • March 2024 • 11