African buzz
Montero completes lithium estimates
Canadian-listed Montero Mining and Exploration has
completed a maiden lithium and tin mineral resource estimate
for the Uis tailings project in Namibia.
The Uis lithium tin tailings project consists of large coarse sands
and fine slimes tailings deposits on surface. The tailings material
represents the waste processed material derived from the Uis
pegmatite tin mine and process plant prior to its closure in 1990.
The NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate is based on the
preliminary drilling programme of 63 air core drill holes on the
coarse and fine tailings material located on the Uis mine site.
The quantity and grade of coarse and fine material for six tailings
deposits were estimated by ordinary kriging. Two commodities
were considered in the estimation of the mineral resources:
lithium (Li 2 O) and tin (S n O 2 ). Zone A represents the largest
tailings deposit and contains coarse tailings material, while zones
B to E and zone A finds represent the fine tailings material.
10 AFRICAN MINING MARCH - APRIL 2019
Canadian-listed Montero Mining and Exploration intends to mine
historical tailings dumps at the Uis tin mine.
According to Harwood, Montero’s initial resource estimate is
reported as 14.4 million tonnes at 0.37% lithium as lithium
oxide (Li 2 O) and 17.1 million tonnes at 0.05% tin as tin oxide
(S n O 2 ). “Additional drilling, in-fill drilling, and metallurgical
test work will be required to upgrade the inferred resource
announced recently to an indicated resource. Montero will
also be evaluating early production scenarios in tandem with
upgrading the resource to meet expected lithium and tin
demand,” says Harwood. b
www.africanmining.co.za
According to Dr Tony Harwood, president and CEO of
Montero, the company will file the NI 43-101 mineral resource
estimate on SEDAR and add this estimate to the company’s
website within 45 days.