Exploration
North Africa
Suricate builds pipeline
Location: Mauritania
Resources:
Gold, copper, nickel
Suricate Minerals, a privately owned Mauritanian company, is
making steady progress in mapping its permit sites in Mauritania.
According to Ahmed Hertani, executive director at Suricate, the
company plans to accelerate its project pipeline this year. The
group’s current exploration campaign focuses on establishing a
definitive resource size for deposits containing gold and copper,
nickel, and cobalt. “We are also continuing work on our quartz
concessions, which contain high-grade quartz silica,” says Hertani.
Suricate’s primary permits are situated in Tasiast in north-west
Mauritania, about 200km from the Port of Nouadhibou. The permits
are in the mineral-rich Aouéouat greenstone belt of the Reguibat
shield. Suricate Minerals has conducted considerable geophysical and
geochemistry testing at various sites to date, with positive results verified
by German materials testing and analysis company Dorfner Anzaplan.
“Our work revolves around exploration for gold and base
metals like copper, nickel, sulphate, and cobalt, as well
as quartz concessions of high purity and quality. This is
particularly for niche applications such as the engineering-
www.africanmining.co.za
grade quartz stone, silicon metals, optical, and foundry
industries,” says Hertani.
The Mauritanian Ministry of Oil, Energy and Mines recently said
at a mining investment seminar in Nouakchott that, to create the
conditions for optimal investment in Mauritania, the government
has adopted a strategy to modernise and develop mineral resources
via an incentive-based mining code, a favourable competitive
environment, and the construction of basic infrastructure, coupled
with an emphasis on good governance. Hertani cautions that the
cyclical nature of the mining economy has hampered the speed with
which Suricate Minerals has been able to explore and develop its
project sites. However, despite these challenges, it is committed to
continuing work on its project pipeline.
“We are not just seeking any partners to assist in the
development of our projects, but partners that have a proven
track record in the mineral resources sector, such as established
mining houses, private equity firms, venture capitalists, global
engineering firms, and project developers,” says Hertani. b
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