Baobab Secures 60% Project Interest in Monte Muande
London, April 10, 2012 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Baobab Resources Plc (
LON:BAO) is an iron ore, base and precious metals explorer with a portfolio of exploration projects in Mozambique. On 15 November 2010 the Company announced the signing of a Joint Venture with North River Resources plc ('North River') in relation to North River's Monte Muande magnetite/phosphate, base and precious metal project (the 'Project') in the Tete province of Mozambique. The Company is pleased to present an update on work completed.
Commenting today, Ben James, Baobab's Managing Director, said: "it is with great pleasure that we are able to present the results of the initial drilling campaign on this exciting prospect. 69% Fe is an exceptional grade and, together with the possibility of producing a complementary high grade rock phosphate concentrate, immediately demonstrates the value of this Joint Venture in the Company's portfolio."
MONTE MUANDE DIAMOND DRILLING & RESULTS
During the latter half of 2011, Baobab completed a c.2,000m diamond drilling at Monte Muande (collar details presented below). The programme comprised 10 angled drill holes sited along a staggered traverse transecting the central portion of the deposit. Drilling intersected broad zones of shallowly dipping magnetite (an iron (Fe) mineral) and apatite (a phosphate (P2O5) mineral) mineralisation*. Please note that drill holes have not been drilled in sequence, consequently there are gaps in the hole numbering.
Analytical results from nine drill holes have been returned. Due to the disseminated nature of the apatite mineralisation, the entire length of each drill hole was sampled and analysed. The average head grade of all sampled material reported 10% Fe and 3% P2O5.
Significant intercepts of the magnetite rich zones are tabulated below. The average head grade of all Muande significant intercepts is 21% Fe with the Davis Tube Recovery (DTR) magnetic concentrate grades reporting a weighted average of 69% Fe at a mass recovery of 26% (representing a total iron yield of 87%). Deleterious elements are generally very low in the DTR concentrate with the exception of sulphur (S) and titanium (TiO2); additional test work is currently underway to determine the best magnetic strength conditions to optimise the concentrate quality.
The magnetite intercepts below generally reported an enrichment of phosphate compared to background values with an average head grade of 4% P2O5. The Phosphate was further upgraded to a calculated weighted average of 5.5% (ranging up to 8.8%) in the non-magnetic reject component of the DTR process. A bench-scale apatite recovery test work programme is being prepared to determine the potential quality and recovery rates of a phosphate rock concentrate.
* To view a location plan and cross section, please download a copy of this announcement from the Company's website at http://www.baobabresources.com/investor/aim-announcements.
MONTE MUANDE TRENCH SAMPLING
A total of 76 vertical trench samples have been collected from various locations across the Monte Muande deposit. The sampling programme was designed to test the eluvial horizon (in situ remnant soil and weathered bedrock) overlying the deposit which may represent a potential source direct shipping ore (DSO) requiring little or no beneficiation. Sizing and analysis is currently underway.
MONTE MUANDE PROJECT OVERVIEW
The Monte Muande magnetite/phosphate deposit is located 25km to the northwest of the provincial capital of Tete. The international highway to Zambia passes within 3km of the project. The deposit is hosted in a carbonatite and was explored during the 1980s by the Geological Institute of Belgrade (GIB). GIB completed two phases of vertical diamond drilling between 1983 and 1985 totalling 5,570m, 2,960m of which falls within the Joint Venture area. The institute also completed more than 10km of trenching and bench-scale metallurgical test work.
Using the GIB data sets in conjunction with more recent soil geochemistry and aeromagnetic surveys completed by Omegacorp, consultants Coffey Mining Pty Ltd calculated an Exploration Target of 200Mt to 250Mt to an average depth of c.40m below surface (as tabled below). Coffey also carried out a high level review of the GIB metallurgical data which indicated that a magnetite concentrate containing 67% Fe could be generated via a process of coarse grinding and magnetic separation, followed by regrinding and a flotation circuit to recover a phosphate rock concentrate containing 36% P2O5. Total magnetite and apatite recoveries of 92% and 70% respectively were recorded. Please refer to RNS announcement dated 21 March 2011 for additional details.
To view the complete Baobab Resouces announcement including all data, please refer to the following link below:
http://media.abnnewswire.net/media/en/docs/72232-ASX-BAO-10042012.pdf
About Baobab Resources plc
Baobab Resources plc (LON:BAO) is a Mozambican-focused explorer with a large landholding in the central north of the country. The company's flagship project is the Tete iron ore deposit.
| ||
|
