https://roskill.com/news/lithium-avz-minerals-acquires-concessions-around-drcs-historic-manono-mine/
Lithium: AVZ Minerals acquires concessions around the DRC’s historic Manono Mine
Posted by Dimpal on February 8, 2017
Roskill view: ASX-listed AVZ Minerals will pay US$6M in staged payments to project owner Cominiere (a DRC state-owed enterprise) and US$750k to private firm Dathomir for access to part of the Manono pegmatite deposit in south-eastern DRC. AVZ will hold 60% of the deposit, Cominiere 30% and Dathomir 10%. AVZ will be responsible for funding a feasibility study, and is currently in the process of raising up to A$5M.
Since its discovery in 1912, the Manono deposit in eastern DRC has had periods of mining for tin-tantalum, with first production in 1919, but has never been mined for lithium. Congo-Étain, a DRC government tin mining company, operated the Manono mine until 1995, and estimated the Manono deposit to contain 30Mt of spodumene grading 6% Li2O (4.45Mt LCE). Although the natural ore grade was not reported AVZ reports 1.6% Li2O. The AVZ prospect reportedly has a strike of at least 13km and a potential thickness up to 250m.
AVZ joins Tantalex, which is exploring the neighbouring Bukell Lithium Project, located approximately 10km south-west of the historic Manono mine, in eyeing the DRC’s lithium potential. Despite the DRC’s turbulent current and past political environment, it is host to world-class deposits of minerals and metals, many of which have yet to be fully evaluated let alone exploited; it is, however, currently the world’s largest mine producer of cobalt.
To discuss the lithium market with Roskill, contact Robert Baylis:
[email protected]
Roskill’s Lithium: Global Industry, Markets & Outlook report was published in May 2016. Click
here to download the brochure or sample pages or access further information.
