MINEMAKERS has announced a maiden inferred resource for an area within the Baobab Rock phosphate project in Senegal after agreeing to acquire the project late last month.
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Drilling at Minemakers' Baobab Rock project in Senegal
The resource comprises 68 million tonnes at 22% phosphorus oxide measured at an 18% cut-off for the Gadde Bissik prospect, which covers around 90 square kilometres of the wider 1553sq.km project area. The eastern section of Gadde Bissik comprises 65Mt at 22% phosphorus oxide over a 27sq.km area, and contains a small mining permit area of around 5sq.km which has an estimated inferred resource of 25Mt 23% phosphorus oxide. The western section of the prospect comprises 3Mt at 21% across a 10sq.km area. The resource mineralisation is between 2m and 12m thick and is overlain by sand at between 11m and 51m of the surface. As a result, the resource is expected to be conductive to open pit mining by free dig excavation. The application for a small mining licence was submitted in March and would allow for mining activity within the area without limitation on output volume if passed. The company said initial beneficiation testwork showed that a wet screening process would significantly upgrade the phosphate, decreasing aluminium and marginally lowering iron content. Minemakers is currently exploring the potential for cleaning iron from its final product through the use of magnetic separation if required. An additional exploration target for a 54sq.km area around Gadde Bissik east based on broad spaced drilling has been set at 45-60Mt at grades ranging from 19-22%. Minemakers managing director and chief executive Cliff Lawrenson said the maiden resource supported the decision by the company to purchase the project. “This resource result exceeds our expectations and gives us great confidence that the Baobab project has the potential to sustain long term profitable production utilising currently available logistics,” he said. “The small mine permit application lodged in March 2015 is progressing well and we expect to announce developments in relation to this permit soon. “We are also continuing to progress our metallurgical test work which continues to demonstrate that wet screening can upgrade the resource to what we expect will be a marketable rock phosphate product.” Minemakers announced its intention to acquire Baobab Mining and Chemical Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of major shareholder Agrifos Partners, on April 27 through the placement of 100 million shares and 80 million options exercisable at 25c within four years. A further 80 contingent share rights were included in the deal to be issued to Agrifos at project development milestones. Shares in Minemakers were steady at 7.3c[/table]