MINING News
February 2014
MODERN MINING
7
In an update on activities relating to the
Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS) at its Tete
pig iron and ferro-vanadium operation in
Mozambique, AIM-listed Baobab Resources Plc
says the 2013 drilling campaign has been suc-
cessfully completed for an aggregate total of
5 940 m (diamond and RC), bringing the total
metres drilled at the Tenge/Ruoni prospect
since 2011 to 41 175 m.
Drilling has been prioritised to convert the
upper portions of the Tenge resource block,
representing a minimum 10 years of opera-
tion, to a JORC-compliant measured category.
Preliminary analytical results were expected in
January 2014 with a revised resource estimation
to be completed by the end of Q1 2014.
Two large bulk sample trenches straddling
the Tenge mountain were excavated to an aver-
age depth of 2 m. The trenches, providing a total
of 317 m of mineralised exposure across the
deposit, were systematically channel sampled
and analysed with results reporting a weighted
average head grade of 45,5 % Fe, 18,4 % TiO
2
and 0,53 % V
2
O
5
.
Bulk samples collected from the trenches,
along with bulk coal and carbonate samples, are
being processed at the Mintek laboratories in
South Africa before despatch to pilot plant facili-
ties in the USA and Japan for reduction test work.
Un-fluxed bench scale smelting test work
carried out by CSIRO earlier last year (2013)
confirmed that a low impurity pig iron product
could be produced using Baobab’s iron ore and
local Mozambique thermal coal. Further fluxed
smelting test work is on-going and will provide
the first empirical data on the composition of
the vanadium and titanium slag by-products.
Results are expected in early 2014.
Discussions with public and private sector
entities regarding port and rail allocation are
making solid progress and are expected to be
formalised shortly by way of Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) documentation prior to
the drafting of term sheets in which access con-
ditions and tariff rates will be established.
Mining title and industrial licence applications
are being prepared for submission early in 2014.
The environmental impact assessment (EIA)
and associated resettlement plan and commu-
nity and enterprise development programme
are making good progress under the guidance
of Ms Elisa Vicente, Baobab’s newly appointed
Environment, Health and Social Manager.
“‘Baobab is pleased with the progress made
in systematically addressing prioritised areas
of perceived risk, which brings us several
steps closer to the completion of the Bankable
Feasibility Study in 2014,”comments Ben James,
Baobab’s Managing Director. “The results of
the current programmes will significantly
strengthen the company’s position going into
the next round of discussions with potential
strategic partners during the coming months.
The analytical results of the trench sampling are
encouraging and indicate a higher grade cap to
the Tenge deposit.”
Good progress on Tete project BFS
View of Tenge mountain from Ruoni North. A reverse circulation drill rig and a support vehicle can be seen on the
lower slope with the northern of two trenches straddling the mountain crest (photo: Baobab Resources).
