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Mozambique

Direcção Nacional de Geologia
Ministério dos Recursos Minerais
Praça 25 de Junho 380, P.O.Box 217, Maputo
Fax: +258-21-429216 

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The contribution of mining to total exports in 2010 amounted to 57.0%

Mozambique Mining News

Source: CIA Factbook



Legend
Legend and ore deposit name

Geology

Mozambique’s geology is highly diverse but essentially comprises a series of metamorphic complexes ("terranes"), primarily exposed in the northern half of the country, represented by high-grade crystalline basement and supercrustal rocks of dominantly Meso-Proterozoic age, juxtaposed during the late Neo-Proterozoic to Cambrian East African Orogeny and subsequently intruded by large volumes of granitic rocks. About two-thirds of Mozambique is covered by igneous and metamorphic rocks of Archaean to Neoproterozoic age, occurring mostly in the north and northwest, while Phanerozoic terranes are found south of the Zambezi valley and along the coastal belt in the northeast. The Archaean and Paleoproterozoic terranes are an extension of the Zimbabwe Craton and its supracrustals, but also include granitoids, gneisses and migmatites of the Barue Complex. Two main orogenies are recognized, the Irumide Belt (1800-1350 Ma) in the northwest and the ubiquitous Mozambique Belt (1100-850 Ma), with evidence of extensive migmatisation as well as various granitoids and supracrustals; together these terrains constitute about 90% of the Precambrian rocks of Mozambique. The Neoproterozoic Cycle (800-410 Ma) is marked by the formation of small platform basins, as well as the influence of the PanAfrican (Katangan) orogeny in the northwest, and by the emplacement of monzonites, syenites, granites and pegmatites. Carboniferous to upper Jurassic rifting associated with sedimentation and widespread igneous activity led to numerous intracratonic Karoo basins, followed by Post-Karoo continental deposits and volcanics, as well as Meso-Cenozoic continental and marine deposits, and a thick Pliocene to Quaternary cover.

Mining

The economic mineral potential of the country is largely untapped. Gold has been produced from the Archaean Manica Greenstone belt and various alluvial occurrences; large BIF deposits are also known in this terrain. Numerous pegmatite fields host important deposits of tantalum-niobium, rare earths, and semi-precious stones. In addition, heavy mineral sands, graphite, fluorite, apatite, bauxite, dimension stone, various clays, sands, refractory minerals, limestone, coal and natural gas form the bulk mineral endowment. The mineral industry of Mozambique plays a significant role in the world’s production of aluminium (1.5%), beryllium (4.6%), tantalum (5%) and coloured gemstones. Within Africa it is largest producer of tantalum and niobium minerals (39.4% in 2008) and is ranked the second largest for the production of primary aluminium (31%) and the minerals of beryllium (40.9%), titanium (39.4%) and zirconium (1.6%) in 2008. Important gold mining is confined to the west of the country related to shear-zoned hosted veins and formations in basement rocks reflecting geology extending through from Zimbabwe:  Artisanal gemstone production includes aquamarine, morganite, tourmaline, dumortierite and garnet.
In 2006 the mining sector accounted for just 1.6% of Mozam-bique’s GDP. In 2004, direct investment in the country’s mining and hydrocarbons sectors stood at $101-million (of which some $65-million was in mining), according to figures from the Mineral Resources Ministry. In 2005, the combined figure for mining and hydrocarbons reached $184-million, rising to $288-million in 2006, to $423-million in 2007, jumping to $804-million in 2008 (of which $304-million was in mining and $500-million in hydrocarbons) and again to nearly $1.35- billion in 2009 (of which $500-million was in mining and $848-million in hydrocarbons). In 2010, total investments in mining and hydrocarbons had reached $2.1-billion, of which roughly $800-million was in mining, and in 2011 the total figure reached $2.7-billion, of which about $1.2-billion was in mining.

Oil & Gas

Mozambique is the fifth largest producer of natural gas in Africa, accounting for 1.5% of output in 2008. Production increased by 11.6 % reflecting a continuing upward trend over the previous five years. 97% of output was exported to South Africa. Proven reserves in 2009 stood at an estimated at 127.4 billion m3. Coal production increased by 59.7 % in 2008. The Moatize coalfield has reserves of 2.4 billion tonnes which makes it one of the largest untapped coal deposits in the Southern Hemisphere. A Brazilian-led consortium expects to begin production in 2010 with an estimated output of 12 Mt/year of coking and thermal coal which may eventually reach 40 Mt/year. Mozambique produced neither crude petroleum nor refined petroleum products in 2008 relying on imports, a situation that is expected to change in a few years as ongoing active exploration starts to impact.

Maps and images

Mozambique is Africa’s second largest producer of aluminium. In 2010, the Mozal aluminum smelter produced 557,000 metric tons (Mt) of alumina imported from Western Australia, compared with 545,000 Mt of alumina in 2009. The total value of aluminum exports in 2010 was $1.16 billion, compared to $868 million in 2009. In 2010, the aluminium produced in the country accounted for 50% of the country’s total export

  • E C Meikles (Pty) Ltd of Zimbabwe mines bauxite at Monte Snuta at an estimated rate of 12 000 t per year.
Coal
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The African Development Bank (ADB) expects that in 2020 Mozambique will be Africa’s second-largest coal exporter, with annual sales of close to 110 million tons.
The coal reserves are estimated at 10 billion tons, “feeding the interest of China, India and Brazil, all anxious to secure new energy resources to drive their rapid economic growth.”

The biggest individual investment by China in Mozambique is a US$1 billion coal mining project by Wuhan Iron and Steel, which is also close to the amount that India has pledged to invest in the sector and that Brazil’s Vale has invested in mines in the provinces of Tete and Zambézia.

  • Beacon Hill Resources plc produced 96,000 t/yr of coal in Chipanga XI Mine in 2010. The company plans to open a new mine to increase its coal production to 220,000 t/yr. In addition to Minas Moatize, Beacon Hill holds a majority interest in the Changara Coal Project, an exploration project that is located within close proximity to its flagship Minas Moatize Coal Project

Moatize Mine in Tete Province was acquired by Vale S.A. of Brazil to produce 12.7 Mt/yr of coking coal and 4.9 Mt/yr of thermal coal in late 2011. 
  • Riversdale Mining Ltd. of Australia along with its partner Tata Steel Ltd. of India opened the new Benga Mine in Tete Province in 2011, which is estimated to have 502 Mt of coal reserves.
  • The Indian state-owned International Coal Ventures Ltd (ICVL) announced in November 2014 that the first shipment of coal from its concession in central Mozambique has arrived at port in Visakhapatnam in eastern India. The premium hard coking coal from the Benga mine is destined for use by the Steel Authority of India. In October 2014, ICVL acquired three concessions in Mozambique from the Anglo-Australian company Rio Tinto - its 65 per cent stake in the Benga open cast coal mine, and the Zambeze and Tete East projects, all in Tete province (the remaining stake is owned by Tata Steel). Of these, only Benga is in production, currently mining five million tonnes of coal a year. However, the company is looking at increasing production to twelve million tonnes per year. In a statement ICVL pointed out that “this shipment marks the beginning of establishing a long term and reliable source of supply”. It added, “with huge reserves now under the control of ICVL, coal output would be progressively increased for meeting current and the growing requirements of the Indian steel majors”. The company argued that “ICVL is putting in place a strong management team to make the mining operations efficient and cost effective. With transport infrastructure in Mozambique under expansion, ICVL would be well positioned to take advantage of increasing volumes from its Mozambique assets for imports to India”. ICVL is a joint venture between five Indian state owned concerns, namely the Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), Coal India Ltd, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL), NTPC Ltd and NMDC Ltd. It was set up to acquire coal assets abroad, in order to guarantee secure supplies of coking coal for the Indian steel industry. SAIL and RINL are increasing steel production and by 2015 will need 25 million tonnes per year of coking coal, most of which will be imported.
Copper
  • Baobab Resources plc is exploring the area around the Mundonguara copper-gold mine (closed since 1989), with an existing high grade inferred resource of 226,000t @ 3.9% Cu, 0.7 g/t Au and 27 g/t Ag (Non-JORC).

Diamond

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Mozambique is poorly endowed  with diamonds and only one alluvial occurrence, Mapai, 345 km north-northwest of Maputo, near the South African  border, has been documented. This comprises  a sandy  conglo­ merate  placer  of  the  Neogene  Mazamba   Formation, which   forms   a  terrace   in  the   Limpopo   Valley.   Six diamonds    were   recovered,    but   these    are   of   no commercial value. In neighbouring  South Africa, several economic Miocene diamondiferous  placer gravels  occur in the  Limpopo  Valley, which  suggest  that  there  is  a  potential for finding other  similar  placers  in the  Limpopo Valley  of Mozambique. The diamonds were most probably eroded from  kimberlites situated on the Kalahari Craton in the northern part  of South  Africa  and southern Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe  source, including palaeo­ placers of the Triassic Forest Sandstone Formation could also have supplied alluvial diamonds to possible placers in the Save and Zambezi Rivers. The latter river and its tributary, the Kafue River, could  also have tapped some of the diamondiferous kimberlites known in  Zambia.  Further   north, two alluvial placers are known to occur in the Rovuma River Valley  within Tanzania,  but the  kimberlite source remains   unknown.  Analogous   placers along the southern side of this valley may be present  in Mozambique.

Kimberlites  of probable  Cretaceous  age are present  in the northern portion of Mozambique  and are intruded  as both  pipes and dykes.  Although one pipe near Zumbo  was reported to be diamondiferous, this has never been confirmed. If Clifford's Rule is  valid,  theoretically there   should   be  no   diamondiferous  kimberlites  in Mozambique since  the  entire  country is  'off-craton'. However,  there are several diamondiferous  kimberlites in Zambia that  have been emplaced  into  Proterozoic  mobile  belts  and  this disposition  should   be  noted   when   planning future exploration programmes in Mozambique.

Gold in Mozambique

Gold Home

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Artisanal miners of Munhena, in Manica District, explain how they work and organised their mine in "The Story of Our Mine (in Portuguese)  - A historia da Nossa Mina"


Tsoza Refinaria de Ouro de Mocambique started gold production in 2010 in Manica Province, which was the country’s first gold refinery. The production capacity of the refinery is 11,000 kg/yr of gold. 

The Niassa Gold Belt, northern Mozambique–A segment of a continental-scale Pan-African gold-bearing structure?



Gold deposits in Mozambique (Source: Southern African Development Community, Mineral Resources Survey Programme No 4, 2001)


The first gold was mined in the Manica area (bordering on eastern Zimbabwe) in prehistoric times by the indigenous peoples. Known gold reserves in the country are approximately 48 t. Potential gold resources occur in alluvial deposits, as well as veins and banded iron formations, of Precambrian basement rocks. An estimated 150 kg of gold were produced as a by-product of mining at the Mundonguara Cu-Ni sulphide deposit.

Gold mineralisation
Generally, the following genetic types of gold deposits and occurrences are present in Mozambique (Tembe et al, 1998):

• Gold mineralisation in quartz and quartz-carbonate veins, occasionally with disseminated gold occurring in the greenstone host rocks, sometimes shear con¬trolled;
• Gold in quartz veins associated with Fe and Cu sulphides, occasionally with Ag and rarely with F, hosted in Precambrian metamorphic and magmatic rocks;
• Gold-bearing copper-sulphide deposits of hydrothermal type related to Archaean metavolcanics, partly controlled by shear zones;
• Gold deposits of hydrothermal-metasomatic origin related to banded iron formation, quartzite and other metasedimentary rocks;
• Gold-bearing pegmatites of Neoproterozoic to early Palaeozoic age;
• Gold-bearing placers of eluvial, colluvial and pre-dominantly alluvial type.

 Manica Province
Significant alluvial gold has been recovered from the Manica area, the largest production being from the Revue River. Gold-bearing quartz veins and banded iron formations are also reported at a number of localities. The veins are typically 1 m wide, but can be up to 3 m in width (Elevatorski, 1995). The estimated total gold reserves are about 20 t.

Stratigraphy and general geology 
Mineralisation occurs in a greenstone belt which is an extension of the Mutare Greenstone Belt of Zimbabwe.which hosts several, now dormant, gold mines within Zimbabwe. These Archaean greenstones of the Manica Group are divided into two units. The lower part is com­posed of basic/ultrabasic rocks, rhyolite and serpentinite of the Macequece Formation. The overlying M'Beza/ Vengo Formation contains predominantly metasedi­ments, banded iron formation and black shale (Tembe et al., 1998). Some deposits are also hosted in Archaean granitic gneiss near the greenstones.

Monarch Mine

Ownership in 2001: Mincor Mozambique Lda 100 per cent One of the largest banded iron-formation deposits was the Monarch Mine, located near the Zimbabwe border, which produced 3 981 kg of gold (Elevatorski, 1995). It produced during 1927-1937 and again between 1945-1949. Lonrho acquired mineral rights in the Manica area in 1986 and reopened the mine. However, Lonrho concluded that these interests did not fit the com­pany's long-term strategy. A local, privately owned company, Mincor Mozambique, took over the Monarch Mine. This underground operation produced about 10 kg of gold a month. Gold-bearing quartz and sulphides occur in ferruginous quartzite and contain magnetite, pyrrhotite, pyrite and arsenopyrite. In 1996 the proven recoverable resource was 5 660 kg and the known resource was 13 063,46 kg (Resource Information Unit, 1999). A South African company, Benicon Earthworks and Mining, is exploiting the alluvial gold reserves at a rate of 10 kg per month under contract to Lonrho.

Revue

The Revue River which drains part of the Mutare­Manica Greenstone Belt hosts the most important aurif­erous placers, which have produced at least 8,5 t of gold up to the present. The average thickness of the alluvium is 6 m. The highest grades occur in the basal gravel and in the upper 0,3 m of the fractured bedrock. Gold occurs along with scheelite, tourmaline, iron hydroxides, chromite, cassiterite, magnetite, ilmenite, rutile, sphene and zircon with relicts of chalcopyrite, pyrite and arsenopyrite also present. Gold content of the remaining placers is very low: 0,15-0,5 g/m3 (Tembe et al., 1998). Estimated reserves of gold for the Revue River valley vary between 10 t and 28,1 t. The most recent estimate is 19,2 t (Forster et al., 1996).

Dot's Luck

Zambuzi Syndicate operated Dot's Luck from 1915-1917. Between 1935 and 1950 the mine was oper­ated by Dots' Luck Mining Ltd. The mine is located about 9 km northwest of Manica. Production totalled 181 kg of gold grading 2,8 g/t, as well as 91 kg of silver (Steiner, 1992b). The banded iron formation is domi­nantly a sulphidised oxidic unit. Idiomorphic magnetite is overgrown by or replaced by pyrite, pyrrhotite and arsenopyrite. Sulphides and neogenic quartz, carbonates, chlorite, sericite and albite are enriched in fractures and brecciated zones. This deposit is estimated to contain 1 Mt of ore averaging 4 g/t Au (Elevatorski, 1995).

Braganga Mine

Ownership in 2001: Greenhope Resources Inc
Braganca, about 9 km north of Manica village, produced 508 kg of gold grading 15 g/t between 1903 and 1916 (Forster et al., 1996). The gold is contained within a 300-m-long, 1,2-m-wide, north-northwest-trending quartz vein which is hosted within a quartz diorite. Grades typically exceed 20 g/t Au over narrow widths (Greenhope Resources, 1996b). Estimated reserves are 140 000 t of ore, grading 21,7 g/t Au (Elevatorski, 1995). Silicification, chloritisation and carbonatisation are the dominant wall-rock alterations.

Dias Pereira Mine

A 60-m-wide gold-bearing zone is reported at the Dias Pereira Mine, located about 7 km north of Manica. Gold reserves are reported to be 369 kg (Forster et al., 1996). This deposit was worked between 1910 and 1916 and consists of an iron- and manganese-rich quartz breccia associated with banded iron formation. Estimated pro­duction was 100 kg of gold grading 12,4 g/t (Forster et al., 1996).

Boa Esperanga

Gold is hosted within a banded iron formation. Ore min­erals are auriferous pyrite, pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite, mag­netite, haematite, iron oxides, hornblende, carbonates, sericite and albite. Production totalled 150 kg of gold, grading 6 g/t. Reserves are estimated at 140 kg (Forster et al., 1996).

Excelsior

This mine produced 150 kg of gold, grading between 2,3 and 10,5 g/t. Gold-quartz veins occur in granite and reserves are estimated at 25 kg of gold (Forster et al., 1996). The ore minerals are free gold, auriferous pyrite, arsenopyrite and chalcopyrite, with minor pyrrhotite, galena, sphalerite, magnetite, haematite and scheelite.

Tete Province

The early gold discoveries in this area were in the upper Luenha River and its tributaries. Later, several areas of gold-quartz veins and auriferous sulfides in banded iron formation were located in the Angonia region in the north of the province.

Chifumbazi

Ownership in 2001: Trillion Resources Ltd 100 per cent
Gold occurs in quartz-carbonate veins and breccia asso­ciated with shear zones cutting hornblende gneiss and granodiorite. Host rocks exhibit silicification and argilli­sation. Ancient surface workings cover a 400-m strike length. The deposit was superficially mined in the late 1940s. The open pit is 200 m long, 30 m wide and 6 m deep. Grab samples taken from the pit range up to 6,9 g/t Au (Greenhope Resources, 1996a). Trillion Resources indicated a 50-m-wide gold anomaly extending over a strike length of 2,4 km.

 Cacabanga

Ownership in 2001: Trillion Resources Ltd 100 per cent Trillion Resources acquired this deposit in 1997. Several artisanal gold workings are being examined. The gold occurs, along with pyrite, in a 1,5-km-long and 1,5-m- wide quartz vein with a grade of 7,6 g/t down to a depth of 12 m (Steiner, 1992b).


Machinga


This deposit was worked in the 1800s and again after 1910. The mine produced 100 000 t of ore, grading at 2,8 g/t Au (Steiner, 1992b). Mineralisation consists of quartz and sulfide veins and lenses in sericitic schist in contact with granite. The mineralised zone is 2 km long and 0,4-1,2 m wide. The surface exposure is iron stained and contains eluvial gold with concentrations of up to 9,3 g/t Au. This deposit is controlled by a shear zone that can be traced for over 10 km.



Muende


 Ownership in 2001: Trillion Resources Ltd 100 per cent

Gold mineralisation is found in a sheared pyritic sericite schist. Widespread iron staining has resulted from weathering of the sulfide ores. Silicification is also com­mon. Grab samples taken from abandoned workings returned assays of up to 35,6 g/t, with average grades ranging between 0,5 and 1,0 g/t Au (Greenhope Resources, 1996a). Trillion Resources indicate a 300-m- long and up to 50-m-wide gold anomaly around the deposit.


Cansunga



Gold occurs in a 1,2-km-long, 0,5-2,0-m-wide quartz vein, approximately 10 km north of Moatize. Host rocks are gneiss and micaceous schist containing pyrite, bor­nite, malachite, azurite and cuprite. The gold content varies between 7,7 and 15,4 g/t (Steiner, 1992b).


Missale


Veins, 10-20 m wide, are reported at this mine located just south of the Zambian border. Quartz veins in schist and gneiss had average gold contents of 4,6 g/t (Elevatorski, 1995). Mineralised zones are parallel to the foliation of the host rocks. Silicification is the dominant alteration.


Mulolera


Quartz veins, up to 3 m wide, occur in xenoliths of meta­morphic rocks enclosed by granodiorites (Elevatorski, 1995). As a result of very low grades, and the patchy nature of the mineralisation, the deposit has never been considered economic.


Metosso


Gold occurs in a wide zone of mylonite and schist cut­ting granite and diorite (Elevatorski, 1995). Sericite, car­bonates and silica are the alteration products. No other information is available.


Niassa Province

Until the 1990s it was thought that there were only two significant areas where gold would be found in Mozambique, namely the Tete and Manica Provinces. However, since then a new gold-bearing area has been discovered in the Niassa Province, close to the Tanzanian border. The area forms a triangle between Lake Niassa, the Tanzanian border and Karoo rocks, and underlies an area of some 500 km2. Gold is concentrated in quartz veins hosted in metasedimentary rocks (pre­dominantly schist and quartzite) and basic magmatic rocks
The Niassa Gold Belt, in northernmost Mozambique, is hosted in the Txitonga Group, a Neoproterozoic rift sequence overlying Paleoproterozoic crust of the Congo–Tanzania Craton and deformed during the Pan-African Orogeny. The Txitonga Group is made up of greenschist-facies greywacke and schist and is characterized by bimodal, mainly mafic, magmatism. A zircon U–Pb age for a felsic volcanite dates deposition of the sequence at 714 ± 17 Ma. Gold is mined artisanally from alluvial deposits and primary chalcopyrite-pyrite-bearing quartz veins containing up to 19 ppm Au have been analyzed. In the Cagurué and M’Papa gold fields, dominantly N–S trending quartz veins, hosted in metagabbro and schist, are regarded as tension gashes related to regional strike-slip NE–SW-trending Pan-African shear zones. These gold deposits have been classified as mesozonal and metamorphic in origin. Re–Os isotopic data on sulfides suggest two periods of gold deposition for the Cagurué Gold Field. A coarse-crystalline pyrite–chalcopyrite assemblage yields an imprecise Pan-African age of 483 ± 72 Ma, dating deposition of the quartz veins. Remobilization of early-formed sulfides, particularly chalcopyrite, took place at 112 ± 14 Ma, during Lower Cretaceous Gondwana dispersal. The ∼483 Ma assemblage yields a chondritic initial 187Os/188Os ratio of 0.123 ± 0.058. This implies a juvenile source for the ore fluids, possibly involving the hosting Neoproterozoic metagabbro. The Niassa Gold Belt is situated at the eastern end of a SW–NE trending continental-scale lineament defined by the Mwembeshi Shear Zone and the southern end of a NW–SE trending lineament defined by the Rukwa Shear Zone. We offer a review of gold deposits in Zambia and Tanzania associated with these polyphase lineaments and speculate on their interrelation.
Full-size image (154 K)

Mpapa

Tanzanian diggers precipitated an artisanal gold rush just across the border, at Mpapa in the Niassa Province of Mozambique. They reportedly extracted some 3 732 kg of gold per year from this area between 1991 and 1995 (African Mining, 1996b). It was later reported that they had been expelled, and Kenmare Resources acquired large concessions in the area. The company has delin­eated a resource of some 6 220 kg of gold (Mining in Southern Africa, 1997a) at its prospect, which has an auriferous vein system with a width of 2 m and an aver­age grade of 10 g/t. Kenmare has since then secured title over two additional licences contiguous to its southern licence, and now holds a total of approximately 315 km2 (Mining in Southern Africa, 1997c). A number of com­panies have also recently acquired exploration conces­sions in the area, with several others reported to be stak­ing major land positions.
The gold is concentrated in quartz veins within schist, quartzite and basic magmatic rocks of Neo-archaean to Palaeoproterozoic age. Gold content is very irregular and varies from 0-15 g/t (Tembe et al., 1998). Alluvial, eluvial and colluvial gold-bearing placers are also abun­dant, but gold content is low (0,4-0,7 g/m3).

Sofala Province

Along the western border of the African Rift Valley, quartz-sulphide veins and Sn-Ta pegmatites occur in metamorphic rocks of the Neoproterozoic Baruê Complex. The main fields with gold-bearing veins/peg-matites are observed in the Inchope-Doeroi and Gorongosa areas. The groups of veins are controlled by fracture zones, disposed along the western border of the rift valley. Gold content varies between 0 and 10 g/t (Tembe et al., 1998).

Zambezia Province

Naculue

Several sulphide-bearing quartz veins grading at 12-15 g/t Au are hosted within quartzitic gneiss (Steiner, 1992b). Mining of this deposit commenced in 1945 and output was substantial. However, in the early '1960s mining ceased, because the operations were uneconomic. Eluvial gold was also mined from deposits underlain by sericitic schists and biotite gneisses.

Alto Ligonha

In the 1940s, gold-bearing quartz veins containing bis-muth were found in the pegmatite field of Alto Ligonha. Alluvial gold also occurs in this area.

Namirroe

Alluvial gold was produced between 1945 and 1962 from mines near the Namirroe River. No other informa¬tion is avalaible.

Nampula Province

Murrupula

This deposit is located 20 km southwest of the Murrupula District. Steeply dipping quartz veins in amphibolite schist have been mined. They are up to 5 m thick with a 1,1-km strike length (Elevatorski, 1995). Copper carbonate minerals are also reported.

Cabo Delgado Province

In this Province only placers are known. No primary gold deposits have been found, although gneissess in the area contain traces of gold.

Namuno-Napico

Reserves of alluvial gold from the Namiquio River in the Cabo Delgado Province are estimated at 300 kg (Steiner, 1992b). The gold content varies from 0,6-0,96 g/m3. The gold occurs together with scheelite and tin.

Exploration trends

Chadzuca-Zambuzi

Ownership in 2001: Greenhope Resources Inc 100 per cent Zim Gold Resources Ltd option to earn 50 per cent
The property is underlain by a large felsic volcanic sequence to the immediate south of the Monarch Mine (See 10.5.2). Three diamond-drill holes and four reverse-circulation holes were completed, yielding insignificant gold concentrations. Subsequent to this programme, a stream-sediment sampling survey was effected over the western portion of the property and yielded several gold anomalies. A detailed follow-up of these anomalies yielded visible gold in 63 of the 114 stream-sediment samples (Resource Information Unit, 1999). Airborne magnetic, radiometric and radar surveys were completed in 1998 which suggested the presence of a large granitic intrusive body. In the light of these posi¬tive results, a follow-up exploration programme was planned for 1999. In 1998 Greenhope Resources signed a joint-venture agreement with Zim Gold Resources, whereby Zim Gold could earn a 50 per cent in the property. However, work was discontinued in 1998 owing to disappointing exploration results (Resource Information Unit, 1999).

Chicamba

Ownership in 2001: Greenhope Resources Inc 100 per cent
Trillion Resources Ltd 1,5 per cent royalty Two reconnaissance licences for the exploration of pre¬cious and base metals were acquired by Greenhope Resources in joint venture with Trillion Resources in 1997. A grab sample taken during the initial reconnais¬sance from a mineralised outcrop yielded 820 g/t Au (Resource Information Unit, 1999). In July 1998 Trillion ceded its interests to Greenhope for a 1,5 per cent net smelter royalty on any production from the properties.

Moreno

Ownership in 2001: Emerging Africa Gold Inc 100 per cent Between 1991 and 1995 artisanal workers had extracted about 7 775,86 kg of gold from this area in the Niassa Province. The exploration programme of this 40-km2 concession, owned by Emerging Africa Gold Inc until June 1997, included soil geochemistry, geology, trench¬ing and drilling. No further information is avalaible.

Nampula

Ownership in 2001: Thabex Exploration Ltd 60 per cent Ali Zarin Investments 40 per cent
The bulk of the gold here is alluvial. The exploration area covered 17 000 ha and was under licence to Minas Diamonte LDA. Thabex Exploration Ltd was in the process of purchasing Minas in September 1998.

Conclusion

The potential for new discoveries of gold mineralisation is especially high in the Niassa gold area, because the geological-metallogenic conditions are favourable. The area is now recognised to be a southerly extension of the Tanzania craton. Current prospecting programmes have given promising results. South of the Manica area, inliers of greenstone occur between Tsetserra/Rotanda and Sussundenga on the Zimbabwean border, as the con¬tinuation of the Mutare Belt in Zimbabwe, and therefore present potential for new gold reserves. The Muende¬Chifumbasi area is geologically attractive because of the presence of large faulted and sheared zones, as well as quartz-vein systems at the southern end of the African rift system. Many of the important gold deposits of Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia are located adjacent to this rift system.


Geology
The regional trend of the Manica greenstone belt, on the Zimbabwean border, which hosts the known gold mineralization and only operating mine in the past, is east west. It consists of intensely metamorphosed and strongly foliated volcanic rocks, with subordinate banded ironstone, tuff and greywacke. The surrounding rocks are granite or gneiss from the Archaean basement. Structurally, the greenstone belt is complex with at least four major deformation phases identified.There are three east-west striking major shear zones which control the gold mineralization.
  • Alluvial deposits within the Revue, Inhamurra, Muza and Chimezi rivers. An estimated resource potential of these alluvial deposits amounts to 112 million m3 at an average grade of 0.25g/m3, yielding approximately 25 t of gold.
  • The Niassa province in the northwest of Mozambique has seen an increase in gold exploration and mining, in particular by artisanal workers. Gold is located within structurally controlled quartz veins located within Proterozoic greenstone belts located close to the shores of Lake Nyasa. Currently all gold production in this region comes from artisanal alluvial workings that grade at between 0.5 – 3 g/m3. It is estimated that about 12 t of gold has been produced from this region since 1990.

Bandire artisanal miners
Source: Baobab Resources plc
  • Pan African Resources plc (AIM:PAF) is developing the Manica project where an orebody with an estimated 12, 5 million t at a grade of 2,58 g/t Au or 1,038 million oz of gold, has been outlined. Pan African released a resource update in September, 2007, which increased the estimated resource at Manica 18% to 1.55 million oz from the previous 1.31 million oz. A bankable feasibility study should be completed on the Manica project by July 2008. The company has completed 17 462 m of drilling at the site and intends to drill another 15 600 m during 2008. In January, 2008, the Manica project had a gross in situ mineral resource of about 16,28-million tons at 2,96 g/t. In the meantime, the Fair Bride prospect resource at the Manica project, has increased by 20%, to 1 245-million ounces, while the Guy Fawkes prospect has emerged as a significant new potential exploration target.
  • ASX-listed Auroch Minerals, which in January 2013 raised $3-million to augment its cash of $5.3-million, is carrying out exploration drilling within the Odzi-Mutare-Manica greenstone belt in central Mozambique, on the corridor that links Beira to Zimbabwe The project, 4 km from the town of Manica, is close to power lines and roads and has access to mining-related migrant labour and semi-skilled labour that serviced neighbouring Zimbabwe and South Africa. The company has completed 7 400 m of diamond drilling and defined the project into a number of sectors, with the Guy Fawkes sector the current focus. Information received when the project was acquired from the JSE-listed Pan African Resources showed historical grades of 2 g/t to 7 g/t. The company is working on a long-term gold price of $1 200/oz and foresees a number of openpittable opportunities in the mining of near-surface gold. Two contractors are in place to bring down mining and processing costs. Of the 81 employees, 71 are Mozambicans. Auroch has spent more than $2.5-million since January, on top of $19-million spent earlier by Pan African, which remains a significant shareholder.
  • British based company Xtract Resources announced in October 2015 that it had entered into a joint venture with Mineral Technologies International to develop an alluvial gold mine in the central Mozambican province of Manica. The two companies expect to extract 32,000 ounces of gold per year. According to figures from Xtract, the operating costs will be 203 dollars per ounce and under these conditions the cost of setting up the mine will be recouped in less than six months. The life of the mine is estimated to be ten years. Xtract Resources is also developing an open pit gold mine in the same license area. This is due to begin production in 18 months, and will produce 48,000 ounces of gold per annum over the mine's ten year lifetime. Earlier in October 2015, Xtract bought the Manica gold licence from the Australian company Auroch Minerals for 10 million dollars.
  • Baobab Resources plc is exploring gold occurrences in the Manica, Bandire / Sussendenga and Furnacungo/Angoni areas. The company's principal asset is the Mundonguara copper/gold mine which last produced in the 1980s, where drilling is planned to confirm an existing high grade target and to explore for down dip and along strike extensions, lower grade haloes and to quantify the tenor of the 30 metre thick oxide cap. Other prospects within the Company's twenty one Prospecting Licences host a
    variety of commodities including copper, gold, nickel, uranium, silver, lead, zinc, iron ore and fluorite.

Graphite

  • In February 2012, the German multinational Graphit Kropfmuhl AG was selected by public tender to run the graphite mine at Ancuabe in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado. The company currently has operations in Zimbabwe, China, Sri Lanka and Germany. Graphite was mined in Ancuabe between 1992 and 1999, but operations were suspended due to the high cost of running electricity generators. However, the situation changed two years ago with the expansion of the national electricity grid. Graphit Kropfmuhl has decided to remove the old machinery from the mine and install its own equipment.The provincial director of Mineral Resources, Ramiro Nguiraze, told the daily ne wspaper "Diario de Mocambique" that the company has also found graphite deposits in the administrative post of Mazeze, in Chiure district. Samples from the discovery have been sent to China, South Africa and Japan for laboratory testing.
  • The Australian mining company Triton Gold Ltd announced in July 2012 the conclusion of the first phase of due diligence of five graphite exploration licenses in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado. A company announcement said that this due diligence took the form of a four day site visit to the licence areas by the South African based company, Geo-Consult International. "An initial report from Geo-Consult supports the view that the licences are highly prospective for graphite and further stated that, 'the permit areas are well situated in relation to an existing graphite mine and exploration projects, and constitute high quality exploration targets hosting favourable lithologies and structures'", said the Triton Gold announcement. Triton acquired the rights to the graphite projects in June from the Mozambican company, Grafex. Under this deal, Triton is to spend 1.5 million Australian dollars on development and on cash payments to Grafex. In addition, Grafex will receive fifteen million Triton shares and the right to buy, over the next three years, a further ten million shares at a cost of five Australian cents each. Triton plans to sell five million shares at ten cents to raise funds for carrying out the prospecting. Three of the Grafex licences are in Ancuabe district, adjacent to the licences held by the German multinational Graphit Kropfmuhl. Graphite was mined in Ancuabe between 1992 and 1999, but operations were suspended due to the high cost of running diesel-powered electricity generators. However, the situation changed two years ago with the expansion of the national electricity grid to Ancuabe. The other two Grafex licences cover parts of Balama district, north of the licence held by another Australian company, Syrah Resources. This week's Triton statement says that the first due diligence payment has been made to Grafex. The second phase of due diligence is now under way, and the whole process should be completed within four months. All the areas covered by the Grafex licences are within easy reach of major roads, and of the port and airport in the provincial capital, Pemba. The Geoconsult review "has verified good access to all license areas via the bitumen and gravel roads and this sound infrastructure will be very important to assist the company should the Board of Directors agree to move to the next stage and execute a joint venture with Grafex to develop the project areas", Triton added. Triton announced on 11 September 2013 the discovery of significant concentrations of graphite during drilling at its Balama North project, in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado. The company has undertaken an initial drilling programme over a three kilometre stretch and has found deposits of up to 16.2 per cent graphite. Triton Minerals announced in November 2014 that a scoping study on its Nicanda Hill resource at the Balama North graphite project, in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, justifies launching a feasibility study. According to the company, this will form the basis for the rapid development of the resource and establish Triton as a low cost, high quality graphite producer. Triton plans to commence production in 2017. The study puts the average mine gate cost of producing graphite at Nicanda Hill at 250 US dollars per tonne with an FOB (Free on Board) cost at the port of Pemba of 315 dollars per tonne. The company expects to make huge profits from the mine, with the scoping study assuming a conservative average graphite price of 985 dollars per tonne. Triton plans to run the mine for thirty years. However, it calculates that it will pay back its initial capital investment of 110 million dollars within just ten months of commissioning the mine. The company added that this calculation does not take into account the fact that Nicanda Hill contains 3.9 million tonnes of vanadium oxide, which makes it the largest known reserve of vanadium in the world. It also contains deposits of zinc and other base metals. It stated that “further and more comprehensive test work is still required to understand whether the vanadium and zinc can be further upgraded into saleable concentrate levels”.
  • Australian mining company Syrah Resources Ltd announced in July 2012 conclusion of 15 drill holes in the western region of the Balama project in northern Mozambique, and has found graphite in all but one. The company also said that the results would be announced in the next two weeks and that South Africa’s MSA Group would make an initial calculation of the amount of graphite available at the concession. After the drilling Syrah Resources plans to start prospecting in the western region of the Balama project, near mount Coronge, where high quality graphite has been found at the surface. Thirteen holes will be drilled in that region t a depth of between 250 and 320 metres and another RC rig is expected to arrive in the next few weeks to start prospecting in other areas of the concession. Syrah Resources is an Australian company with a diverse portfolio of mining projects in southeast Africa, particularly in Mozambique, at the Balama project, as well as a heavy sands project in Nachingwea, Tanzania. 

Nickel

  • Zambezi Nickel Ltd is exploring the Mavita Project comprising two prospecting licences, LPP 1045 and LPP 1046, located in the Manica province of central western Mozambique. The geological setting of the Mavita Project area places it within the eastward extension of the Archaean Zimbabwean Craton and includes several areas of significant aeromagnetic and stream sediment geochemical nickel anomalies, coincident with mapped ultramafic lithologies. None of these anomalies have been drill tested to date.
Oil and Natural Gas
Proven reserves
Oil: 0
Gas: 4.5Tcf
The national oil company is Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH)

The Key players are
Anadarko
Inpex
PTTEP
Bharat Petroleum
Kogas
Statoil
CNPC
Maurel & Prom
Total
Energi Mega Persada
Mitsui
Tullow Oil
ENH
Oil India Ltd
Videocon
Eni
ONGC Videsh Ltd
Wentworth Resources
Galp Energia
Petronas
Sasol

Highlights in 2014
• Africa’s new giant in natural gas.
• Domestic revenue from coal and gas will grow gradually, only exceeding current aid flows of USD1.2 billion in a decade’s time (IMF 2013).
• If gas reserves are commercially proven, the cumulative gas reserves could rank Mozambique fourth in the world, behind the three giants, Russia, Iran and Qatar.

Recent developments
• General elections are scheduled to take place on 15 October 2014.
• In May 2014, Eni successfullyappraised the Agulha discovery, estimated at approximately 85Tcf of gas, in the Area 4 offshore block.
• The start-up date for LNG exports from Mozambique remains ambiguous, and many industry players say that uncertain regulations are to blame.
• Eni is expected to invite bidders for the front-end engineering design (FEED) of a floating LNG vessel to be moored at Area 4 in the Straight of Mozambique.
• The Government recently resumed negotiations with the armed opposition group, Renamo. Renamo wants a share of the economic benefits from natural gas production and exports and therefore poses a threat to project security if agreement cannot be reached. Tensions have been high, and Renamo has mounted armed attacks on civilians and military targets.
•  Despite the uncertain regulatory framework around LNG, the Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) has reportedly signed an agreement with Anadarko to receive cargoes from the planned joint Anadarko-Eni LNG project.
• In December 2012, an agreement was reached between Anadarko and Eni to facilitate a work programme in which the two operators will jointly plan and construct.


News
 
 Flow testing on Anadarko’s Barquentine discovery in Mozambique. (Source: Anadarko)
Click HERE for an overview
  • Natural gas production: 80 million cu m (2004 est.)
  • Natural gas proved reserves: 127.4 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)
History of Petroleum Exploration in Mozambique

Exploration for hydrocarbons in Mozambique goes back to 1904 when the early explorers discovered thick sedimentary basins onshore Mozambique. Poor technology and lack of funds halted those early exploration attempts.
From 1948 onwards international oil companies moved into Mozambique and carried out extensive exploration, mainly onshore with limited activity offshore. As a result the Pande Gas Field was discovered in 1961 by Gulf Oil (now part of Chevron) followed by the gas discoveries of Búzi (1962) and Temane (1967).
Exploration activity declined in the early 1970’s due to political unrest.
New activity was established in the early 1980’s with the enactment of law 3/81 and creation of ENH. In the following years extensive work was carried out to map and appraise the Pande Field.
A breakthrough was made in 1993 when it became clear that the Pande Field could be mapped using direct hydrocarbon indicators (DHI) from seismic data and it turned out that there was a giant bright spot at the top of the reservoir. The method was later also used to map the Temane field with good result.
From 1970 to 1980 there have only been drilled 6 wildcat wells in Mozambique – 3 of them offshore.
An extensive drilling campaign conducted by Sasol in 2003 which included exploration and production wells in the Pande/Temane Block allowed the expansion of gas reserves and the discovery of Inhassoro Gas Field, making total of 5,504 trillion cubic feet (TCF). (Source: National Petroleum Institute)

Hydrocarbon Potential & Occurrences

There are four proven gas fields in Mozambique: Pande,Temane, Buzi, Inhassoro. 22 other wells drilled to date showed gas, asphalt and traces of dead oil, and surface gas seepages occur at Inhaminga, Cundue Creek, Ponta Uifundo, with oil seepages at Lake Nhangela, Angoche, Pemba, Ponta Uifundo.
The Rovuma Basin is about 400 km long by 160 km (250 by 100 miles) and is centred on the Rovuma Delta near the border between Mozambique and Tanzania. The basin occurs both onshore and offshore. Nearly 73 000 sq. km (29 200 sq. miles) of the Rovuma Basin lies within Mozambique.
A number of oil and gas seepages have been identified in both the Mozambican and Tanzanian part of the basin, proving active petroleum systems.
It has been suggested that the Rovuma Delta Basin is geologically analogous to some of the great delta systems being developed today, such as the Niger Delta, Mahakam Delta and the Gulf of Mexico.

Rovuma Basin Concessions

  • Sasol Petroleum International is exploiting the Temane Gas Field and the first gas was put into the gas transmission pipeline at the central processing facility on the Feb 18, 2004 and delivered to Sasol's Secunda plant in South Africa on the February 21, 2004. A total of 2,618,894,658 Nm3 of gas and 619,440 bbls of condensate were produced up to August 2005.

Principal Area of Operation
Source: Artumas Group Inc
  • India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp has agreed in August 2013 to buy 10 percent in a gas field offshore Mozambique from Anadarko. Petroleum Corp for $2.64 billion, as the explorer looks to offset diminishing supplies from domestic gas fields by buying overseas assets. The purchase of U.S. oil company Anadarko's stake is the latest in a handful of overseas assets that ONGC Videsh, the overseas business unit of state-controlled ONGC, has bought in the last couple of years to boost India's energy needs. In June 2013 , ONGC and state-run Oil India Ltd signed a deal to buy a 10 percent stake in a Mozambique gas field from Videocon Group for $2.48 billion. "There is a lot of energy demand and whatever volumes of gas we are able to bring to the country are of utmost significance," A. K. Srinivasan, ONGC's group general manager for finance, told Reuters. "Mozambique will be a big LNG hub for the future." Anadarko said it would remain the operator of Area 1, with a working interest of 26.5 percent in the block, which is located in Mozambique's deepwater Rovuma Basin. Recent discoveries have turned the Rovuma field into a major draw for global energy producers and boosted Mozambique's natural gas reserves to around 150 trillion cubic feet or enough to supply Japan, the world's top LNG importer, for 35 years. Rovuma has the potential to become one of the world's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) producing hubs by 2018, and is strategically located to supply gas to India at competitive prices. ONGC, which expects the cash transaction to close by March 2014, is likely to finance the deal through internal cash balance and fresh borrowings, Srinivasan said, adding that financing details would be finalised over the next few months. The company's bonds were trading at marginally wider spreads on Monday, underperforming tightness in the market, and shares fell as much as 3.8 percent in the Mumbai market that was trading flat, on worries about its higher debt levels. Analysts expect ONGC's two recent acquisitions to lead to higher debt levels, although a credit downgrade is unlikely. "Given current market conditions and uncertainty about India, financing may be a challenge and we think most of it will come from the bank market. That said, a potential bond activity cannot be ruled out," a U.S. bank said in a note. ONGC, which has struggled to maintain output from its ageing wells off India's west coast, will be interested in buying more overseas assets to feed the energy needs of Asia's third-largest economy, Srinivasan said, but declined to give details. "The country is starving for gas, for our power development and any other development," he said. Demand for gas in India far outstrips consumption, but prices have been kept low for strategic industries, deterring investment in the sector. India has few energy resources other than coal and is the world's fourth-biggest importer of fuel. After Anadarko, which has been looking to focus more on its domestic assets, Japan's Mitsui & Co Ltd is the second-biggest holder in Mozambique's offshore Area 1 block, with a stake of 20 percent. Indian state refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp owns 10 percent while Thai state oil company PTT Exploration and Production PCL has an 8.5 percent interest and Mozambique's state-owned ENH 15 percent. Outbound announced deals involving Indian companies so far this year stand at $35.8 billion, compared to $62 billion last year and a record $70.3 billion in 2008, Thomson Reuters data shows. Bank of America Merrill Lynch advised ONGC Videsh and Citigroup advised Anadarko on the transaction. 
  • In February 2005, Mozambique launched its second offshore licensing round for blocks in the northern Rovuma basin.

  • Norsk Hydro has been awarded offshore Areas 2 and 5 in May, 2006.
  • In June 2005, the Mozambican Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH) and the South African petrochemical company Sasol signed an agreement with the Mozambican government for Blocks 16 and 19 off the southern coast of Mozambique. Seismic studies and exploratory drilling on the blocks are expected to cost $7 million.
  • PETRONAS has been awarded offshore Areas 3 and 6.

  • Eni SpA has been awarded Area 4, located in the deep waters of the Rovuma Basin, covering an area of 17,646 square km and at a water depth of 2,600 metres.
  • In August 2012, Thai oil and gas company PTT Exploration & Production bid $1.9bn, trumping an earlier offer by Royal Dutch Shell, for Cove Energy, a UK gas exploration firm that has an 8.5% position in Rovuma, reputed to contain 50 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Tantalum

Mozambique’s total tantalite production was 281,212 kg or 619,000 lb in 2005 compared with 712,095 kg (1,57 million lb) in 2004, according to the US Geological Survey.
  • Noventa is operating the Marropino opencast tantalum mine expected to reach its capacity of 300,000 lb/year in the second quarter of 2007. Noventa currently has ore reserves of 11,4 million tonnes. The company has 12 licences in Mozambique and is exploring deposits at Morrua and Mutala; the latter having been mined on a small scale for 30 years. Reserves and resources of tantalite amount to 19 million pounds.
  • Mozambique’s Mining Resources Ministry was due in March 2011 to open the proposals for the public tender to choose the company that will explore the heavy sands at Chibuto in Gaza province, southern Mozambique. The Chibuto heavy sands project covers an area of 11,000 hectares and a potential of just over 70 million tons of ilmenite. The Chibuto heavy sands project was previously awarded to BHP Billiton, as a result of the acquisition of Australian company Corridor Sands, but its license was revoked in mid 2010 due to not meeting targets, specifically, the deadline for starting mining operations. The Mozambican government plans to ensure that programmes for prospecting and research go ahead at the heavy sands projects of Chibuto in Gaza (south), Moebase in Zambézia (centre) and Jangamo in Inhambane (south). It was announced on 19th January 2013 that Mozambique’s Minister of Mineral Resources, Esperanca Bias, had annulled the restricted tender held last year for development of the titanium-bearing heavy mineral sands in Chibuto district, in the southern province of Gaza, according to a report in Saturday’s issue of the Maputo daily “Noticias”.
    The tender was launched in late 2011, and the bids were opened in May 2012. As a result the rights to exploit the Chibuto heavy sands were granted to the Zambezi Delta Consortium, which then had 180 days to negotiate with the government the terms and conditions for the project.
    This was the third company to be awarded the rights to Chibuto mineral sands. Originally the rights were given to the Australian company BHP-Billiton, but it withdrew in 2009.
    Then, in April 2011 the rights were handed over to Rock Forage Titanium Ltd, a company formed by Canadian and Mozambican investors.
    However, in November 2011 the government cancelled Rock Forage Titanium's rights because the company failed to pay it the agreed signature bonus of 50,000 US dollars, despite repeated extensions to the deadline.
    The government therefore had to lunch another tender, which only received two bidders: Zambezi Delta Consortium and SPI Chibuto Sands Consortium.
    Once again, the tender has failed. The deadline for negotiating and signing a project implementation agreement with the government expired on 3 December, but the company did not meet the deadline, and the government is now back to square one.
    The sands at Chibuto contain known reserves of 72 million tonnes of ilmenite, 2.6 million tonnes of zircon and 400,000 tonnes of rutile. This is enough to keep a mine in production for 30 years. Ilmenite (iron titanium oxide) and rutile (titanium dioxide) are used to make white pigments for paints, paper and plastic. Titanium can be extracted from these ores and used to manufacture metallic parts where light weight and high strength are needed. Zircon (zirconium silicate) is used for abrasive and insulating purposes.
  • Irish company Kenmare Resources plc continued construction of the Moma mineral sands mine in 2006. The company planned to start mining in early 2007; the initial rate of ilmenite production was expected to be 700,000 t/yr. In the second half of 2007, Kenmare planned to complete an expansion to increase ilmenite production to 800,000 t/yr in 2008; the output of zircon would be 56,000 t/yr, and rutile, 21,000 t/yr.

Gravity separation pontoon, Mozambique (Source:Kenmare Resources)

  • Savannah Resources announced in November 2014 that it had raised 1.3 million pounds (over two million US dollars) to fund its projects which include significant heavy mineral sands zones at its Jangamo deposit in the southern Mozambican province of Inhambane. Part of these funds will pay for defining the Jangamo deposit's reserves in line with the Australian code for reporting mineral resources, JORC. The company intends to complete this by the end of 2014.The license for the Jangamo deposit was originally held by the Mozambican company Matilda Minerals. Savannah acquired an 80 per cent interest in Matilda Minerals in October 2013.

Uranium

  • OmegaCorp Ltd is exploring the Mavuzi Project, located roughly 40 km northwest of the provincial centre of Tete in northwestern Mozambique and comprising four granted licences covering approximately 700 km2. The central licence covers the historical Mavuzi Uranium Mine. It is also exploring the The Zambezi Valley Project, approximately 300 km due west of Tete in northwestern Mozambique. The single licence covers over 600 km2 and lies on the border with Zimbabwe.

  • Metals of Africa Limited (ASX:MTA) is an Australian based exploration company  which is exploring its 100% owned Rio Mazoe Base Metals Project in Tete Province, central west Mozambique. The Rio Mazoe Project is an early stage of exploration project, with Tenements that cover a large area of a geological unit (Rushinga Metamorphic suite) that is recognised as being prospective for lead, zinc and silver mineralisation of a type similar to that at Broken Hill in New South Wales, Australia. Previous exploration by BHP Billiton and Afriminas has identified areas of anomalous base metal geochemistry including base metal gossans.  Geophysical surveys have identified anomalies that the Company believes warrant further investigation, followed by drill testing. Metals of Africa  announced in September 2013 the discovery of “a significant new base metals geochemical anomaly” at its Mazoe River project in the western province of Tete. According to the announcement, the anomaly, identified from soil sampling, is 2.5 kilometres long by 750 metres wide and it “hosts elevated zinc, lead and copper, plus manganese and phosphorus, among other elements”. Exploration, the company says, “is ongoing with extensive soil sampling and geological mapping to define drill targets, and a 1500 metre diamond drill programme to test priority targets is scheduled to commence next month”. The latest discovery is at the Rulio prospect in the Mazoe River project. Earlier discoveries in two other prospects found other “multi-element anomalies hosting elevated base metals, including lead, zinc and copper”. “The geochemical assemblages identified at the three prospects via the soil sampling programme is indicative of a geological system enriched in base metals”, the company added. It regards the high level of zinc, lead and copper mineralisation as an indicator for BHT (Broken Hill Type) deposits. This name derives from the Broken Hill ore deposit in New South Wales, Australia, which is believed to be the world's richest and largest zinc-lead deposit. Metals of Africa says that the Mazoe River project is still at an early stage, but the company is encouraged by the similarities with Broken Hill. The company has eight exploration licences, mostly in southern Tete, between the Mazoe and Luia rivers. The area is regarded as highly favourable, not only for zinc and lead, but also for silver.




References

Economic geology of energy sources

Economic geology of nonmetal deposits

Economic geology of ore deposits

Economic geology, general

Economic geology, general, economics

Economic geology, geology of nonmetal deposits

Economic geology, geology of ore deposits


Posted by Carel van der Merwe at 14.4.07