Zululand Anthracite Colliery (ZAC) launched and handed over boreholes, 5000 Litre jojo tanks and communal taps to residents of Doncaneni, Ngolotshe and Masokaneni as part of ongoing efforts by the mine to support development. ZAC’s Social Development Manager Khumbulani Masuku said this was an important initiative because water access had been an ongoing issue, due to the area being water stressed. “Because this is a vast rural area there are limited clean water access points. The community is in dire need of water which is why we decided to action this initiative,” Masuku said.

The handover was facilitated through a partnership with the Nongoma Municipality, starting with Doncaneni in ward 11 where a borehole, water tank as well as drinking troughs for cattle and goats where installed. Another water project was delivered to residents of Ngolotshe. The last handover took place at Masokaneni where the community received a livestock dam and a communal tap that is connected to the Mngeni water scheme.

Access to clean water will assist residents to carry out daily household activities like cooking and cleaning, while supporting their agricultural activities. Masuku said the water scarcity also affects local subsistence farmers because they struggle to access drinking water for their animals. “We recognise that water is a life-giving element, which impacts both people and animals. Through this project ZAC aims to play its role by working together with local government to assist our communities,” he added. To date, ZAC has provided 262 558 000 litres of clean, potable water to surrounding communities.

The handovers culminated in an event that was attended by traditional leaders, residents, and Nongoma Mayor Clifford Ndabandaba. Ndabandaba said it was important for local government to form partnerships with companies on missions that uphold community upliftment.  “As the municipality we are glad to see the work that was done by ZAC. It is such a blessing for us to see our people being supplied with water,” he said. Ndabandaba said the municipality would assist with maintaining the infrastructure by dispatching its Expanded Public Works Programme (EPW) team to conduct regular checks on the borehole and water tanks.

The project is part of ZAC’s Social and Labour Plan (SLP) commitments to implement initiatives that benefit the community. The SLP was drafted according to the identified needs of surrounding communities. Doncaneni’s Induna Mandla Ndlela said the project would make the lives of residents a little easier. “Our people used to walk long distances in search of water. But now they will have access. We hope to see more projects like this being developed around the area,” Ndlela said.

Caledonia Mining is exploring options to raise US$250 million to develop its Bilboes project into what could be Zimbabwe’s biggest gold mine.

The company, which also owns the Blanket gold mine in Zimbabwe, could raise the money via a combination of debt, its own cash reserves and equity, said Maurice Mason, Caledonia’s vice-president, corporate development.

The Bilboes project could potentially produce about 170,000oz ounces of gold annually, boosting Caledonia’s total bullion output to about 250,000oz, Mason said.

Caledonia, backed by investors including Cape Town-based fund manager Allan Gray, is one of a number of mining investors searching for new opportunities in Zimbabwe, even as the economy buckles from challenges such as intermittent power cuts, scarcity of US dollars and hyperinflation.

Caledonia, which plans to construct the Bilboes mine over two years, is doing studies to find solutions to reduce the upfront capital required, Mason said.

“It will be Zimbabwe’s biggest gold mine by far,” Mason said via email. “We are considering phased capital raising, but that will depend on the outcome of the review of the feasibility study.”

While investors were cautious to commit to big mining projects, “our experience has been for quality projects with good returns and  investors have been supportive”, he said.

Zimbabwe has been struggling to attract big investors from early 2000 when its economy imploded after the government’s seizure of white-owned commercial farms for distribution to blacks.

The scarcity of dollars means some investors often struggle or fail to remit profits.

While Caledonia has been able to pay dividends from its Blanket mine, Mason said in general terms some international investors remain concerned about repatriating profits from investments in Zimbabwe as well as about the country’s policy stability.

“Foreign investors need to know they can repatriate the fruits of their investment,” Mason said.

Gold is among Zimbabwe’s top foreign currency earning commodities with tobacco and platinum metals mined by units of Impala Platinum and Anglo American Platinum.

Caledonia, which has long sought to expand gold output in Zimbabwe, acquired the Bilboes project in 2022. It’s also searching for more gold deposits at Motapa and Maligreen projects.

Altona, a resource exploration and development company focused on Rare Earths in Africa, is pleased to announce the positive outcome of its Scoping Study for its Monte Muambe rare earths project in northwestern Mozambique, and the publication of an updated Competent Person Report.

Results of the Scoping Study provide an encouraging initial validation of the Project’s potential, with highlights including:

• Post-tax NPV 8 of US$ 283.3 million
• Post-tax IRR of 25%
• Payback from first production: 2.5 years
• Production of 15,000 tonnes per annum, on average, of Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate (“MREC”), at an average price of US$ 13,558.4 per tonne of MREC
• 18 years Life of Mine (“LoM”)
• Open pit mining operation, 750,000 tonnes of ore extracted and processed per annum
• Two stage recovery process, consisting of comminution and flotation, followed by hydrometallurgy
• LoM EBITDA of US$ 1.67 billion
• Initial Capex of US$ 276.3 million

Scoping Study Overview

The Monte Muambe Scoping Study takes into consideration open-pit mining of Target 1 and Target 4, at a LoM strip ratio of 1.6, over a period of 18 years. An anticipated 750,000 tonnes of ore per annum will be extracted and processed through a beneficiation plant to produce a Rare Earths concentrate. The beneficiation process will include crushing, milling and flotation. The concentrate will then be processed through a hydrometallurgical plant to produce an average of 15,000 tonnes of MREC per annum. The hydrometallurgical process will involve a weak acid gangue leach, followed by rare earths leaching and purification. The MREC product would be packaged and transported via existing road infrastructure to the port of Beira, in Mozambique, for export.

Sensitivity Analysis

Using an NPV of US$283.3 million with an applied real discount rate of 8%, the Project is most sensitive to revenue (price, recovery, grade and exchange rates), less sensitive to opex and least sensitive to capex.

Upside Potential

The Scoping Study demonstrates the potential for Monte Muambe to become a viable mining operation.

Considerable upside potential has been identified in the Scoping Study and will be developed further in the Prefeasibility Study (“PFS”). This includes:

• Increase of the resource base, as well as of the LoM and/or ore extraction rate;
• Mining parameters optimisation;
• Processing and metallurgy, both for the beneficiation and hydrometallurgical plants;
• Energy sources mix and logistics options;
• Evaluation of the possibility of doing further onsite, in-country or regional separation and refining; and
• Setting up Responsible Sourcing systems.

Next Steps

The publication of the Scoping Study marks the end of Phase 2 of the Project Farm-Out Agreement and entitles Altona to an additional 31% ownership in Monte Muambe Mining Limitada, the Project’s special purpose vehicle, taking its total current holding to 51%. Contractual and administrative processes have already been initiated to implement this change and a further announcement will be made when this has been completed.

The Project is now entering Phase 3, which upon completion will allow the Company to increase its holding to 70%, with the key deliverable being the PFS. Preliminary PFS activities started in July this year, in the form of in-fill drilling at Target 4 and these will ramp up over the course of the coming months, with additional exploration, planning and consultant services procurement activities, as well as a strong focus on additional metallurgical test work. The Company intends to also apply for a mining concession during Phase 3.

Cedric Simonet, CEO of Altona, commented: “For Altona, the Monte Muambe Scoping Study is a significant milestone. This key deliverable serves as an affirmative initial validation of the Project’s economic viability, enabling the Company to establish its presence amongst other prospective REE producers in Africa. It provides, together with the Mineral Resource Estimate (“MRE”), a solid foundation for the Project’s subsequent progression.

“As the Project moves into its PFS stage, the Company will continue to work towards de-risking Monte Muambe and, with its local partners, to optimise its technical, commercial and financial parameters. We believe the timing for this achievement is impeccable, at a time where the global rare earths supply chain is diversifying away from China’s decades-long domination, and Western processing facilities are starting to come online.

“The magnet metals present at Monte Muambe (and representing 90% of the Project’s future revenue) are critical components of the global green energy transition. The supply deficit for Neodymium and Praseodymium Oxide is forecast to grow to 90,000 tonnes per year by 2040⁽⁷⁾ and, to allow the decarbonisation of energy sources, more magnet metals mines must come on stream in the following years.

“Altona intends to play its part in supporting this crucial agenda, by working in a responsible manner to reduce the dependence on China for critical mineral supplies.“

Deep-South Resources Inc. announces that it has appointed Knight Piésold Consulting to conduct an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (“ESIA”) on the Haib Copper project in the south of Namibia.

The ESIA will accompany a Feasibility Study on the project for the eventual filing for a Mining License. The ESIA comprises environmental, social and hydrogeological feasibility studies and a public participation program required for assessing the overall feasibility of the proposed project and obtaining the necessary authorizations. The required authorizations include an Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) from the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT), Mining License from the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) and Water Abstraction Permit from the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform (MAWLR).

Deep-South Resources Inc. announces that it has entered into an agreement with Ferrodrill Namibia (Pty) Ltd. in order to proceed with the drilling program on the Haib Copper project in the south of Namibia. Ferrodrill is a Namibian drilling contractor providing full drilling services since 2007 and has provided services to a large number companies from exploration to major mining companies. The contract provides for 5,000 meters of diamond drilling. Drilling planning and preparation is on track and we will inform our shareholders of the schedule and complete program in due course.

The specific focus of the drilling campaign is to drill the high-grade area of the deposit uncovered by Deep-South in 2019. The program was planned to drill up to 10,000 meters in the area. The first 5,000 meters were drilled in 2021. However, the program had been suspended when the Ministry of Mines and Energy of Namibia (the Ministry) has refused to renew the Exploration and Prospecting Licence (EPL). This legal situation has been resolved and the licence was renewed on July 7, 2023. Deep-South goal is to complete the remaining 5,000 meters and then proceed with a new resource estimation.

Previous drilling programmes point to the presence of higher copper grade zones, probably associated with near vertical structures (shears and faults) within the broader mineralised areas of the project. The use of vertical drilling in the past potentially missed those structures resulting in an underestimation of the overall grade. Our drilling program is focussing to redress this through the use of inclined holes to identify and delineate these structures and test the association with higher Cu grade zones. The results of the first 5,000 meters drilled in 2021 seem to support this updated interpretation, showing substantial intersections at Cu grades considered high for Haib. Additionally, the presence of molydenum has been confirmed with high Mo grades obtained in association with structures and alterations.

Atlantic Lithium Limited, the African-focused lithium exploration and development company targeting to deliver Ghana’s first lithium mine, is pleased to advise that Ghana’s Environmental Protection Agency has granted authorisation to divert two transmission lines that run across planned mining areas within the Mankessim prospecting licence, which holds the Company’s Ewoyaa Lithium Project.

The planned diversion of the transmission lines, which currently traverse the proposed Project site, forms part of the Project’s mine plan and represents an important step as the Company advances Ewoyaa towards shovel readiness.

As outlined in the Ewoyaa Definitive Feasibility Study (refer announcement of 29 June 2023), the Company requested that the transmission lines be diverted to the northern border of the licence to enable the Company to commence early works at the Project, including early spodumene concentrate production through a Modular Dense Media Separation processing unit.

EPA approval has been granted up to 24 March 2025, enabling Ghana Grid Company Ltd., which owns the National Interconnected Transmission System in Ghana, to carry out the diversion of the lines on behalf of the Company.

Mining Lease Update

Atlantic Lithium is currently awaiting ministerial grant of the Mining Lease in respect of the Mankessim licence, required to advance the Project towards construction.

The Company had a meeting on Thursday, 5 October 2023 in Accra with Hon. Samuel A. Jinapor, Ghana’s Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, and representatives of the Minerals Commission, the Minerals Income Investment Fund and the Ghana Stock Exchange regarding the finalisation of the Mining Lease for the Project. The Company is pleased with the progress of its application and expects the Mining Lease to be granted shortly.

Keith Muller, Chief Executive Officer of Atlantic Lithium, said: 

“The diversion of the transmission lines that traverse the proposed Project site forms an important part of the mine plan and the Company’s preparations towards shovel readiness at Ewoyaa. I would like to take the opportunity to thank GRIDCo for undertaking this work on behalf of the Company and the Environmental Protection Agency for its timely approval, ensuring we maintain our strong momentum as we advance the Project towards construction.

“At Ewoyaa, we consider ourselves exceptionally fortunate to be able to leverage Ghana’s impressive existing infrastructure and the considerable expertise from over a century of mining activity in the country. We believe these elements play a major role in positioning the Project as one of the leading hard rock spodumene assets globally.

“We look forward to updating the market on further progress in due course.”