In Mozambique, the Nampula provincial government has announced that a $50- million gem and other precious stones certification centre will open this month. The centre, an initiative of the country’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education under its technology parks programme, is located in Nacala-a-Velha.

“The project is already being cited in the terms and contracts, and from this March we can expect the gems certification centre to start operating,” affirmed provincial government spokesperson Agostinho Zacarias. He told the Mozambican news agency AIM that the Centre would evaluate and certify precious stones from Cabo Delgado, Niassa and Zambezia provinces as well as Nampula. Provincial governor Victor Borges expressed the view that the new Centre would add value to Nampula’s economy not only directly, through its development of its own operations, but also indirectly, by stimulating the production of gem and other precious stones in the province.

Staying with precious materials, but moving to metals, London AIM-listed junior miner Xtract Resources has announced that it has finished its internal update regarding the economic metrics of its recently acquired Manica Gold project. The Manica project is located in the Mozambican province of the same name, close to the border with Zimbabwe. Xtract acquired the project from Auroch Minerals in a cash-and-shares deal, which received the Mozambique government’s approval at the beginning of this month.

This update forms part of the definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the project, although the DFS is being carried out by independent consultants. It is expected to be completed by the middle of this year. Most of the technical studies should be finished by the end of this month. The environmental reports are scheduled for completion during the second quarter. The resettlement study is also meant to be finished by the middle of the year, but could be delayed because of recent changes in legislation. Should this happen, it would, in turn, delay the completion of the DFS by three months.

The intent is to develop the project in two stages. The first stage will take the form of surface mining, forecast to start in the fourth quarter (Q4) of next year. Production is targeted at 477 000 t at an average grade of 2.62 g/t, recovering 32 000 oz of gold over the four years the surface operations are expected to last. The second stage will involve underground mining, aiming at producing 555 000 t at an average grade of 3.06 g/t, resulting in a gold output of some 43 000 oz/y. The underground operation has a preliminary life-of-mine of eight years, but the full depth of the orebody has yet to be determined, so this could be extended.

“The economic metrics of the Manica Gold project remain robust and the company’s in-house estimates of EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) have significantly increased relative to the increased capital requirement, compared with the PEA (preliminary economic assessment),” stated company CEO Jan Nelson. “The Manica project remains at the low end of the cost scale and we are now focusing on completing the DFS and starting mine construction.”

The company now estimates that the EBITDA from the project, assuming a life-of-mine of 12 years, at $245-million. In comparison, the PEA forecast for the EBITDA, assuming a life-of-mine of eight years, was $130-million. The company in-house study indicates a likely cash cost of $757/oz, as against the PEA prediction of $650/oz. The start-up capital cost is now estimated at $35-million (in the PEA it was $28.4- million). The subsequent additional expenditure required for the development of the underground mine will come from cash flow.

“We are completing a new resource calculation for the Manica project and expect to provide an update to the market as soon as possible,” he assured. “We will also report on the alluvial mining plan for the project within Q2 2016.” The company also owns and operates the Chépica copper/gold mine, in Chile.