ASX-listed mineral exploration and development company Strandline Resources will start a major drilling campaign in Tanzania once its acquisition of public Australian exploration company Jacana Minerals Tanzania has been completed, Strandline Resources tells Mining Weekly.

The acquisition is expected to be completed this month and involves Strandline acquiring the mineral sands tenement package held by Jacana Minerals Tanzania.

Strandline is aiming to have two to three projects with defined resources by the end of the year and to start a scoping study early next year.

The company notes that, since it started its series of drilling campaigns in late 2013, it has had significant success in targeting quality heavy mineral sands (HMS) mineralisation, and converted several prospects to significant resource targets.

“In all of our drilling campaigns, we have . . . consulted with the relevant local authorities and communities and have not had any issues getting approvals or accessing ground for exploration. “We greatly appreciate the support of the Tanzanian government and the local communities in this regard,” says Strandline Resources MD Richard Hill.

The upcoming drilling campaign will aim to convert two key prospects – Madimba, in the south, and Tanga, in the north – into mineral resources and investigate extensions to Jacana’s zircon–rich resource at Fungoni, near Dar es Salaam, in eastern Tanzania.

“Results will then be used for the scoping study for one, or hopefully two, projects,” he adds.

Strandline notes that its potential scoping study will involve a review of the potential economics of the various planned projects in light of the drilling results, as well as the cost of construction and access to infrastructure.

The company considers itself to be in a fortunate position – three key areas it has drilled as part of its previous drilling campaigns have demonstrated the potential to deliver quality products, such as zircon, rutile and high-grade ilmenite; and its location close to infrastructure hubs, including port and power, greatly enhances the potential economics of the projects.

Meanwhile, Strandline is adding two Jacana directors – who have experience in exploration work in Tanzania and in mineral sands – to its board, with the in specie distribution to Jacana shareholders providing Strandline with access to a more diverse register investor base.

Project History
From 2010 to 2011, south-east Africa became one of the world’s most important mineral sands-producing corridors, with the involvement of mineral sands majors in significant operations in Kenya, Mozambique, Madagascar and South Africa.

As a result, Strandline acquired a significant portfolio of mineral sands along the Tanzanian coastline.

“We realised that there had been only one systematic exploration effort by a junior mining company for a couple of years in the late 1990s. The company did excellent work and showed significant potential for high-grade, quality assemblage deposits along the coast of Tanzania. Early drilling in the north intersected ore grade zones of mineralisation,” explains Hill.

Strandline set about strategically acquiring the high-quality ground position that it targeted over several years, based on the exclusive and countrywide database, owned by the previous junior mining company that was forced to move away from exploration in the early 2000s, as a result of its shares in the market showing no return on investment. This assisted Strandline in securing the original, hard copy data and the geologist who managed this work.

“We now have a complete country position, strategically located between operating projects and major mineral sands miners hungry for high-grade feed to the north (Kenya), south (Mozambique and South Africa) and east (Madagascar),” notes Hill.

Successful Development
Hill comments that, as a result of the current cyclical low prices of commodities, there are two key aspects to successful development in this market – the quality of the deposit effecting the ultimate product, as well as its proximity to infrastructure, particularly electricity and transport to markets.

“There are recent innovations and improvements in mineral sands sampling, mining and processing, and we are working with leading groups to incorporate these techniques and processes into our exploration and future developments plans,” he says.

Strandline is focused on the development of high-value minerals in Tanzania, such as zircon and high-titanium ilmenite, such as rutile, which can be separated from the lower-value products allowing for the economic development of even a relatively small deposit.

“We feel we have carefully and responsibly built a world-class mineral sands tenement package and specialist team in the country that gives us a massive advantage to potentially grow and develop a pipeline of high-quality operations in Tanzania. This will be positive for the country,” concludes Hill.