JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Recent assay results from Aim-listed African Potash’s Lac Dinga potash project, in the Republic of Congo, have confirmed the presence of multiple potash seams which the company believes are characteristic of the Congolese coastal basin and further underpin the project’s potential to host “significant” potash deposits.
About 250 km2 of the licence area was interpreted to be underlain by salt-bearing strata occurring at depths of between 300 m and 420 m below surface, while mineralogical studies confirmed that the potash seams were partially converted to sylvite mineralisation.
Certain drill holes intersected similar salt and potash mineralisation over significant thicknesses, with individual sample grades of up to 25% potassium chloride. Other significant results included 3.66 m at 20.01% potassium chloride from 466.04 m and 17.9 m at 12.06% potassium chloride from 481.6 m.
African Potash CEO Edward Marlow said in a statement on Tuesday that the results were a further endorsement of the company’s exploration approach and proof of its exploration concept.
“We have not only demonstrated that potash mineralisation occurs in an area where no exploration has been conducted before, but also that there is potential to discover high-grade sylvinite mineralisation in laterally-extensive and continuous potash horizons.
“Results confirm the high-grade nature of the potash mineralisation. Additionally, the flat geometry of the strata demonstrates significant potential for solution mining. These results will allow the company to plan the next stage of exploration drilling with the aim of defining a substantial commercial potash resource in the Lac Dinga permit,” he commented.
African Potash would start planning its next exploration campaign based on the results of the recently completed reconnaissance exploration with the aim to delineate mineral resources suitable for exploitation.