JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The independent maiden inferred mineral resource estimate for the Toubal bauxite deposit, in Guinea, West Africa, has been labelled an important milestone for Irish-registered Anglo-African Minerals (AAM) subsidiary Tougué Bauxite and Alumina Corporation (Toubal).
AAM CEO James Lumley said in an update to shareholders on Tuesday that the estimate gave the board, partners and shareholders confirmation of the project’s potential, noting that it represented a large resource base in a location that was likely to benefit strongly from third-party infrastructure developments in the country.
The bauxite and alumina project had an inferred mineral resource estimate of 722-million tonnes, averaging 42.6% total alumina and 3.7% total silica, within three main deposit plateaux, namely Sibiko, Soumbalako and Tiankounguelé.
This was based on assay results from 744 auger drill holes that were completed during the 2011 exploration campaign.
Toubal was also “encouraged” that limited confirmatory exploration was required to further upgrade the mineral resource, potentially in the measured and indicated categories.
The project is within a 750 km2 exploration licence 100% owned by Toubal about 300 km north-east of Conakry, the capital of Guinea in the Toungué prefecture.