JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) - The mineral resource estimate of emerging heavy mineral sands (HMS) developer Strandline Resources' 100%-owned Tanga South Tajiri mineral sands project, in Tanzania, has more than doubled in contained heavy mineral content to 4.6-million tonnes.
This result, the company announced on Wednesday, means that Tajiri is now a large-scale project and is on track to become Strandline's second mineral sands project after its advanced zircon-rich Fungoni project.
In light of this result, Strandline started a scoping study on the Tajiri project, which is located in northern Tanzania.
Air-core infilling and extension drilling across the priority Tajiri T1-T4 has resulted in Tajiri's indicated mineral resource inventory increasing to 147-million tonnes at 3.1% total heavy minerals, up from 59-million tonnes at 3.7%.
The resource upgrade shows a rutile-enriched, ilmenite-dominant mineral assemblage with zones of elevated zircon-rich mineralisation within some of the mineralogical domains. The mineralisation also shows strong geological and grade continuity along and across the strike, which the company notes bodes well for future mine planning.
While multiple mineral resources remain open, the company further stated that drilling has successfully discovered new, high-grade target areas along the Tajiri heavy mineral sands corridor that should continue to expand mineral resources over time. This includes a thick channel-style deposit located parallel to the adjacent T3 and T4 zones.
"These results show that Tajiri has emerged as a game-changer for Strandline. As the next Tanzanian project in our pipeline behind Fungoni, Tajiri has immense potential to create substantial value for shareholders," Strandline MD Luke Graham commented.
He further added that Strandline's in-situ valuable heavy mineral inventory, across all three Joint Ore Reserves Committee-classified mineral sands resources of Fungoni, Tajiri and the Coburn project, in Australia, demonstrates the company's global relevance, with estimated contained zircon of 3.1-million tons, ilmenite of 9.3-million tons and leucoxene of 0.6-million tons.
"Strandline considers the Tajiri tenement offers the geological foundation to host a major heavy mineral sands project and the company looks forward to advancing its feasibility study and mine planning activities," Graham noted.