DRC copper/cobalt tailings project potential probed
Aim-listed natural resource development company Red Rock Resources has extended the 40-day period in which it would carry out due diligence on four or five copper/cobalt tailings properties near Kolwezi in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The company reported on November 3 that the due diligence period has been extended by 30 days to allow sufficient time for drilling and for laboratory analysis, following some earlier permitting and logistical delays.
In September, Red Rock announced that it had entered into a conditional agreement with private Isle of Man company Cobalt Blue to acquire an interest in a new joint venture (JV) company that will be established for the exploitation of four copper/cobalt tailings properties.
The JV company will hold the rights to exploit the Kamirombe 1 and 2, Haute Kalumba and Basse Kalumba tailings properties.
Red Rock has carried out drilling on the first two tailings, Haute Kalemba and Basse Kalemba, and deliveries of samples have been made to inspection, verification, testing and certification company SGS’s laboratories in Lubumbashi for testwork. Work continues with a view to testing the other tailings locations.
Red Rock reported in October that it had engaged SGS South Africa to test drill the Kamirombe and Kalumba tailings near Kolwezi with a truck-mounted auger.
“SGS will also provide a hand-held X-ray fluorescence spectrometer to enable instant readings prior to samples being sent to SGS laboratories in Lubumbashi for analysis,” said Red Rock at the time.
Mining consultancy CSA Global would be mobilised to site to provide overall supervision of the programme covering the drilling of holes on a grid pattern over the tailings, amounting to some 600 m of drilling, and the testing and measurement of the tailings.
Red Rock originally had 40 days from September 26 to complete due diligence on the potential acquisition of an interest in the JV company to be newly formed for the exploitation of the four or five copper/cobalt tailings deposits in in the DRC, including those at Kamirombe and Kalumba.
The objectives of the programme are to provide geological information for the due diligence process to enable a decision on whether to proceed with the transaction. Secondly, the programme is intended to provide, before the autumn rains set in, as much information as possible to enable an early inferred mineral resource to be generated in the event of proceeding. This resource would establish a baseline for valuation and expedite the process of producing a feasibility study for the project.
If Red Rock decides to proceed with the transaction, it will acquire a 26.25% interest in the JV company for $700 000 in cash and £490 000 in shares. It will also fund $1.2-million of exploration expenditure over 18 months to produce a bankable feasibility study (BFS) at the Kamirombe properties.
Following completion of the BFS, Red Rock will have six months within which to elect to pay $1-million to farm-in to a further 26.25% of JV.
“The old, rich copper/cobalt mines on the Congolese part of the Copperbelt have been producing for many decades and some of the tailings are known to be attractive targets at today’s prices, and with today’s technology.
“The electric car revolution is expected to have transformative impacts on battery technology and the metal demand pattern. We expect copper to be a beneficiary, but the long-term impact on cobalt demand is likely to be stronger,” Red Rock chairperson Andrew Bell commented in September.
He added that this opportunity could potentially add significant value for Red Rock.
“From a technical point of view, this is a potentially low-risk and high cash flow project,” he said.
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