Name of the Project
Mutanga uranium project.
Location
The project is located in the Southern province of Zambia.
Project Owner/s
GoviEx Uranium.
Project Description
Mutanga comprises three mining permits that cover about 720 km2 and contains five deposits – Dibwe, Dibwe East, Mutanga, Gwabe and Njame.
The project contains a measured and indicated mineral resource of 21.6-million tonnes at an average grade of 318 parts per million (ppm) uranium, containing 15-million pounds of uranium, and an inferred mineral resource of 74.6-million tonnes at an average grade of 273 ppm uranium, containing 45-million pounds of uranium in six deposits located over a 65 km strike.
The project benefits from simple and straightforward operations, owing to low waste stripping, low acid consumption and low capital expenditure requirements.
A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) completed in 2017 evaluated the economic and technical viability of the project. The PEA envisages the development of openpits at the Mutanga, Dibwe, Dibwe East, Gwabe, Njame and Njame South deposits. Three heap-leach pads will be located at Dibwe East/Mutanga, Dibwe and Gwabe/Njame, and a central processing facility between Dibwe East and Mutanga.
The deposits are amenable to conventional, shallow opencast mining methods using excavators and trucks, with relatively low stripping ratios. The base case envisions an average production rate of 2.6-million pounds of yellowcake a year over an initial 11-year mine life, with an 88% ultimate uranium recovery rate and a total forecast of 26.4-million pounds of uranium.
Potential Job Creation
Not stated.
Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
At a long-term uranium price of $58/lb uranium, the base case economics for the project are positive and indicate an after-tax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $112-million and an internal rate of return of 25%, with a payback of three years.
Capital Expenditure
Initial capital costs have been estimated at $123.4-million.
Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.
Latest Developments
GoviEx Uranium has completed the initial infill drilling campaign at the Dibwe East deposit of the Mutanga project.
Drilling indicates that mineralisation is continuous from hole to hole and from section to section, and shows a very close correlation to the current inferred resource interpreted ore boundaries.
Average reported grades, after taking into account disequilibrium, is 330 ppm uranium equivalent, highlighting the consistency of the deposit.
Drill results show potential to extend the mineralised zone beyond the initially interpreted ore boundary in some sections, especially as several holes finish in mineralisation.
The Mutanga project area is still prospective for potential discoveries and further target-generation exercises are being undertaken.
GoviEx’s infill drilling campaign, which began in May, was aimed at upgrading the inferred mineral resources associated with the Dibwe East deposit to indicated mineral resources for inclusion into a planned feasibility study for the Mutanga project.
A total of 65 holes for 8 060 m were completed using down-the-hole percussion drilling to an average depth of 124 m on a 100 m x 50 m grid.
Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.
Contact Details for Project Information
GoviEx Uranium, tel +1 604 681 5529 or email info@goviex.com.