Aim-listed diversified miner Savannah Resources has completed drilling to more precisely define the high-grade zones of total heavy minerals (THM) at its “relatively under- evaluated” Ravene deposit, in Mozambique.
The deposit is part of its Mutamba mineral sands project, which it is developing through a consortium agreement with global mining and metals company Rio Tinto.
“We look forward to receiving the drill results in the coming weeks,” said Savannah CEO David Archer in a statement on February 1. The results generated will be used to estimate an initial inferred resource over the Ravene prospect to potentially increase the Mutamba project’s recently defined initial indicated and inferred mineral resource estimate of 3.5-billion tonnes at 3.8% THM. Savannah says indications suggest that Ravene has the potential to host significant zones of high-grade heavy minerals that would add to the significant resources already outlined at Mutamba’s Dongane and Jangamo deposits.
The Ravene deposit drilling programme, completed in January, comprised 107 drill holes totalling 2 914 m over a 21 km strike of potentially mineralised sand dunes and targeted high-grade zones, where past drilling returned results of up to 14.7% THM. Other zones of greater than 10% THM were seen in 14 other drill holes.
All samples from the drilling programme are being analysed for their heavy mineral concentration. The results of the resource estimation will be fast-tracked and included into the commissioned scoping study, which is under way and, Archer said, continues to progress well.
He pointed out that the completion of the fast-paced resource definition drilling programme highlighted the capabilities of Savannah’s in-country operations team.
The Ravene deposit is north-east of the Dongane deposit as outlined by previous drilling and is on the same system of sand dunes that host the high concentrations of heavy minerals at Dongane. These dunes are found along the entire extent of the Ravene tenement arm.
Drilling was carried out on a 1 000 m × 500 m grid to infill existing drilling previously carried out by Rio Tinto. This 1 km spacing of the drill lines is considered too wide to provide enough confidence for an inferred resource estimation, states Savannah.
The aim of the drilling at Ravene, which started in the middle of December 2016, was to infill the original grid on a 500 m line spacing to provide drilling information at a concentration of 500 m × 500 m.
The area drilled was split into two zones, consisting of a northern and southern zone, separated by a large blow-out of recent dune cover.
The Mutamba project includes Mutamba Project North, consisting of the Jangamo, Dongane and Ravene deposits, and the Chilubane deposit, which is located 180 km to the south-west of Mutamba Project North.