In response to the positive findings of its Phase 1 exploration, Altona, a mining exploration company focused on rare earth element (REE) mining opportunities in Africa, has announced it is moving forward with Phase 2 of the Monte Muambe REE project.
Monte Muambe has a diameter of 4 km. Prospecting Licence 7573L covers a circular carbonatite intrusion in Tete province, northwest Mozambique. On October 20, 2021, the company began a drilling campaign focusing on six target regions, drilling a total of 590 m diamond drilling (DD – 5 holes) and 2541 m reverse circulation (RC – 38 holes).
As part of the business’s newly purchased pXRF field analyser, samples from numerous drill sites have also been analysed on site, offering an immediate estimate of mineral concentration in samples, based on the findings from three drill holes.
The drilling of four of the six targets has verified the presence of rare earth mineralisation hosted in carbonatite with superior total rare earth oxide (TREO) grades, with two of them (MM021 and MM042) being viewed as open in several directions. As a result, Phase 2 can begin with a solid foundation.
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Additionally, the organisation sent 705 DD samples and 974 RC samples (including QA QC samples) to Intertek accredited assay labs in South Africa and Australia; the results are expected by the end of May, and the organisation will publish them.
We anticipate that Phase 2 of the project will begin in April 2022 and will involve more soil sampling, ground geophysics, scout drilling (1200m RC), resource drilling (6800m RC), and metallurgical analysis, all of which will be integrated to create a preliminary economic assessment and a maiden MRE.
Upon the settlement of cyclone Ana, soil sampling began on site in the early part of February, and Altona is planning to resume drilling activities by the beginning of April. The main objective will be to test the lateral extension of holes MM021 and MM042, as well as to drill Target 1 in a south-easterly direction.
Altona’s chief executive officer, Chirstian Taylor-Wilkinson, believes Monte Muambe has the potential to become a major REE resource. It has been an incredibly successful Phase 1, including obtaining higher grades than expected and identifying two additional target regions. The Phase will strive to confirm the findings of this evaluation and to establish a strong framework for a comprehensive evaluation of Monte Muambe through a Resource Estimate.
