Altona Rare Earths plc has signed an memorandum of understanding for up to a 70% earn-in of the Monte Muambe rare earths project in northwest Mozambique.
OPEN PIT
Altona, which also has rare earth interests in southeast Uganda and southern Malawi, signed the MoU with Ussokoti Investimetos Limitada to start a legal and technical due diligence over 90 days.
The tenement, located in Tete Province, covers a 4km diameter circular carbonatite intrusion.
Between 2010 and 2012, exploration focused on fluorspar with 165 reverse circulation drill holes totalling more than 12,000m.
Drill holes intersected rare earth elements mineralisation in at least four different zones, all of which are open in several directions.
Only about 5% of the surface area of the intrusion has been drilled, which leaves “significant potential” for discoveries, said Altona.
Available data indicates REE mineralisation was at least partly bastnaesite-hosted, and that individual REE intercept grades reached up to 4.1%.
Intercepts showed that the project has the potential to host a REE deposit “amenable to open pit mining”.
The company’s initial exploration work will focus on expanding mineralised zones and identifying new ones, while ascertaining the basic metallurgical characteristics of the ore.
The project is located in Tete Province which hosts several operating coal mines, a major iron mining and steel manufacturing project, and “many exploration projects”.
The area is also easily accessible and is 30km off a major tarred road linking Mozambique to Malawi.
“This project would become a significant step for Altona, as it would represent our first venture into a carbonatite hosted REE asset, should we proceed with the investment following the due diligence,” added chief executive Christian Taylor-Wilkinson.
“Previous exploration work has shown the project has REE occurrences with grades and thicknesses justifying further assessment.
“Our Africa-based director and geologist, Cedric Simonet, has ranked Monte Muambe as one of the top carbonatite-hosted REE projects available for acquisition in Africa, in a mining friendly jurisdiction.
“The board therefore considers that, should exploration results confirm the potential we envisage, it could ultimately become a major contributor to the supply of rare earth metals for the global technology and green energy markets.”