ABG in iron ore rights deal with Liontown

Sunday, 06 Nov 2011

African Barrick Gold has agreed an iron ore rights deal with Liontown Resources.

The agreement will allow Liontown to explore for iron ore deposits on certain exploration tenements held by ABG in Tanzania.

The agreement allows for Liontown to earn an interest of up to 70% of the iron ore rights on around 530 sq kms of land within the Masabi, Masabi Extension, Siga Hills and Siga Hills North exploration projects.

ABG will retain all rights to minerals discovered other than iron ore and by-products directly associated with iron ore mineralogy.

(sourced StockMarketWire)

African Minerals loads first Tonkolili iron ore shipment

Sunday, 06 Nov 2011

It is reported that shares in African Minerals rose after revealed that it had started loading the first iron ore shipment from its Tonkolili project. This is the first such shipment from Sierra Leone in more than 30 years.

The 40,000 tonne shipment will be delivered to Shandong Iron and Steel Group and constitutes the trial cargo to be tested prior to the closing of its USD 1.5 billion investment, which remains on track for the year end.

AML said that the shipment was the result of an integrated mine, rail and port infrastructure built by the firm within 14 months of receiving the mining lease and environmental impact assessment license.

Edenville has completed drilling at the Mkomolo and Namwele basins at the Rukwa coal field project in south western Tanzania. Edenville said eight holes were completed at Namwele for 934.30 meters and 2,585.10m in 22 holes at Mkomolo.

Samples results are being analyzed by international consultant Wardell Armstrong International for an initial resource estimate at Mkomolo by the year end.

Mr Simon Rollason chairman said that "The completion of core diamond drilling at the Mkomolo and Namwele basins should allow us to prove up an initial JORC compliant coal resource at the Rukwa coalfield in Tanzania. We confidently await the results of the analyzed samples from the laboratory and we will keep our shareholders up to date with the company's progress as and when we receive further news."

(sourced from Sierraexpressmedia)

China firm wins Tanzania coal, iron-ore mine bid

By: Reuters, 18th January 2011
DAR ES SALAAM – China's Sichuan Hongda will invest $3-billion in a coal-fired power plant and two iron-ore mines in Tanzania, the state-run National Development Corporation (NDC) said on Tuesday.
Sichuan Hongda is in advanced talks with senior Tanzanian government officials to sign a contract for the projects after it beat bids from more than 20 international companies including Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton.
"The Chinese firm was picked from a long list of bidders as the preferred investor after winning an international bidding process. We are now negotiating final details before a contract can be signed," NDC's board chairman, Chrisant Mzindakaya, told Reuters.
China has invested billions of dollars in Africa in the production of minerals and oil, hoping to secure the resources it needs to fuel its booming economy.
Tanzania -- Africa's fourth-largest gold producer with reserves of uranium, nickel and coal -- passed a new mining law last year requiring the government to own stakes in future mining projects and mining companies to list on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange.
The investment involves construction of the Mchuchuma integrated coal mine and thermal power station and an iron ore mine in Liganga.
NDC said the projects would be implemented in a joint venture with the Chinese investors under a public-private partnership.
Financial details of the investment projects were yet to be confirmed. Senior officials from Sichuan Hongda are in Dar es Salaam for negotiations with their Tanzanian counterparts to finalise the deal.
"Our aim is to have the contract signed next month in order to pave the way for the actual implementation of the projects," Gideon Nassari, NDC managing director, told reporters.
Mchuchuma, located 800 kilometres west of Dar es Salaam, has identified reserves of 536 million tonnes of coal. The investment in the coal mine would also involve construction of a 600 megawatt coal-fired power plant.
NDC said early studies indicated that the Liganga area was rich in iron, vanadium and titanium minerals. Reserves are estimated to be between 200 and 1 200-million metric tons, with 45-million already proven through drilling.
Other bidders included Nava Bharat (Singapore), a unit of Nava Bharat Ventures Ltd, STX Corporation of South Korea, U.S. power company AES Corporation and India's Sarda Energy & Minerals Ltd.
Edited by: Reuters