Congo (Kinshasa).—Kababankola Mining Co. S.P.R.L. (KMC) mined copper-cobalt ores from open pit operations
in La Générale des Carrières et des Mines’ (Gécamines) Central Group and processed the ores at the nearby Kakanda concentrator, which it operated under lease from Gécamines. During part of the year, ores and concentrates from KMC’s mining operations were toll-treated at Gécamines’ Shituru refinery in Likasi. Late in the year, KMC reportedly was considering other options for refining its concentrates, because of problems at the Shituru refinery. KMC was a joint venture between Tremalt Ltd., a private company based in the British Virgin Islands (80%), and Gécamines (20%) (Metal Bulletin, 2002d; Kababankola Mining Co. S.P.R.L., undated a§, b§).
Gécamines and L’Enterprise Générale Malta Forrest S.P.R.L. produced copper-cobalt concentrates from the Luiswishi Mine, which were exported under a long-term supply contract to OMG’s Kokkola refinery in Finland. In November, Forrest announced that the mine would close for an indefinite period of time to perform a complete refurbishment and to make improvements to the flotation plant, which had been in continuous operation for 5 years. The Luiswishi Mine was estimated to have a production capacity of approximately 4,500 t/yr of cobalt in concentrates (Reuters Ltd., 2002f; OM Group, Inc., 2003, p. 42).
ASX Announcement
21 February 2017
Kipushi Cobalt Tailings Project
The Kipushi tailings are located 8km from the Kipushi Processing Plant and immediately adjacent to TSX listed Ivanhoe Mines’s Kipushi Project, which is based on the high grade underground zinc- copper mine which operated between 1924 and 1993 and which is considered the world’s highest grade zinc project with NI43-101 measured and indicated resources of 10.2Mt grading 34.9% zinc (refer TSX:IVN announcement dated 23 November 2016), and which Ivanhoe Mines are currently completing mine redevelopment.
The Kipushi tailings extend for over 1.2km in length and over 400m in width. The tailings have a maximum depth of approx. 12m in the centre of the tailings dam and 5m at the boundaries of the tailings dam, with average depths of approx 8m
Paragon has secured the right to mine the Kipushi tailings under an existing agreement with State owned copper and cobalt mining company, La Générale des Carrières et des Mines (Gecamines).
Under this agreement, Paragon holds a 70% interest in Kipushi and will increase this interest to 80% as a condition precedent to the transaction.
The Kipushi tailings are from Gecamines nearby flotation plant that treated ore from the Lwiswishi open pit cobalt-copper mine. The Lwiswishi Mine, which was operated under a joint venture between Forrest International Group, OM Group and Gecamines, is reported to have produced 4,500tpa of cobalt in the mid-1990s and accounted for as much as 10% of global supply, with approx. 4.7Mt of tailings deposited into the Kipushi tails dam with cobalt grades of 0.4% to 0.7% and copper grades of 1.0% to 1.25% reported in the tailings (refer USGS:Minerals Industry of Congo (Kinshasa) report 1998,1999 by George Oakley).
ASX Announcement
21 February 2017
Kipushi Cobalt Tailings Project
The Kipushi Cobalt Tailings Project (Kipushi tailings) is located approximately 8km from the Kipushi Processing Plant, and is contained entirely on PER 12347. The Kipushi tailings comprise tailings disposed from the Lwiswishi high grade open pit cobalt-copper mine that was processed by State owned mining company, La Générale des Carrières et des Mines (Gecamines) at a nearby flotation plant.
The cobalt and copper rich tailings were discharged over a 12-year period from 2002 until June 2014. The Kipushi tailings extend over 1.2km in length and over 400m in width, and presented to the Company of having a maximum depth of approximately 12m in the centre of the tailings dam and 5m at the boundaries of the tailings dam, with average depths of approximately 8m.
Further due diligence work on the Kipushi tailings is ongoing, with the detailed historical records of the deposition of the tailings to be received shortly. This will include the monthly tonnages of tailings deposited in the tailings dam as well as the grades for the cobalt, copper, zinc and other accessory minerals.
Kitwe cobalt tailings
ASX Announcement
22 May 2017
▪ Cape Lambert signs Binding Terms Sheet with Australian Mining Company Zambia Limited to acquire a 70% interest in the Kitwe Cobalt-Copper Tailings Project
▪ The Kitwe Cobalt-Copper Tailings Project is located in Zambia’s Copperbelt, one of the world’s largest producing regions of high grade cobalt and copper concentrates and LME grade copper metal
▪ The historic cobalt-copper rich tailings dump operated in the 1960s and extends over an area of 0.5km2 and is. 15m in height
▪ Zambian Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development, Geological Survey Department confirm its survey completed on 9 May 2017 estimated the license to contain 17.72 million tonnes of tailings
▪ Samples taken by Cape Lambert’s technical consultants in May 2017 and assayed through SGS Inspection Services Ltd laboratory in Zambia reported cobalt grades of up to 0.43%
CFE Price at posting:
4.4¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
