GUINEA
Guinea is the second largest producer of bauxite in the world, accounting for 22% of global output. Guinea is also home to the largest known iron ore reserves in the world.
INSIGHTS FROM THE GROUND
The Suguiri Basin: Predictive Discovery, developing the Bankan Gold Project
“Last year was the beginning of a transition year for Predictive – from greenfield explorer to developer - after making the Bankan gold discoveries in Guinea. Since then, we have dedicated ourselves to gather a better understanding of the deposits, drilling up to 300 m below the surface. We have defined a maiden mineral resource of 3.65 million oz.
The Siguiri Basin in Guinea is broadly underexplored. Bankan sits right on the southwestern edge of the Siguiri basin which appears to coincide with a very deep north-south structure. In this regional structural position, we see gold deposited in multiple locations, which signal a highly mineralized area.
Through the previous government of Condé, Guinea has become a competitive jurisdiction, aligning its tax and royalty rates to what we see in the rest of the region. The Mining Registry has also been improved, becoming more transparent, while the granting of permits is considerably faster than in most other West African jurisdictions.”
Paul Roberts, Managing Director, Predictive Discovery
The Northern Corridor: Lindian Resources, developing three near-term bauxite projects
“The Woula project is close to the coast and to existing infrastructure, presenting a near-term, low capital cost production opportunity. The Lelouma project hosts high-grade ore with an excess of 1 billion tons of bauxite and a mine life exceeding 50 years. The Gaoual project is a conglomerate bauxite asset housing some of the highest-grade ore in Guinea with a quality end-product that can be produced through a simple process of dry screening. Recent results indicate Gaoual offers the highest-grade bauxite produced in Africa.
The Northern Corridor is the last remaining high-quality bauxite province in Guinea where the bauxite assets are yet to be developed. The Northern Corridor is also a link to a potential high-quality export terminal and port which offers the opportunity for low-cost transhipment and potentially exports on cape size vessels.”
Asimwe Kabunga, Chairman, Lindian Resources Limited
SENEGAL
INSIGHTS FROM THE GROUND
Chesser Resources, developing the Diamba Sud
“We are preparing to undertake our maiden resource estimate over our two targets at Area A and Area D, having already completed the resource definition drilling. Over the past 12 months, we conducted about 30,000 m of drilling.
Diamba Sud is located in eastern Senegal, about 7 km away from the Mali border, and in a straight line with Barrick’s Guonkoto mine, which is only 7 km east of Diamba. The Luolo mine is 12 km away.
Diamba Sud sits on the Kédougou-Kéniéba Inlier (KKI), home to about 45 million oz of gold discovered in the last two decades. Between Chesser, Barrick and IAMGOLD, industrial logic says there could be some corporate activity and clearly a great opportunity to increase the value for our shareholders.
Senegal is one of the best mining investment jurisdictions in West Africa, with one of the longest-running and stable democracies in the region and a fast-growing economy. The country has managed to defend its borders from the terrorist threats seen in neighbouring countries.”
Andrew Grove, Managing Director, Chesser Resources
CAMEROON
Image courtesy of Edouard TAMBA on Unsplash
INSIGHTS FROM THE GROUND
Oriole Resources developing Bibemi, Wapouzé, and a package of eight gold exploration licenses (Central Licence Package) in Cameroon
“Cameroon is a new district for gold exploration. Despite being early-stage explorers, we are proud to be pioneers in the identification and verification of new areas of gold mineralization in this country. In the last year, we carried out a maiden drilling program at Bibemi which has been a great success, since over half of the initial prospecting holes intersected orogenic-type gold mineralization, providing depth continuity to multiple targets within the 8.3 km-long system identified at surface.
In February 2021, we were granted a large license package in the center of Cameroon, which we call the Central License Package, or CLP. It comprises eight licenses which cover 3,592 km2. We have already completed the first phase of work on five of the licenses, while we will restart work on the three remaining licenses in Q4 once the rainy season is over.
Cameroon has recently seen a significant amount of new license applications for new grounds, both from juniors and from larger companies. The most recent notable application was a five-license package from the French multinational mining company Eramet. The Ministry of Cameroon is also reaching the conclusion of the PRECASEM program, a World Bank funded program introduced to identify targets and opportunities within the country that can attract exploration and mining.
We are happy to be leading the charge in exploration in Cameroon.”
Tim Livesey, CEO, Oriole Resources