Africa-Press – Mozambique. The Australian based mining company MRG Metals has announced that a study of its Nhacutse and Poiombo deposits in the southern Mozambican province of Gaza shows that they contain very high grade heavy mineral sands.
According to the company, their Australian consultants IHC Mining have completed a study and provided a JORC compliant (the Australian code for reporting mineral resources) Mineral Resource Estimate for the two deposits. This found that Nhacutse has an inferred mineral resource of 535 megatonnes at 4.9 per cent total heavy mineral (THM). Meanwhile, the Poiombo deposit is estimated to contain 325 megatonnes at 4.8 per cent THM.
The research also found that these heavy minerals are composed of 39 per cent ilmenite, 31 per cent titanomagnetite, two per cent zircon, and one per cent rutile.
The company’s chairperson, Andrew Van Der Zwan, described these results as fantastic and that “even more impressive is that it contains high grade zones”. He added, “MRG has now identified an inventory of potential mine start-up pits”.
The two deposits sit in close proximity to the company’s other deposit at Koko Massava and lie about forty kilometres away from the proposed port at Chongoene. This port is due to be built by the private logistical company, Mozambique STT, at a cost of over 324 million US dollars, as part of the Chongoene Development Corridor. Work on the port is due to be completed by June 2025.
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Ilmenite and rutile are used to make white pigments for paints, paper, and plastic. Titanium can be extracted from these ores and used to manufacture metallic parts where lightweight and high strength are needed. Zircon is used for abrasive and insulating purposes and monazite contains rare earth elements.
Read: MRG Metals delivers maiden resource estimates for Mozambique projects
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