News / Local
UK miner discovers rare earth elements at Kamativi
14 Apr 2023 at 19:48hrs | Views
London Stock Exchange-listed mining outfit, Galileo Resources says its claims at Kamativi could contain more minerals, including lithium, tin and rare earth elements.
Galileo said it had found pegmatite rock in the western parts of Kamativi during exploration, which was an indication that there could be various minerals within the claims, which required further investigation.
The firm has interests in Zimbabwe's Bulawayo Gold Projects and Kimativi Lithium Project.
The firm said it had exported samples to South Africa and Ireland to get an in-depth view of the asset.
Galileo's Kamativi licence covers an area of 520 square kilometres, and is located adjacent to Kamativi Mine, a tin operation that collapsed over a decade ago.
Other firms had already been exploring for lithium in the same area.
"(In) Zone 1 (west of licence) (we discovered) pegmatite swarms with individual pegmatites up to 30 metres wide have revealed a coherent," chief executive officer and chairman Colin Bird said in a statement.
"Total rare earth element in soil anomaly extending over 1,2 kilometres with a width of 300 to 500 metres…in soil content of 880ppm, with a further 1,5km extension (to the limit of laboratory assays) with peak Li in soil content. They (Galileo team) have found 4 359 soil samples. Some have been collected by laboratories for examination. All the soil samples are also being tested for lithium. Some samples went to South Africa and others to Ireland to make sure they fall under international standards," Bird added.
"A total of 4 359 soil samples, 728 stream sediment samples and 221 rock chip samples were collected and analysed…of which 1 282, 72 and 68 respectively were submitted for laboratory geochemical determinations. All laboratory submitted samples were analysed by ALS Chemex South Africa and ALS Chemex Ireland, fully accredited laboratories that comply with international standards ISO 9001:2015 and ISO17025:2017," he added.
Bird also affirmed that the company will be ready to operate soon.
"We committed to a substantial reconnaissance programme over all potentially prospective lithium terrain on the licence comprising stream sediment, rock chip and soil sampling, with 4 359 samples collected of which 1 282 were sent for laboratory analysis.
"This programme has identified several significant targets in several areas within the licence where the peak analytical values, metal associations and continuity are sufficiently coherent to allow us to plan an early follow-up programme including trenching and, where warranted, drilling," Bird said.
"We are very pleased with the progress of our gold projects in Zimbabwe and a combination of a significant level of small-scale mining activity in the area, combined with the results of our geophysics and geochemistry has added to our confidence. We look forward to drilling testing the targets we generated as soon as all results are to hand."
Galileo said it had found pegmatite rock in the western parts of Kamativi during exploration, which was an indication that there could be various minerals within the claims, which required further investigation.
The firm has interests in Zimbabwe's Bulawayo Gold Projects and Kimativi Lithium Project.
The firm said it had exported samples to South Africa and Ireland to get an in-depth view of the asset.
Galileo's Kamativi licence covers an area of 520 square kilometres, and is located adjacent to Kamativi Mine, a tin operation that collapsed over a decade ago.
Other firms had already been exploring for lithium in the same area.
"Total rare earth element in soil anomaly extending over 1,2 kilometres with a width of 300 to 500 metres…in soil content of 880ppm, with a further 1,5km extension (to the limit of laboratory assays) with peak Li in soil content. They (Galileo team) have found 4 359 soil samples. Some have been collected by laboratories for examination. All the soil samples are also being tested for lithium. Some samples went to South Africa and others to Ireland to make sure they fall under international standards," Bird added.
"A total of 4 359 soil samples, 728 stream sediment samples and 221 rock chip samples were collected and analysed…of which 1 282, 72 and 68 respectively were submitted for laboratory geochemical determinations. All laboratory submitted samples were analysed by ALS Chemex South Africa and ALS Chemex Ireland, fully accredited laboratories that comply with international standards ISO 9001:2015 and ISO17025:2017," he added.
Bird also affirmed that the company will be ready to operate soon.
"We committed to a substantial reconnaissance programme over all potentially prospective lithium terrain on the licence comprising stream sediment, rock chip and soil sampling, with 4 359 samples collected of which 1 282 were sent for laboratory analysis.
"This programme has identified several significant targets in several areas within the licence where the peak analytical values, metal associations and continuity are sufficiently coherent to allow us to plan an early follow-up programme including trenching and, where warranted, drilling," Bird said.
"We are very pleased with the progress of our gold projects in Zimbabwe and a combination of a significant level of small-scale mining activity in the area, combined with the results of our geophysics and geochemistry has added to our confidence. We look forward to drilling testing the targets we generated as soon as all results are to hand."
Source - the independent
