PROJECTS
SINGIDA
Key facts
- Ownership:
- Wholly owned by Shanta Mining Corporation Limited (SMCL)
- Extent:
- Seventeen prospecting licences covering approx 634 km²
- Location:
- Singida Administrative District, Singida Region, central Tanzania
- Project status:
- Advanced
Project potential and prospects
To date seven mineralised prospects within a 5km radius have been identified. Work is currently underway on the integration of preliminary resource estimation figures into a JORC compliant resource assessment.
The company plans to investigate the feasibility of exploitation of some of the mineralised targets during 2009. Budget provisions have been made for environmental-, metallurgical- and financial analysis studies.
Related press releases
2009
Exploration summary
To date the following geological exploration work has been completed:
- Conventional stream sediment geochemical sampling programs
- Grab, soil, pit and trench geochemical sampling programs
- Detailed geological and structural mapping programs
- Airborne radiometric and magnetometry surveys
- Extensive Induced Polarisation surveys
- Comprehensive drilling programs have been completed on prospecting licences PL2384/2003, PL2792/2004 and various Primary Mining License areas. A total of approximately 74 000 m Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling and 6 800 m Diamond Core (DC) drilling, commissioned at numerous prospects, has been completed to date.
- Phase 1 drilling results have been integrated into a JORC compliant Preliminary Resource Asessment – 4th Quarter 2007. This resource estimate is currently being upgraded to reflect geological findings achieved during the Phase 2 RC and Diamond drilling programme.
Total in situ Resources to date
A resource for the Singida, determined by independent consultants during the 2nd Quarter 2009, is summarised below:
The resource* comprises five prospects.
- Measured Resource (0.0 g/t lower cut-off grade) = 480.546 oz @ 2.13 g/t
- Indicated Resource (0.0 g/t lower cut-off grade) = 149,292 oz @ 1.03 g/t
- Inferred Resource (0.0 g/t lower cut-off grade) = 402,088 oz @ 1.19 g/t
- Total Resource (0.0 g/t lower cut-off grade) = 1,031,926 oz @ 1.46 g/t
A JORC-compliant Preliminary Resource Assessment was completed during the 2nd Quarter of 2009. The resource to date is comprised of seven prospects located within a 6km radius.
Regional geology
The geology of the Singida area is dominated by the Tanzanian granite-gneiss craton. Poorly exposed greenstone remnants were identified within the granite gneiss terrain during mapping by the Geological Survey of Tanzania (Haidutov 1976). These greenstones comprise an intercalated sedimentary and volcanic sequence with similarities to the Nyanzian Supergroup (System) of the Lake Victoria Goldfields.
The volcanic rocks encountered are predominantly basaltic lava and localised hypabyssal diorite/microdiorite intrusives. Meta-sedimentary rocks consist mainly of metaquartzitic lithologies, with subordinate siltstones, mudstones and banded ferruginous chert also encountered. The orientation of the layering is generally parallel to the basement foliation. Isoclinal folding is also evident.
The Nyanzian lithologies are generally metamorphosed to greenschist- and lower-amphibolite facies with localised occurrences of upper amphibolite grade. Post tectonic granite intrusives are common throughout the area.
Gold mineralisation is associated with penetrative brittle-ductile, steeply dipping, quartz veined shear zones that generally approximate the strike of lithological contacts.
The area south of Singida is exceptionally flat lying with little relief except for the granite intrusives that form prominent tors. Weathered overburden profiles are dominated by Neogene transported pedogenic gravels and related soils. Black Cotton soils (Mbuga) occurs locally.