- Located approximately 200 km south of Lusaka, immediately north of Lake Kariba, at elevations of 500 metres to 960 metres.
- Mineral resource (November 2017) of 15.2 Mlbs U3O8 contained in the Measured and Indicated, and 44.9 Mlbs U3O8 contained in the Inferred category.
- Uranium deposits hosted within sandstones of the Escarpment Grit Formation of the Karoo Super Group.
- Preliminary Economic Assessment completed November 2017.
- 11-year mine life forecast producing 2.6 Mlbs U3O8 per annum.
- Uranium recovery forecast at 88%.
- Start-up Capital Expenditure of US$121 million.
- Cash Operating Cost forecast at US$31.1 / lb U3O8.
- Mine license granted; based on open-pit mining + heap leach.
- Infrastructure includes road access via 39 km gravel road, ground water, and available grid power (approximately 60 km away).
Muntanga - Zambia
Summary
Project Description
The Muntanga Uranium Project consists of five main deposits: Muntanga, Dibwe, Dibwe East, Njame, and Gwabe. These deposits make up the bulk of the Mineral Resources described herein. The Muntanga Project area is situated in the Southern Province of Zambia about 200 km south of Lusaka, immediately north of Lake Kariba, approximately 31 km northwest of Siavonga.
GoviEx acquired 100% of the Muntanga Project (“the Project”) in 2016 from Denison Mines Corp. (“Denison”). The project included the Muntanga, Dibwe, and Dibwe East deposits. In 2017, GoviEx acquired 100% of the Njame and Gwabe deposits from African Energy Resource.
The Muntanga Project is currently comprised of three mining licenses (13880-HQ-LML, 13881-HQ-LML, and 12634-HQ-LML) encompassing 720 square kilometres. The 13880 and 13881 mining licenses have terms to 25 March 2035, whilst 12624 has a term until October 2034.
The host to the mineralisation at Muntanga is parto fthe Carboniferous to Triassic Karoo Super Group. A thick terrestrial strata that occurs extensively in southern Africa and hosts a number of uranium deposits.
At the Muntanga project the Escarpment Grit formation (the braided and the meandering facies) host the known deposits. The mineralogy is mostly secondary uranium minerals occurring as meta-autunite along fractures, coating of mud clasts and disseminated through the sandstone. There is a primary uranium mineralisation consisting of Uraninite and Coffinite.
Updated PEA 2017
The updated PEA carried out by mining consultants SRK Consulting can be viewed here.
SRK completed a Preliminary Economic Assessment for the project. The economic analysis results indicate an after-tax Net Profit Value ("NPV") of US$112 million at an 8% discount rate, with an Internal Rate of Return ("IRR") of 25%, based on long-term uranium price of US$58/lb U3O8.
The proposed base case envisions an average 2.4 Mlb per year U3O8 yellowcake production rate, and an 88% ultimate recovery, generating an eleven-year mine life and a total forecast production of 26.4 Mlb U3O8. The project economics are at a long-term uranium price of US$58/lb U3O8. Initial capital costs are estimated at US$123 million, with total LoM capital costs at US$183 million, cash operating costs of US$31.1 / lb U3O8 excluding royalties, and US$36.4/lb U3O8 including royalties.
The PEA is considered preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves have not yet demonstrated economic viability. Due to the uncertainty that may be attached to Inferred Mineral Resources, it cannot be assumed that all or any part of an Inferred Mineral Resource will be upgraded to an Indicated or Measured Mineral Resource as a result of continued exploration or Mineral Reserves once economic considerations are applied; therefore, there is no certainty that the production profile concluded in the PEA will be realized.
Resource Table
| Deposit | Category | Tonnes (Mt) | U3O8 Grade (ppm) | U3O8 (Mlb) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muntanga2 | Measured | 1.9 | 481 | 2.0 |
| Indicated | 8.4 | 314 | 5.8 | |
| Inferred | 7.2 | 206 | 3.3 | |
| Dibwe2 | Inferred | 17.0 | 239 | 9.0 |
| Dibwe East2 | Inferred | 43.1 | 304 | 28.9 |
| Gwabe3 | Measured | 1.3 | 237 | 0.7 |
| Indicated | 3.6 | 313 | 2.5 | |
| Inferred | 0.7 | 178 | 0.3 | |
| Njame3 | Measured | 2.7 | 350 | 2.1 |
| Indicated | 3.7 | 252 | 2.1 | |
| Inferred | 2.1 | 225 | 1.1 | |
| Njame South3 | Inferred | 4.4 | 250 | 2.4 |
| Sub-total Measured | 5.9 | 366 | 4.8 | |
| Sub-total Indicated | 15.7 | 299 | 10.4 | |
| Measured and Indicated | 21.6 | 317.5 | 15.1 | |
| Inferred | 74.6 | 273.0 | 44.9 |
Notes:
- Mineral Resources have not been constrained by pit shells, however, almost all of the mineralisation occurs within 125 m of surface with uranium grades which are, in general, considered to have reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction by open pit mining.
- The cut-off grade used for reporting the Mineral Resource is 100 ppm U3O8, which is applied directly to block model cells.
- No U3O8 ppm cut-off is applied to block model cells for reporting the Mineral Resource. However, the outer limits block model was constrained within a 100 ppm U3O8 wireframe used for geological modelling.