AMN - NAMIBIA: Kazera to drill across entire tantalite project

Kazera Global will undertake a drilling program across its Namibian Tantalite Investment Mine (NTI) licence to gauge the long-term potential of the operating project. The program will consist of about 3000 metres of drilling with primary targets being the Signalberg mountain, White City and Snake deposits.

Kazera holds a 75% stake in African Tantalum (Aftan), which operates the NTI project.

An analysis of historical drill results has indicated that beyond the defined Homestead and Lepidolite zones, the total licence area has valuable mineralisation.

As production from the mine is now ramping up, Aftan's efforts will switch to proving up resources across the entire 452 hectares.

The drilling program will supplement ongoing drilling at the Homestead and Lepidolite areas where more than 200 samples have so far been taken. Tantalum and lithium will be the primary minerals targeted.

A Kazera statement said a detailed resource estimate would allow development of a long-life mine plan to include the satellite deposits.

Chief executive Larry Johnson added the exploration would allow Kazera to realise maximum value from NTI while providing highly important strategic choices.

Aftan has made five shipments of tantalum to its customer, a global North American leading tantalum consumer, since mining resumed last year and is now consistently extracting high purity tantalum from the Homestead ore body.

"Significant progress continues at the mine, with the application for a larger tailings dam, bidding for the installation of a system to pull water from the Orange River Water Project underway and our fifth shipment of industry leading high purity tantalum being sent to the customer," he said recently.

The tendering process has started for the laying of pipework for the newly approved Orange River Water Project with the intention of using solar power to drive the system.

Aftan has begun the application process, through a third party environmental engineering firm, for the certification of the installation of a larger tailings dam.

http://kazeraglobal.com/