AMN - ZIMBABWE: Maiden lithium resource for Kamativi

Canadian strategic metals company Chimata Gold Corp has announced a maiden mineral resource statement for the Kamativi Tailings Lithium Project in Zimbabwe. The project contains an indicated resource of 26.32 million tonnes at 0.58% lithium oxide (Li2O).

There is also an inferred resource of 300,000 tonnes at 0.62% Li2O.

The MSA Group (Pty) Ltd completed the Kamativi estimate for Chimata in association with its local Zimbabwean partner Jimbata (Pvt) ltd.

The project is outside Kamativi Village in the Matabeleland North Province of Zimbabwe, about 185km east-southeast of Victoria Falls and about 310km northwest of Bulawayo. The project is associated with the historical Kamativi Tin Mine, which ceased operation in 1994.

The Kamativi tailings storage facility is a man-made deposit that was created from tailings produced from processing of tin mineralisation at the Kamativi Tin Mine. These tailings were deposited over the period 1936 to 1994 and are derived from the mining and processing of the tin-bearing (spodumene-bearing lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatites.

At Kamativi, spodumene is the predominant lithium mineral present, with minor amounts of cookeite, zinnwaldite, petalite and amblygonite.

The resource statement was based on geochemical analyses and density measurements, obtained from drilling and pitting respectively, undertaken by Jimbata between March 2018 and June 2018.

A total of 115 vertical holes were drilled at Kamativi at a nominal 100-metre grid spacing. Initially, drilling was by coring, and later an auger method was employed. Blank samples, certified reference materials and duplicates were included with the drill hole samples. As an additional check, 6% of the drill hole samples assayed by the primary laboratory were re-assayed by a second laboratory.

Seven holes were twin drilled using both drilling methods employed at Kamativi. The auger samples exhibit better recoveries than the core samples. Analyses of the twin hole data demonstrated that the core sample data are overall unbiased compared to auger data. Therefore, the core sample data was considered acceptable to use in resource statement, together with the auger sample data.

The volume of the dump was defined by surfaces representing the top and bottom of the dump. The top of dump surface was based on surveyed points on the dump and around the boundary of the dump, as well as drill hole collar surveys.

The surface representing the bottom of the dump was based on drill hole intersection of the base of the dump, as well as survey points of the boundary of the dump.

A three-dimensional block model was created between the surfaces and grades were estimated into the blocks using ordinary kriging. An average dry density was applied to derive the tonnage of the tailings.

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