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Roy Pitchford heads into Sierra Leone
Julie Bain
Posted: Wed, 23 Apr 2008
[miningmx.com] -- SERIAL mining entrepreneur Roy Pitchford has now turned his attention to Sierra Leone through African Minerals – the AIM-listed exploration company of which he is CEO.
"Our major emphasis is on the Tonkolili iron ore project. We have a huge potential resource here that we need to prove up as fast as we can. We have put together a very large exploration programme with nine drill rigs," said Pitchford.
Pitchford has seen two of the platinum companies he previously headed, Zimplats and Afplats, bought by Impala Platinum. If Tonkolili lives up to expectations it may be another project that could attract the attention of major mining companies or steel producers.
He commented, "One has to anticipate that one of the major producers or consumers would express an interest in what we are doing, especially given that anything over 1bn tonnes of ore is classed
as world class deposit.
“One has to expect somewhere in the piece we may receive an offer for the asset. At the end of day it is the shareholders who will decide and we would be obliged to take any serious offer that comes to shareholders."
African Minerals intends defining inferred and indicated resources over the next 12 months at Tonkolili where the prospect is 28kms long on strike and 500m to a kilometre wide.
A prefeasibility study will be carried out in parallel to be completed early next year after which a full feasibility study is planned.
"We have every reason to believe there is at least more than a billion tonnes of iron ore in the deposit," Pitchford added.
Sierra Leone, which emerged from a decade of civil war in 2002, is now encouraging investment by mining companies. Pitchford said mining companies started going back into the country to assess the mineral resources there from about 2003/2004.
Any iron
ore produced would be destined for the European market using an existing railway facility running from the former Marampa iron ore mine.
Pitchford said African Minerals has extensive exploration ground around the former Marampa mine and there is a possibility of an extension to the Marampa ore body which African Minerals could mine.
It would be smaller than any Tonkolili operation but has access to the railway which runs to the deep water Pepel Port near Freetown.
"In the first instance we have the reliability of the port and rail line as far as Marampa and could then build an extension from Marampa to Tonkolili to take the iron ore from there to Pepel for export to Europe," said Pitchford.
African Minerals has five active projects in Sierra Leone including Tonkolili. The company is also carrying out exploration work on diamonds, nickel and gold and has a very early stage uranium project called Lovetta.
At Gori Hills and Nimini
Hills the company is developing possible nickel projects. Work at Gori Hill is more advanced and Pitchford said it may yield a "world class" nickel and cobalt project. He said after the iron ore project, nickel was the company's other major focus.
"We are drilling at the moment and we have been very encouraged with results so far," said Pitchford.
To date, African Minerals has sold 30,000 carats of diamonds from its bulk sampling operations at a number of kimberlite targets in Sierra Leone but diamonds are not a particular focus at present.
The company has carried out an aeromagnetic survey over the whole country which, in addition to the other prospects, has defined what Pitchford described as an "intriguing gold anomaly".
He questioned whether gold and base metals would sit nicely in African Minerals' portfolio but the company has done some early stage exploration with "encouraging results" at the gold project which is called Laminaia
Hills.
"In six to nine months we will have defined the target area and planned the drilling programme that would take us to an inferred resource," said Pitchford.
Outside Africa, African Minerals this month bought Canadian exploration company White River which has a potential nickel deposit in the Yukon.
"We think we secured it at a reasonable price. The company comes with a full administrative and technical team. It will add to the group's senior management," said Pitchford.
African Minerals will pay for White River through the issue of 2m new shares. p>
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