Lumwana comes with a lot of serious hidden secrets … despite having been discovered over 70 years ago, it was not fully developed. But why?? Because at the time of discovery, it was learnt that its ore’s copper content was lower than the best grade available in other regions such as those on the Copperbelt.
Initial metallurgical studies were mainly focused just on copper and no other mineral contents were premeditated. The Ministry of Mines carried other tests with the help of students from the School of Mines at UNZA in the late 80’s and new discoveries were found … it was this group that issued new metallurgical maps for Zambia showing new mineral reserves around the nation.
The study showed that Lumwana is a multi-element deposit with significant gold, cobalt and uranium grades distributed throughout the deposit but the government was too broke to pursue the project due to the ongoing Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) imposed by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund at the time.
So, what we have at Lumwana is a total hidden package with just as much copper, as much gold, as much cobalt, and as much uranium – this has been the serious hidden secret of the hidden treasures that lie under the soils of Lumwana making it the world’s largest undeveloped deposits with a 321Mt ore reserve grading at 0.73% Cu and 0.093% U308.
This means that once commissioning is completed in mid-2008, Lumwana will be well on its way to becoming the largest copper, gold, cobalt and uranium producing mine in Africa. As we unearth for copper, we would have the benefit of doing the same for gold, cobalt and uranium.
This excavation process provides for maximum utility as the economies of scales are exploited to the fullest extent because we would dig for the price of one but sell for the price of four. As we yank out one stone from the ground, we produce four products from it … it can’t get any better than that!!!
If my memory serves me right, Equinox holds mineral rights for copper and uranium but they should be allowed to extend those to gold and cobalt that way the ore’s extraction may yield the largest benefit. These secretly hidden treasures at Lumwana have the capacity to attrack over a billion dollars ($1 billion) in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for the Zambian Enterprise … thanks a trillion.
Brainwave R Mumba, Sr.
CEO & President – Zambian Chronicle
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July 21, 2007 at 5:34 am
Chama Chakomboka wasn’t lying when he said he would turn the Zambian economy around in 6 months if elected president because he knew where the minoloshi (minerals) were … thanks a trillion
July 21, 2007 at 3:54 pm
This is fabulous for Zambia and thank you for more insight. How did you know about the study?
July 21, 2007 at 6:01 pm
Mulenga,
… like a lot of things in the first and second republics, the study was done by a few selected students from the School of Mines.
Their findings were kept secret at the Ministry of Mines; the only thing they were able to publish was the new metallurgical map for Zambia.
It was gazetted (new metallurgical map) in the late 80’s and I was privileged to have a look at the whole map because a kinfolk was then Minister of State for the Mines Ministry.
The main reason for keeping it that way was because of Zambia’s relationships with certain countries at the time and much more because uranium was involved.
It was considered a national interest issue to keep this information classified; more like the tunnels under State House were classified until FTJ made them public.
Now everyone knows that the Zambian Enterprise is open for business and many independent studies will soon be publishing these secrets and or findings as they have since been declassified … thanks a trillion
July 25, 2007 at 1:14 pm
THIS ARTICLE WAS FOUND ON A REFERRAL SITE …
Equinox Minerals Ltd (C:EQN)
Shares Issued 560,139,832
Last Close 7/23/2007 $4.16
Tuesday July 24 2007 - News Release
Mr. Craig Williams reports
EQUINOX MINERALS LIMITED: LUMWANA URANIUM FEASIBILITY STUDY AT MALUNDWE DELIVERS HIGH GRADE URANIUM INTERCEPTS
Equinox Minerals Ltd. is providing an update on drilling progress for the uranium feasibility study presently under way at its Lumwana project located in the North Western province of Zambia. High-grade results of note include MLW0055 which intersected 11 metres at 0.75 per cent U3O8 from 24 m including three m of 2.66 per cent U3O8 from 25 m. All results containing intercepts above 0.3 per cent U3O8 are presented in the accompanying table. A more detailed table is available on the company website that presents all intercepts exceeding 0.02 per cent U3O8.
Commenting on the uranium drill results, Craig Williams, Equinox president and chief executive officer, said: “The drilling program currently under way appears to be defining discrete and coherent mineralized zones with significant uranium grades at Malundwe. In addition to this Malundwe work, Equinox is proactively exploring additional regional uranium targets within its 1,355-square-kilometre Lumwana mining licence and Equinox’s regional tenements. Recent heliborne radiometric surveying and reprocessed fixed wing radiometric data has proven very successful in identifying and delivering numerous additional uranium channel anomalies for our teams to investigate outside of the UFS. This suggests further uranium potential in the region as we work to expand the total Lumwana uranium resource.”
Uranium within the Malundwe and Chimiwungo copper deposits at Lumwana occurs as discrete uranium-enriched zones that will be mined separately during the copper mining operation as detailed in the October, 2006, technical report available on SEDAR. Australian JORC and Canadian NI 43-101-compliant Lumwana uranium mineral resources have been previously estimated at 9.5 million tonnes grading 0.093 per cent U3O8 indicated and 2.6 million tonnes of 0.042 per cent U3O8 inferred, using a 0.01-per-cent uranium cut-off grade (see company news in Stockwatch on May 2, 2005). These resources will be revised on completion of the current UFS program.
The company’s UFS drill program commenced in April, 2007, and comprises approximately 16,000 m in 160 RC drill holes that will extend along a two km strike length of the Malundwe copper deposit within the currently designed main Malundwe open pit. On completion of this drilling program, drill hole collar spacing will average 50 m by 50 m and in some areas the density will have been increased to 25 m by 25 m to increase statistical definition of the resources. Certain RC holes are being supplemented by diamond core drilling that includes PQ metallurgical holes and corroborative PQ diamond twins. Metallurgical UFS testwork is being conducted on RC drill samples from selected holes, and the diamond core will be similarly used in the testwork program.
Uranium occurs almost exclusively as uraninite aligned north-south within the foliation of the host rock, varying from coarse uraninite aggregates up to three centimetres in size to finer uraninite grains disseminated among silicate gangue minerals. The uranium is not associated with any significant thorium and investigation indicates there is no uranium disequilibrium effects identified within the mineralization.
The uranium mineralization is predominantly hosted within the Malundwe copper sulphide orebody adjacent to the hangingwall and footwall contacts. Uranium-only mineralization also occurs typically within five metres below the copper orebody footwall contact. Away from these discrete uranium-enriched zones, the copper sulphide orebody is largely barren of uranium mineralization and hence uranium does not report to the copper concentrate. The northern zone at Malundwe is being delineated presently as part of the continuing UFS drilling program. Assays received to July 16, 2007, represent about one-quarter of the holes drilled to date and are presented in the accompanying table.
URANIUM DRILL INTERCEPTS AT MALUNDWE PROSPECT
(ABOVE 0.3 PER CENT U3O8)
Depth
Width U3O8 U3O8 Au below
Hole From To (m) % kg/t ppm Cu % surface
MLW0019 66 67 1 1.28 12.8 0.79 2.72 66
MLW0032 48 53 5 0.31 3.1 0.15 0.10 48
Incl. 48 49 1 1.47 14.7 0.18 0.24 48
MLW0047 27 30 3 1.42 14.2 0.04 0.12 27
And 27 28 1 4.19 41.9 0.04 0.34 27
MLW0053 26 27 1 0.32 3.2 0.08 0.67
34 37 3 0.67 6.7 0.49 1.29 34
MLW0055 24 35 11 0.75 7.5 1.3 0.75 24
And 25 28 3 2.66 26.6 1.33 0.93 25
MLW0061 25 35 10 0.71 7.1 0.47 0.54 25
MLW0067 30 35 5 0.53 5.3 0.34 0.33 30
MLW0074 34 38 4 0.49 4.9 0.62 1.79 34
MLW0086 47 49 2 0.36 3.6 0.16 1.56 47
MLW0154 64 67 3 0.47 4.7 0.18 1.13 64
MLW0162 72 83 11 0.15 1.5 0.1 1.08 72
Incl. 72 73 1 1.18 11.8 0.14 0.97 72
Note: True thickness is equivalent to the intersection
thickness.
Further UFS drill results are expected to be released during third quarter 2007.
Competent person and sampling protocols
As required by the National Instrument 43-101, Equinox’s designated qualified personnel required for the supervision of exploration of the projects and verification of the technical information reported in this news release are John Cooke and Mike Richards, employees of the corporation. Drill methods used to generate the samples were 4-1/2-inch-diameter RC percussion and PQ diamond drill core. Collar positions were located using a differential GPS. Both RC and diamond holes were surveyed downhole. RC samples were collected in plastic bags by a cyclone on one-metre intervals and split through a 75:25 Jones riffle splitter. The resultant sample of two kilograms was placed in a calico bag. Duplicates, standard reference samples and blanks were inserted in the sample sequence at a rate of one in 20. Samples were prepared at AHKnight’s facility in Kitwe, where all samples were dried, crushed and pulverized to achieve 90 per cent passing minus 75 microns. The pulp was collected from the pulverizer bowl by a ceramic sample scoop, and the balance of the pulp returned to Lumwana for storage for reassay, if required. Pulps were dispatched directly to ALS Chemex at Malaga, Perth, Western Australia, by air freight. Samples were assayed by four-acid digest and method ME-ICP61 up to 1,000 parts per million U and 10,000 ppm Cu; above this level samples were reassayed by fused disc XRF12 for U and OG62 for Cu, both methods being more accurate ore grade determinations. Intercepts were calculated as an arithmetic average, and intervals represent downhole intercepts, although at Malundwe this approximates true thicknes
July 25, 2007 at 1:16 pm
FROM WALLSTREET ONLINE BLOG … THIS IS A GERMAN SITE
http://www.wallstreet-online.de/dyn/community/thread.html?thread_id=1115963&m=5.16.0.0.0&extended=1&timemode=1&search_timerange=-180&timeto=02.01.70&page=1&keyword=Equinox&mode=pages_reverse
Equinox Signs 5-Year Agreements With Mopani and Glencore for Balance of Lumwana Concentrate
Equinox Minerals Limited (TSX:EQN)(ASX:EQN) (”Equinox” or the “Company”) is pleased to report that its wholly owned subsidiary Lumwana Mining Company Limited (”LMC”) has signed Concentrate Sale and Purchase Agreements (the “Agreements”) with Mopani Copper Mines Plc (”Mopani”) and Glencore International AG (”Glencore”) for a total minimum contractual “take and pay” tonnage of 600,000 dry metric tonnes (”dmt”) of Lumwana copper concentrates. The Agreements also grant Glencore a first option right to process further additional annual quantities of Lumwana copper concentrates determined as the difference between the current LMC scheduled production, less the base Agreement commitments above, and less LMC’s commitments to Chambishi Copper Smelter (refer to Equinox announcement dated February 15, 2007). Any optional quantity will be distributed and treated between Mopani and Glencore in the
proportions specified below. This represents the balance of concentrates for the initial 5 years based on the scheduled production of the Lumwana Copper Project concentrator currently
under construction. The 5-year Agreements will commence from the start of LMC’s production scheduled to commence in mid 2008 and combined, carry total base commitments of 120,000 dmt of copper concentrates (containing approximately 53,000 tonnes of copper metal) annually. The contracted commitments will be distributed
66.7% delivery to Mopani (for toll treatment at the Mufulira smelter) and 33.3% delivery to Glencore for trading. The Agreements will charge LMC copper treatment and refining charges (”TCRC’s”) to be determined annually based on global benchmark terms (refer to the October 2006 Technical Report for details of Lumwana concentrate). Glencore is a privately held company owned by its management and employees. Headquartered in Baar, Switzerland, Glencore is one of the world’s largest suppliers of a wide range of commodities and raw materials to industrial consumers and counterpart commercial producers. Mopani is a joint venture company controlled by Glencore (73.1%). The other shareholders are First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (16.9%) and Zambian Consolidated Copper Mines Limited (10%). Mopani is an integrated copper and cobalt producer
located in the Copperbelt of Zambia operating the Mufulira mine, smelter and copper refinery and the Nkana mine and cobalt plant. Current capacity of the Mufulira Copper Smelter is 800,000 tons per year of concentrate. Lumwana, owned 100% by Equinox, is located in the North Western Province of the Republic of Zambia. The Lumwana mine will produce an average of 169,000 tonnes of copper metal per year contained in concentrates for the first 6 years of its 37 year mine life. Construction remains on schedule for commissioning in Q2 2008. Commenting, Craig Williams, Equinox President and CEO said: “These Agreements complete the placement of 100% of the current LMC scheduled production into firm off take agreements, meet yet another key milestone to project financing and secure Equinox’s presence in a growing
January 14, 2008 at 11:14 pm
[...] the case of Equinox, the company has already negotiated a 10-year development agreement for its Lumwana project, and believes it is exempt from higher taxes for the length of the agreement. Mr. Kodatsky is [...]