In 2005, Falconbridge acquired a 50% indirect interest in the Kabanga nickel project in Tanzania from Barrick, which retains the remainder. Falconbridge is the operator of the joint venture. The project is located in northwestern Tanzania, south of Lake Victoria and near the Burundi and Rwanda borders.
Falconbridge has started a $50 million program that will include additional exploration and in-fill drilling, and technical work to expand the resource, delineate significant portions of the resource to indicated and measured classifications, and construct a revised resource model based on more complete data for the Kabanga deposits. A dedicated team has been established to coordinate and advance this work plan.
The Kabanga deposit comprises pentlandite, chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite ranging from a net textured to massive sulphide. The deposits are hosted in small mafic-ultramafic intrusives that are part of the Meso-Proterozoic Kibaran Orogenic Belt of Central Africa.
The current estimated inferred resource is 26.4 million tonnes grading 2.6% nickel based on estimates released by Barrick (February 2003). Contingent upon the results of the Falconbridge drilling program and completion of a feasibility study, the partners expect that the operation may be capable of producing approximately 2 million tonnes of ore per year, which would represent approximately 30,000 to 35,000 tonnes per year of nickel-in-concentrate. The nickel concentrates would be marketed by Falconbridge and at least 50% of the concentrates would be processed at Falconbridge's Sudbury nickel smelter and Norwegian nickel refinery on behalf of the joint venture.
For more information, please contact projectsengineering@falconbridge.com. |
