Key takeaways from Mount Burgess’ (ASX:MTB) annual report - Kalkine Media

Highlights

• Mount Burgess Mining (ASX:MTB) has released its annual report for the 2022 financial year ended 30 June 2022.
• During the year, the company was mainly engaged in assessing the way forward for its Kihabe-Nxuu Project in Botswana.
• With significant progress in activities, the company is looking forward to complete development of the Nxuu Deposit without any delay and conduct a pre-feasibility study.
• At the Kihabe Deposit, further drilling and assaying needs to be done to include Cu, Ga and Ge in its resource estimate.

Mount Burgess Mining NL (ASX:MTB) has released its annual report for the period ended 30 June 2022.

Assessing the road ahead for its Kihabe-Nxuu Project in Botswana was the primary business goal of the Group for the period.

The main activities undertaken during the financial year included evaluating the potential to exploit additional known metal credits, like gallium, vanadium, copper, and germanium. Exploring diverse metallurgical processes that could uplift the potential for on-site beneficiation of metal production was also a part of the assessment.

Here's a detailed update about developments at the Kihabe-Nxuu Project during the year!

Nxuu Deposit
The Nxuu Deposit is considered to be a shallow, low-risk, low-cost, basin-shaped deposit that holds mineralisation in oxidised Quartz Wacke in a barren Dolostone basin.

As per the drilling conducted recently, mineralisation extends to the west and east of the deposit. The drilling operations would help in determining the extent of extensions.

To estimate a resource compliant with the 2012 JORC Code, further drilling is still needed.

Based on an average per hole of 52 holes drilled to date:
• The average depth to base of mineralisation is only 41m.
• The average depth of Kalahari sand cover is 7m.
• The average length of Quatrz Wacke containing recoverable mineralisation is 34m.

The company holds the belief that modern strategic metals gallium and germanium will turn out to be key contributors to the project as there has been an increase in their prices in recent times. It is keen on developing the Nxuu Deposit without further delay and then move forward to its pre-feasibility study.

Image Source: ©2022 Kalkine Media®, Data Source: Company Announcement

Kihabe Deposit

The Kihabe Deposit is spread along a strike length of 2.4 km having two proposed open-cut pits on a strike length of 1.8 km. It contains an indicated/inferred resource of 21 million tonnes, estimated applying a 0.5% low cut for Zn/Pb, containing 321,000 tonnes of Zn, 154,000 tonnes of Pb, 5,400,000 Ozs Ag and 10,000 tonnes V₂O_5. Also, major zones of Cu, Ga and Ge have been intersected. However, for their inclusion in a resource estimate, further drilling and assaying is needed.

Mineralisation at the Kihabe Deposit occurs in a Quartz Wacke (located below Kalahari sand cover) at an almost vertical contact with a barren Dolostone. The Quartz Wacke contains layers of oxide, transitional and sulphide.

As per Mineralogical and Metallurgical test work, it has been confirmed that within the oxide and upper transitional zones:

Image source: company update 

It has also been confirmed that within the sulphide and lower transitional zones:

• 94% Zn hosted in the sulphide mineral sphalerite can be recovered from flotation concentrates containing 58% Zn, transported from site to a smelter.
• 84% Pb hosted in the sulphide mineral Galena can be recovered from flotation concentrates containing 76% Pb, transported from site to a smelter.
• 96% Ag can be recovered from flotation concentrates transported from site to a smelter.

MTB shares traded at AU$0.005 on 13 September 2022.