お知らせ • Jan 22
BWA Group Plc Announces JORC 2012 Inferred Initial Mineral Resource Estimate for the Dehane 2 Heavy Mineral Sands Project, Cameroon
BWA Group plc provided results from its recently completed Inferred initial Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) at its 90% owned, through BWA Resources (UK) Ltd, Dehane 2 heavy mineral sands permit, located in the South Region of Central Cameroon. The Dehane Project is located 166 km southwest of Yaoundé, and 70 km from the deep seaport and industrial zone of Kribi. The D2 permit covers an area of 54 km2. It includes 14 km of strike length of the Nyong river system, an area known to be prospective for Ilmenite, Rutile, Zircon, and Kyanite heavy mineral sand (HMS) mineralisation. Moreover, the licence covers some 20 km of the mouth of the Nyong River as it empties into the Gulf of Guinea and adjacent sandy beach-setting coastline. The beach swash zone and the area extending inland by up to 150 m were the target for the 79-hole exploration drilling, the basis for the MRE being reported herein. The results of the recent drilling programmes (as announced on 19 December 2024, 5 June 2024 and 27 February 2024) were sufficiently encouraging to complete an initial MRE. The programmes consisted of 19 and 79 drillholes at a spacing of between 250 and 500 metres along strike and around 50 to 100 metres across the project width where access permitted. Drillhole locations are shown in previous announcement dated 19 December 2024. Holes were drilled to an average depth of around six metres using percussion drilling. Samples were submitted to Scientific Services Laboratory, South Africa, for heavy liquid separation (HLS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Significant intercepts for THM% and VHM% are presented in the previous announcement dated 19 December 2024. Computerised 3-dimensional geological modelling, block model grade interpolation and mineral resource estimation was completed by Addison Mining Services Ltd. for the drill tested beach sand area, covering an approximate aerial extent of 14-15 km long x 150-200 m wide. Classification of resources were completed based on drill spacing, quality of sample, geostatistical and visual assessment of grade continuity and drill sample versus block grade correlation. Reporting of resources with Reasonable Prospects of Eventual Economic Extraction (RPEEE) completed by use of calculated cut-off grade for Valuable Heavy Mineral (VHM) contents, utilising assumed reasonable and industry accepted recovery, mining and processing costs, and product selling prices. The presence of kyanite is currently reported as an Exploration Target range of tonnes and grades within the boundaries of the initial MRE model, pending results of current testwork. The Dehane licences are located in the Western Cameroon Domain, which extends along the border between Nigeria and Cameroon. This domain consists of a series of medium-grade to high-grade schists and gneisses of volcanic and volcano-sedimentary origin, intruded by later-stage granitoid complexes, the basement rocks are the source of heavy minerals. The Nyong River is the main river which runs through the licence areas. The BWAR licences (D1, D2 and D3) allow access to approximately 60 km of the prospective Nyong River floodplain system, deltas, estuarine coastline and associated tributaries. The licences encompass a large active river system and an even larger paleo-floodplain area, and marine coastline observed in satellite imagery, although this has yet to be fully ground-truthed through fieldwork. This paleo-floodplain is likely to be a significant target for exploration and covers the length of the river with an initial expected width of over 2 km in the north and increasing in the south. Other rivers of various importance are found there: Owoumbé, Nkoudou, Bidinga, Mbebe, Mboke, and Ongué. The Dehane area has been known for some historic small-scale artisanal historical rutile mining. However, the extent of its exploitation has not translated to concentrated modern exploration. Dehane 2 comprises approximately 14 kms of the Nyong river system, an area known to be prospective for Ilmenite, Rutile, Zircon and Kyanite heavy mineral sand mineralisation. Moreover, the licence covers some 20 km of the mouth of the Nyong River as it empties into the Gulf of Guinea. A river mouth can lead to a change in flow conditions that can cause the fluvial system to deposit any supplementary sediment including heavy mineral sand (HMS) it is carrying, where potentially economic accumulations of HMS are found within the lowest energy zone on the beach, the swash zone. Rutile, ilmenite and kyanite were visible during the drilling. Generally, the rutile grains are reddish and medium to coarse-grained compared to the black finer-grained ilmenite (reported on 27 February 2024). The sands are generally thicker towards the southern part of the Dehane 2 licence, although the XRD results show that the HMS mineralisation is continuous and of similar grades (with some areas of higher and lower grade, expected due to the nature of deposition. Rutile and ilmenite mineralisation was observed in all sand horizons with larger grains of heavy minerals located within the coarser sands. Micas are generally observed in the drillhole near the boundary to the gneiss bedrock. The typical drillhole lithologies consist of a thin layer of organic soil-sandy material measuring less than 10 cm from the surface. This layer overlies a varying thickness of coarse to medium-grained sands, where the HMS is predominant. The gneiss bedrock's depth varies between six to seven metres with depths down to ten metres not uncommon.
