Australian Stock Exchange-listed exploration firm Chilwa Minerals Limited says it has discovered further niobium deposits south of Nakombe River in Mpyupyu, Zomba, positioning the area as a critical minerals asset.
In an update, the company said results of its second drills in Mpyupyu confirmed huge niobium mineralisation.
The second drills, according to the update, were a systemic follow up to confirm niobium mineralisation after noticing the same in northern Mpyupyu and the base of Mpyupyu Hill where the company was initially exploring heavy mineral sands and rare earths elements.
Reads part of the update: “Results indicate niobium mineralisation abundance increases from 240 metres downhole.”
Chilwa Minerals Limited managing director Cadell Buss is quoted in the update as having said that niobium mineralisation completes the picture across the area they have tested to date.
He said: “With every hole we drill, the scale of this niobium system continues to grow and we are now working towards definition of a maiden exploration target with confirmation of results from further holes expected to support that work in the near-term.”
Buss said with most of the work already completed on its Mpyupyu heavy mineral sands deposit and the ongoing work in pre-resource heavy mineral sands drilling at the new Mpyupyu discovery, the niobium results position Chilwa’s interests in the Mpyupyu area alone,as a unique, multi-commodity critical minerals asset.
In an interview on Sunday, geoscience expert Ignatius Kamwanje said the progress is encouraging because there are also rare earth deposits, which co-exist with niobium.
He said more exploration needs to be done to establish the volumes.
“It is a viable project because the results show that the valuable heavy minerals have total heavy mineral of 3.9 percent, which is higher than other mines where the rate is at 3.03 percent,” said Kamwanje..
Chamber of Mines and Energy national coordinator Grain Malunga said the project has just started exploration, adding that the actual value is discovered at feasibility study.
The miner owns 100 percent of Lake Chilrwa project, containing heavy mineral sands, niobium and rare earth elements.
Meanwhile, Chilrwa Minerals Limited is planning to conduct an Initial Public Offer on Nasdaq, a US stock exchange, this year with expected proceeds of $10 million (about K18 billion) to fund exploration activities until June 2027.
The move is expected to give the firm better access to capital market for subsequent funding rounds.
Chilwa Minerals heavy mineral sands exploration lies in an area stretching between Lake Chilwa and Lake Chiuta, which is big enough to have a mine life of at least 10 years, according to geologists.
The company is expected to conduct third drills on its niobium project before focusing on further exploration and feasibility study.
Niobium is primarily used to strengthen steel, create superconducting materials and produce high-performance alloys for aerospace, medical and electronic applications.
