Minrom performed a non-invasive exploration programme located in the Cabo Delgado Province, Mozambique investigating graphite and gold mineralisation. Mozambique is a proven graphite region with the country having an 8% share of global reserves and a 6 % share of global production. Balama and Ancuabe mines within the Cabo Delgado Province are significant producers of graphite, with Balama being one of the world’s largest known graphite deposits.

Geologically, the project is situated within the high-grade metamorphic complex of the Pan-African Mozambique Belt. These highly metamorphosed rocks have been overlain by Karoo sedimentary formations to the west and sediments of the Rovuma Group to the east. Syn-orogenic to post-orogenic plutonic intrusive rocks (pegmatites and deformed granites) are readily found throughout the region. Regionally, there are three (3) important lithostratigraphic units: the Xixano Complex, the Nairoto Complex and the Montepuez Complex.

The project is located within the Neoproterozoic Xixano Complex which is primarily composed of high-grade metamorphic units such as paragneisses, amphibolites, and granulitic rocks. On the local scale, target lithologies were regionally mapped graphite-bearing mica schist and gneiss units with some of these graphitic units also playing host to gold mineralisation. This mineralisation may represent an extension of that seen in the Niassa Gold Belt (NGB) in northern Mozambique.

The exploration programme developed and implemented by Minrom comprised of on-site geological mapping and geochemical sampling which included trenching over the identified mineralised zones. A subsequent airborne geophysical survey was implemented to assist in highlighting potential extensions to mineralised zones and identifying any additional targets within the project area. A follow-up soil sampling campaign was performed to assess possible mineralisation trends and narrow the prospective target areas for graphite and gold.