Overview
ACI has a 100% interest in the Garahanga area alluvial and near-surface Tungsten project which is located in the Mashonaland Central Province, north of the capital city, Harare, Zimbabwe. The Tungsten Mine samples (Press Release (16/03/2012) with full results available here) taken of the claims to date had a Tungsten grading with respect to radiation measurements for the material have been found to be of at low levels of common pollutants (Pb, As, U/Th).
ACI mining holds 300 Hectares of the rare earth Tungsten claims with Options Agreements signed to acquire neighboring claims to the north and north-east.
The project is in an area with a well developed infrastructure. It has grid power, easy access to roads and a supportive township in the vacinity. Local people welcome the jobs that will be created by the project.
The Tungsten Wolframite claims according to previous drilling and sampling done over the years have indicated reserves estimated at 80,000 tonnes in pure Tungsten concentrate at conservative estimates with “blue sky“ potential.
ACI’s first plant is ready to mine 300 hectares initially, increasing to include a further 600 hectares in the longer term. Using manual extraction and simple processing of near-surface resources as well as conventional mining techniques these reserves will be mined for approximately ten years. This low-cost, sustainable approach involves little chemicals and leaves little toxic waste. ACI intends to commence trial mining on the site bearing claims for which it has an initial exploration license with initial production target at 50 tonnes per month in the first year and ramping up to 100 tonnes per month in the second year.
ACI will work to comply on its projects with The Equator Principles based on the International Financial Corporation (IFC) performance standards on social and environmental sustainability, and on the World Bank Group’s Environmental, Health and Safety General guidelines. The company also plans to get certified in international standards for its operations such as ISO 14001 (Environmental Management), 9001 (Quality Management Systems), OHSAS (Occupational Health and Safety Management System) as well as 26000 (Social Responsibility). It believes consequently a project does not end with a mine’s closure but only after a comprehensive remediation programme that includes returning overburden and gravel to the flood plain and restoration of flora from the company’s own nursery.
Map of ACI Tungsten Claims – 067606 & 067607
