Location
The 98 million tonne Nuweibi is located 17km to the south-southwest of Gippsland's Abu Dabbab Tantalum-Tin-Feldspar Project and 30km inland from the western shore of the Red Sea.
Previous exploration
Tin mineralisation was first discovered at Nuweibi in 1944 but it was not until 1970 that tantalum was recognised. The deposit was the subject of detailed exploration by the same joint Soviet-Egyptian team that explored Abu Dabbab. The work included 23 diamond drill holes totalling 2,746m, four surface trenches and four bulk samples for metallurgical testwork.
Resources
Nuweibi Mineral Resources (100g/t Ta 2O 5 cut-off)
| Category |
Million Tonnes |
Ta2O5(g/t) |
Nb2O5(g/t) |
|
Indicated Resource |
48 |
147 |
90 |
|
Inferred Resource |
50 |
138 |
95 |
|
Total Resource |
98 |
143 |
95 |
There is the potential for a significant increase in the Nuweibi resources to the east as most of the eastern diamond drill holes bottomed in mineralisation.
Geological setting
The Nuweibi mineralisation is hosted by an apogranite intrusive within a sequence of schists, gabbro, serpentinite older granites and dykes of varying composition. The apogranite that hosts the mineralisation is comprised of three main facies, an upper, middle and lower, each separated by transition zones.
Exploration
The nearby Abu Dabbab deposit has adequate resources for at least a decade of mining such that immediate exploitation is not warranted. Current exploration will focus on infill drilling to upgrade the resource categories. This will involve the completion of diamond drilling to 150m.
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Abu Dabbab-Nuweibi location map |
Exposed Nuweibi mineralisation |
Nuweibi geological plan |
Nuweibi geology |
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Loader at work preparing site access | General view of the Nuweibi deposit (light coloured rocks) |