Namibia Critical Metals completes bulk sampling pit at Lofdal
Namibia Critical Metals this week announced the completion of work on a starter pit for bulk sampling at the Lofdal Heavy Rare Earth Dysprosium-Terbium project in northern Namibia.
A blast was conducted at the Area 4 deposit on 06 October and mining of the earmarked mineralized blocks was completed on 30 October.
A total of 34,500 tonnes was mined from the mineralized zone to 15 metres depth of which 500 tonnes from a depth between 12 and 15 metres was systematically blended and stockpiled to provide a representative homogenized sample of the Area 4 deposit. From this material, 300 tonnes were selected for crushing and screening by Gecko Namibia.
Rainer Ellmies, Vice-President of Namibia Critical Metals for the first time, they have the opportunity to produce very large bulk samples from mineralized blocks below the zone of intense weathering for pilot-scale test work.
“Being not limited to small amounts of drill core or material from surface trenches, these bulk samples allow us to conduct several pilot-scale sorting tests as well as geotechnical test work which aim at further optimization of the final processing flowsheet,” Ellmies said.
The first two bulk samples of 2.7 tonnes and 1.5 tonnes were shipped to Rados Johannesburg and Tomra Hamburg for XRF and XRT sorting test work, respectively.
Final results from the sorting test work are expected by early January 2022.
Caption: Blast for the bulk sampling pit in central Area 4 deposit at Lofdal by Bulk Mining Explosives (BME); stockpiles in the left background.
