Australia’s Base Resources gets more acreage for exploration

Australian miner Base Resources has been granted another exploratory drilling licence by the Ministry of Mining covering an expanded area of 177 square kilometres in Kwale County.

The firm said following the nod it will upscale its exploratory activities at the Coast from where it has been exporting minerals.

“Base Resources Ltd is pleased to advise that it has been granted exploration tenure over a significantly expanded land area surrounding the company’s Kwale mineral sands operations in Kenya and expects to commence a drilling programme in the September quarter,” the firm said in a statement Tuesday.

“With Kwale at steady production and having mined 22.2 million tonnes since commissioning in October 2013, we are excited by the prospectivity of the new tenement area and the potential to further extend the mine life of the Kwale Operations,” added Base Resources managing director Tim Carstens.

In 2015, Base Resources reported that mineral output at the Kwale project had increased in all its three products.

The firm said its proposed drilling programme was backed by successful aerial survey of possible mineral deposits, conducted last year, covering the South Coast region of Kenya from Mombasa to the Tanzanian border, which identified a series of exploration targets that were subsequently confirmed through ground reconnaissance.

The initial programme will comprise up to 18,000 metres of aircore drilling, the company said.

Base Resources, meanwhile, revealed that in addition to an extension of the company’s special prospecting licence 173 (SPL 173), which now covers an area of 177 square kilometres, it has also applied for an additional licence covering an area of 136 square kilometres extending south west from SPL 173 towards the Tanzanian border.

“This licence application is advancing through the granting process having been approved by the licensing committee of the Kenyan Ministry of Mining,” it said.

Kenya exported titanium worth Sh12.8 billion compared to Sh8.8 billion in 2014 despite a 5.4 per cent drop in the price to Sh19,100.

READ: Titanium cements position as Kenya’s top mineral earner

“With the Kwale operations consistently performing to plan, the extension of Base Resources’ tenure footprint and commencement of drilling in pursuit of mine life extension represents a notable shift in the company’s focus and a clear statement of intent,” said Base Resources in the statement.

Base Resources wholly-owned subsidiary, Base Titanium Limited, operates the Kwale mineral sands operations which commenced production in late 2013.