Montero Mining and Exploration announced that it has signed a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) with Gravity Worx Mining Solutions to provide technical services for the potential development of the Uis Lithium Tin tailings project in Namibia.
Image: Montero signs letter of intent with Gravity Worx. Photo: Courtesy rawpixel on Unsplash.
The technical services that will be provided by Gravity Worx is not limited to metallurgical and engineering consulting services. The services are to be provided at no cost to Montero and in return, it is expected to allow Gravity Worx to develop non-binding proposal to supply a metallurgical process plant.
The process plant is expected to process tailings material containing lithium and tin and operational services on a build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) basis. Gravity Worx is currently finalizing a non-compliant Scoping Study on the project.
Montero president and chief executive officer Tony Harwood said: “Montero is pleased to announce this non-binding Letter of Intent with Gravity Worx to assist in the potential development of the Uis Lithium Tin Tailings project. Gravity Worx is a specialist engineering company that provides fit for purpose engineering and operational solutions to the minerals sector.”
“Gravity Worx will provide consulting services at no cost to Montero in order to be granted the opportunity to present a non-binding proposal for a Build Own Operate and Transfer solution. The Uis Lithium Tin Tailings project has a NI43-101 Inferred Mineral Resource of 14.4 million tonnes at 0.37% lithium (Li2O) and 17.1 million tonnes at 0.05% tin (SnO2) in coarse and fine tailings material.
The Uis Lithium Tin Tailings Project is located in the Erongo Region of the central Namibia, close to the town of Uis, 220km north of Walvis Bay, Namibia’s largest commercial deep-water port. It is connected by dirt and asphalt road to the port of Walvis Bay.
The Lithium-Cesium-Tantalum (LCT) pegmatite field that hosts the Uis Tin mine is hosted in metasedimentary units of the Damara Mobile Belt.
The Uis Lithium Tin Tailings project encompass un-weathered surface mine tailings of coarse sand tailings and slimes derived from the Uis Tin mining operation between 1924 and 1990. The pegmatites were mined by open cut and are sent to process plant for crushing and milling for cassiterite extraction.
The company claims that the mine has previously produced 35,400 tons of cassiterite concentrate which delivered coarse and fine tailings material on surface.
Harwood added: “Montero and Gravity Worx are currently evaluating the metallurgy characteristics of the tailings in order to cost and design a lithium and tin process plant.”