The Songea coal project covers a total area of 3,500sq km in the Ruhuhu Coal basin, where eight Karoo Basins containing eleven recognized coalfields have been identified.
The two most significant coalfields Ketewaka-Mchuchuma and Ngaka, occur in a similar geological setting within 50km of the Songea coal project.
In the basin, coal tends to occur at the base of the Karoo sandstones and close to the contacts with gneissic rocks (basement).
The Mchuchuma formation has been sub-divided into two distinct facies with the lower (and most significant) or sandstone-coal facies having thick coal seams with relatively low sulphur and ash contents.
It consists of succession thick high-energy sandstone and arkoses separated by coal seams ranging in thickness from less than 1m to 7.5m with good continuity.
Exploration commenced in 2010, with field mapping undertaken at the Gumbiro South prospect, where outcropping coal seams had previously been identified close to the licence boundary.
A 20km strike of prospective coal geology was identified for follow up drilling.
