NOVEMBER 2010 / No. 1 INFORMATION ON THE MINING POTENTIAL OF MINERAL RESOURCES OF TANTALUM ANDELECTRONICEQUIPMENT KEY MINERALFORGADGETS

MINERAL RESOURCES OF

Tantalum in Ethiopia R

t b a r Tantalum is a strategic metal being Shendi a KerenKeren San‘a Ash Shihr Mits’iwas Al Mukalla Omdurmân Dhamar KassalaKasss ala SebderatSebderat Asmerara Al Hudaydahh a key metal in one of the most used KhartoumK Abu GamelGa Adi Ugri Adi K’eyahK’eyah YarimYarimim Lawdar Zabid Irqah Omm HajerHajerje Ed SocotS trara WadWad Medánîed Ahwar gadgets in modern society, the S e t i t ShaqraShaqra Abd-Al-Al KuriKuri Gedaref Mek’ele AsebAsAse N The BrothersBrothers MelauM E Caluula D GallabatGallababatb ETHIOPIANH P N A CasCaseyreyr mobile phone. Tantalum is also F Kosti Dabat Sek’ot’a O Singa F Qandala PLATEPLP L A TET AUA U U L Bender Qaasim GonderG e Lalibela G used in other types of electronic HurdiyoHurdiyo Gulf of Ras Xaafuun DunkurDunkur AlefaAlefA a SaylacS Renkk s Er Roseiress TTadjouadjoudj rara Ceerigaabo Xaafuun C a KarinKarin DangilaDangilai H Mot’aot a w

O Girshit’ A y equipments and is thus high in y Desee Berbera K A Biye K’obe Bender Beyla E TTaloaloa Bullaxaar Qardho b Shiikh

a A b a NUBIANN A b a AAbuyebuye Meda y Debree re Mark’osMark ara k’o Hargeysa Burao Debre BirhanBi rh demand. The trade name for the DESEE RTR T

Ankober Mi’eso S T N HarerH M Laascaanood Eyl Nek’emte’ Addisi Abeba R a s h A most common tantalum-bearing w M A w H Degeh Bur Dembi Dolo A KomaK a A NazretNaz Gore Asela mineral is coltan whereas the min- G il o S Hosa’inaHosas ’ina T N O g a d e n M B O GinirGiniirr D E N A Aberabe WakaWaka E U W M D a b i S h e b e l e eralogical name is columbite. BatuBBa Megalo O S h e b irga Aleme R A e l e N Hobyo G K’elafo Maji O m o G a n ae l Karaa E

Ethiopia presently supplies close to Gidole El K’oraK’oranran Burji NegeleNegeegelel W el e b BeledBeled WeyneWeyne i w aa YabeloYabeloo D a S Xuddur h Hamer Koke a ten percent of the World produc- b e

Buulobarde e

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Luuq e

MINERAL RESOURCES OF NimuleNimule BaydhaboBaydhabo tion of tantalum and has a good Moyale Jawhar LodwLodwarar Balcad Afgooye UarsciekU Gulu C h a l b i Baardheere potential for a considerable Marsabit Qoryooleyy Muqdisho D e s e rrtt WajirWajir J (Mogadishu) u Marka b

b

a INDIANINDI A N OCEAN O CEAN

expansion of the percentage. Baraawe LakLak Elgon on Kitale Afmadow Jiliblilibb

Eldoret Nanyuki GGiamame T aa n n a aa Kisumu Garissa Kismaayo Nyeri MtMMt.t. KKenyaenya Embum

Buur GaaGaabobo Kitui Introduction Kajiado Ethiopia is located on the horn of africa bordering The Kenticha tantalum- Sudan, Somalia, Kenya and Eritrea.. bearing pegma tites were

first discovered during a 1:250.000 scale geological intruded by a number of pegmatites mapping programme carried among which the Kenticha pegmatite out by Ethiopian geologists in field stand out. close cooperation with Soviet geologists in 1980. A major mapping The Kenticha pegmatite field and evaluation programme financed by Pegmatites are abundant throughout the Soviet Union was carried out in 1981 ultra mafic volcanic rocks and metasedi- the southern part of neoproterozoic to 1985. The project aimed at determin- ments. After several phases of deforma- rocks, but are especially abundant in the ing the extent of the tantalum-bearing tion and metamorphism the units were Kenticha pegmatite field area where rocks and to establish whether they were of commercial interest. The Kenticha pegmatite is situated in the Adole area within the Precambrian basement of southern Ethiopia, which is the southern part of the Arabian-Nubian Shield formed by accretion of ocean arc Table terranes. The Neoproterozoic rocks can be divided into two distinct lithologic units: 1. Granite-gneiss complex and 2. Ophiolitic fold and thrust belts. The latter are composed of mafic and

2 they occur in an area of about 2,500 km2. Lake Tana The pegmatites are emplaced at or near a major NNE-SSW trending shear zone. The pegmatites range from barren feldspar-muscovite pegmatites to differ- ent types of rare-element pegmatites. The Kenticha pegmatite is a large pegmatite exposed for 2 km in length and 400 to 700m in width. It was emplaced in package of steeply dipping serpentinites and talc-tremolite schists. The thickness of the pegmatite varies. In locations where both hanging and foot wall contacts are exposed, thickness High-grade Precambrian Precambrian Paleozoic Rocks Cenozoic Rocks Geology: Modified from Mengesha et al.(1996) Geological map of Ethiopia, second edition, 1:2,000,000 ranges between 40 and 100m. Undifferentiated gneisses and schists Phanerozoic Intrusives Sandstone and tillites Early-Mid Tertiary basalt Gabbro Upper Tertiary-Quaternary - Low-grade Precambrian Mesozoic Rocks basalt The Kenticha pegmatites display Diorite Metavolcano-sediments Undifferentiated sediments Mid Tertiary-Quaternary - Granite-tonalite felsic rocks complex zoning with up to nine mineral Metaultramafic-mafics Early Tertiary sediment

Upper Tertiary-Quaternary MINERAL RESOURCES OF paragenetic assemblages. Apart from sediment Fig. 1. Simplified geological map of Ethiopia columbite a number of lithium minerals, with localities of building stone in the central beryls and sulphides are found. and southern parts of the country.

Tantalum deposit

The Kenticha tantalum deposit is mined coltan. by Ethiopian Mineral Development In the Kenticha pegmatite certain Share Company (EMDSC). The produc- parts of the coltan mineralization does tion is around 70 tonnes of Ta metal per carry low levels of uranium. Uranium in year (120 tonnes of concentrate at 60 coltan can be a problem or an asset percent Ta2O5. The probable reserve of depending on the level of uranium. In primary ore is 17,000 tonnes at Ta2O5 at most parts of the Kenticha coltan the a grade of 0.017 percent Ta2O5, whereas uranium is below the critical level of the reserve of Ta2O5 in the weathered 0.5%. Certain markets e.g. Europe does zone was calculated to 2400 tonnes at

0.015 percent Ta2O5.

Additional commodities

The pegmatites in the Adola area display a variety of minerals of which the lithi- um bearing phases such as spodumene and Li-micas over time may be a valuable additional by-product. Coltan is known to host a number of element such as rare earth elements (REE) of which neodymium (used for powerful magnets) europium used in TV screens are the best known. Uranium is also a frequent element hosted in Kenticha mine

3 Ministry of Mines and Energy of Ethiopia

Dear Investor We take this opportunity to welcome you to Ethiopia We promise to make every possible effort to provide you all required informa- tion on the mineral sector in Ethiopia If you require information on the min- ing law, licensing conditions and the investment climate in Ethiopia Please contact the Mineral Licensing and Administration Core Processes:

Ministry of Mines and Energy Outcrop of tantalum pegmatite Mineral Licensing and Administration Core Processes

MINERAL RESOURCES OF P.O.Box 486 not allow import of coltan with uranium con- Addis Ababa, Ethiopia tents above 0.5% whereas other markets e.g. China allows higher uranium contents. Tel. +251 11 6461214 Presently the Ethiopian Mineral Develop - Fax +251 11 6463454 ment Share Company seeks partners to devel- Columbite crystals in pegmatite Email: op a plant to separate uranium from the tanta- www. lum. zone hosting the Kenticha rare metal peg- matite can be followed for more that a hun- Further potential dred kilometres towards North containing a No systematic exploration has been carried number of columbite showings. out for further rare metal pegmatites. Reports of columbite minerals in placer However, in the surrounding a large number of deposits further north towards the border to small showings of coltan have been found, Somaliland, and the presence of several coltan many of which are mined by small-scale min- mineralizations across the border near ers. These are only surface deposits. Hergiesa substantiate the assumption that However, information from the company there is a vast potential for finding further mining the pegmatite indicate that the shear commercial tantalum deposits in Ethiopia. If you require information on the geology and mineral opportunities in Ethiopia Please contact The Geological Survey of Ethiopia (GSE):

Geological Survey of Ethiopia P.O.Box 2303 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Tel. +251 6 464482 Fax +251 6 463326

Email: [email protected] www.geology.gov.et

Weathered out columbite crystals We are looking forward to your mining investment in Ethiopia

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