Australia: Coffey International’s subsidiary, Coffey Mining, has completed a preliminary assessment of the Mamou-Dalaba bauxite project, in Guinea, on behalf of Canada-based client Anglo Aluminium Corporation.
Coffey Mining undertook first-pass Aster1 processing to generate plateau outlines and bauxite target ranking, followed by site visits to check targets, collect samples and assess bauxite potential. Geospatial information specialists from Coffey Mining, in Brazil, were responsible for the Aster1 processing, which generated 150 targets with a combined surface area of about 181 square kilometres. The results enabled geologists from Coffey Mining to visit 30 of these targets.
The completion of the field investigations pointed to 14 targets with a combined surface area of 55 square kilometres identified as having high possibility for bauxite on the basis of field observations and unverified historical drill hole data referenced on the 1:200 000 Dalaba Geological Map Sheet.
Based on the high prospectivity of these plateaus, Coffey Mining is now working with Anglo Aluminium to develop an exploration programme to confirm the bauxite targets through drill testing. Coffey Mining geoinformatics manager Leonardo Dias said that clients with exploration projects are increasingly relying on the remote sensing technology to reduce the time and costs associated with fieldwork covering large areas.
“The use of geospatial technologies such as remote sensing increase the level of precision when defining good targets and reduce the costs related to field activities. The results also enable clients to survey extensive areas in a short period,” he said.
Coffey Mining West Africa manager Rob Tyler added that despite being geographically remote, the ability to tap into Coffey’s global resources, such as geospatial specialists in Brazil, has been essential for this regional operation.
Source: Mining Weekly
