Australia-based mining company Jervois Mining Limited has announced that its exploration results in the Bujagali project in Kiboga district don’t make economic sense.
Jervois’ focus in the area, where it owns six exploration licenses, was on copper, nickel, and cobalt. This is despite the fact that there are artisanal miners in the area, mining gold.
In a report published today, Jervois said that “overall, although target mineralization at Bujagali was intercepted, it was not with the consistency of width nor grade necessary to support a potentially economic resource.” This means that the company cannot continue with the project.
The Bujagali project comprises of 6 exploration licenses totalling 1702.8km2 in South-Central Uganda in an area ranked by the geological survey of Finland as one of the highest priority exploration targets in the country. The company had said the “geochemistry, geophysics and geology indicate strong potential for polymetallic mineralization, bearing similarities to a number of Democratic Republic of Congo cobalt deposits.”
When a company fails to find resources where it is exploring, it counts it as a loss and moves on.
Jervois also owns five licenses of 708km2 in Kasese and Bunyangabu districts for cobalt. Four of the licenses – measuring 25 kilometres north and 25 kilometres south are on trend with the former producing Kilembe Mines.
Last December, Jervois Mining board approved a USD 1.5 million (5.6 billion) exploration program three months to March 2020 at the Kilembe Area properties in Uganda. Last month, Jervois suspended its activities in Uganda until further notice in response to COVID-19.
The company said in a statement that it had taken measures to safeguard the health and safety of its employees, contractors and local communities.
Mwesigwa Alon
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