Birsok and Mandoum

Project Overview

The 372 km² Birsok and Mandoum licences are located in the centre of Cameroon, approximately 370 km northeast of the capital Yaoundé. An application to renew the Birsok licence for a two year period from 4 December 2016 is currently pending approval by the relevant regulatory authority. In 2013 Aluvance entered into a joint venture with ASX-listed Canyon Resources Ltd (https://www.canyonresources.com.au/). Canyon can earn up to a 75 % interest in the Birsok and Mandoum project through funding A$6M in exploration over five years in two stages. Canyon is currently in discussions with the Government of Cameroon regarding developing bauxite operations in the central Cameroon, including the possibility of securing additional permits in proximity to the Birsok licence. As part of the joint venture, the Altus Chairman (David Netherway) serves on the board of and is Chairman of Canyon. Altus currently holds 8,000,000 shares in Canyon which were received as part of the joint venture consideration.

Exploration Programme

To date, five prospects have been defined on the Birsok and Mandoum project namely the Djombi, Baoua, Fedal, Beka and Mbon plateaux. Inital exploration work completed by the Company included licence-wide remote sensing analysis, mapping and rock chip sampling. Interrogation of digital elevation models identified a series of elevated plateau targets on which geological mapping took place to map the contact between the granitic parent rock and the overlying weathered bauxite zone; this placed the contact at approximately 1,100 m above sea level.

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis of grab samples confirmed the existence of aluminium rich laterite on these plateaux, particularly on the northern boundary of the licence and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis has identified the presence of gibbsite, an important component of economic bauxite deposits. Following the joint venture, Canyon assumed the role of operator and an initial RC drilling programme was completed in 2014 and 2015, resulting in 404 drillholes for a total of 4,406 m which are distributed across several plateaux on an approximate 320 m x 160 m or 160 m x 160 m grids. Seven hand dug pits were also excavated on the Mandoum licence.

In 2015 a further RC drill programme was carried out across the highest priority target plateaux, with 75 shallow vertical holes returning an average bauxite thickness of 7.4 m from or close to surface with intercepts including 55.5 % Al₂O₃ over 7 m and 51.9 % Al₂O₃ over 11 m. Preliminary metallurgical studies undertaken by Canyon indicate abundant free alumina with between 78-90 % of Al₂O₃amenable to refining. This, along with the close (<10 km) proximity of the project to the rail line between Ngaoundere and from the Atlantic port at Douala, indicates that the bauxite may be amenable to direct shipping. Most recently Canyon have been involved in discussions with the Cameroonian government and local rail and port operators to understand the technical details of the infrastructure to develop a mine. Canyon continues to assess and review advanced project opportunities in Cameroon to add to the Birsok and Mandoum Project. 

Project Gallery