African Eagle Resources reported in late January 2012 it has selected Lycopodium Minerals of Perth, Western Australia, as the engineer to prepare the bankable feasibility study for its Dutwa laterite nickel project in Tanzania. Lycopodium will manage all engineering tasks for the processing plant and related facilities, including tailings management, and will compile the final study report, which will incorporate inputs from other contractors, including Snowden (resource and mine planning engineer) and SGS (pilot plant test work).
The project is based on two deposits, Wamangola and Ngasamo, that form thick residual lateritic caps on the tops of low ridges 7 km apart. The deposits are thicker than most nickel laterites, up to 60 m thick at Wamangola and up to 80 m thick at Nagasamo.
African Eagle holds a 90% interest in the Wamangola deposit, with an option to acquire 100%, and is earning between 50% and 75% interest in Ngasamo by conducting and funding evaluation work. To date, drilling has delineated project-wide, JORC-compliant resources of 98.6 million mt grading 0.93% nickel and 0.02% cobalt, of which 46.2 million mt are indicated and the remainder are inferred. Metal contents total 917,000 mt of nickel and 28,000 mt of cobalt. African Eagle anticipates that further drilling will increase the total resource by up to 10 million mt. There is also further resource upside at Nyawa, 20 km east of Dutwa, and at Zanzui, 50 km to the south.