JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – London-listed Savannah Resources this week expanded its technical teams based in Mozambique and Oman, adding more geoscientists to manage the company’s fast-paced exploration programmes in the two countries.

The multicommodity exploration and development group appointed Dean Wadsworth exploration manager and Colin Rothnie exploration professional at its Jangamo heavy mineral sands project, in Mozambique, while Greg Nowak has been appointed exploration manager for the soon-to-be-acquired copper projects in Oman.

“These technical appointments will support Savannah in defining a maiden resource at its Jangamo project, in Mozambique, and help the company deliver on its strategy of becoming a midtier copper development company and producer in Oman,” Savannah CEO David Archer said.

Early in April, Savannah announced its intention to buy out TSX-V-listed Gentor Resources’ interests in the Block 5 and Block 6 copper projects, which covered 870 km² of the highly prospective copper-rich Seminail Ophiolite belt, in the Sultanate of Oman, for $800 000 cash and $3-million deferred cash and shares on the achievement of set mine development and production milestones.

Gentor had a 65% interest in Block 5 and the right to earn up to a 70% interest in Block 6.

Savannah aimed to kick off a fast-paced exploration programme in May, with drilling to start in the second half of 2014.

Wadsworth, an experienced geologist with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Auckland, in Australia, had led a number of large exploration programmes in culturally diverse areas, with much of his 28-years experience centred around the Pacific region, working primarily on the island of New Guinea, in Papua New Guinea, and Indonesian Papua, as well as New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Ghana, Australia and Mozambique.

Former technical manager at Kenmare's Moma titanium minerals project, in Mozambique, mineral sands geologist Rothnie was appointed to provide technical support in Mozambique.

Nowak has 25 years' hands-on experience in all phases of exploration for gold, uranium, base metals, diamonds and petroleum in the Archæan greenstone belts of West Africa, the western and southwestern US, Canada and South America.