JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – A completed initial review of extensive sedimentary phosphate deposits 30 km offshore Saldanha Bay, in South Africa, has been positive, warranting further investigation, TSX-listed Montero Mining and Exploration said on Tuesday.
Montero and funding partner Ovation Capital had until March 10 to complete a due diligence on the Greenflash project, after which the parties could elect to immediately earn a 49% interest by committing to complete a resource estimate, which may then increase to a 75% interest by completing a feasibility study.
Montero was assessing the core and existing geological information to better understand the phosphate potential of the project.
“The Greenflash project could potentially provide additional feedstock to a fertiliser plant envisaged to be developed in Saldanha Bay by Montero and Ovation,” said Montero CEO and president Tony Harwood.
The Greenflash licence area had concentrations of phosphorite over a 200 km2 area off the coast on the continental shelf at depths of between 100 m and 400 m below sea level.