19 December, 2023 - Bushveld Minerals is pleased to announce that further to its announcement of 30 October 2023, the Company has met all the necessary conditions and received final approval from the South African Reserve Bank ("SARB"), allowing the Company to increase its ownership to 100% of the Vametco vanadium mine and production facility.
Bushveld has acquired the 26% minority interest in Bushveld Vametco Holdings Proprietary Limited ("BVH") from the Black Economic Empowerment ("BEE") consortium.
A mining right is held by Bushveld Vametco Holdings (Pty) Ltd, which holds 100 % of the operating company Bushveld Vametco Alloys (Pty) Ltd.
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Summary:
Vanadium mineralisation occurs in vanadium-bearing titaniferous magnetite-rich layers that occur within the Upper Zone of the Rustenburg Layered Suite of the Bushveld Complex. The magnetiterich layers are part of the layered sequence and are concordant, continuous along strike and down-dip, although thickness variability occurs.
The Bushveld Complex intruded Pretoria Group meta-sedimentary rocks of the Transvaal Supergroup approximately 2,060 million years ago. The layered sequence of mafic rocks, known as the Rustenburg Layered Suite, comprises five distinct zones.
• the Marginal Zone,
• the Lower Zone,
• the Critical Zone,
• the Main Zone, and
• the Upper Zone.
Project Geology
Both the Main Zone (Pyramid Gabbronorites) and the Upper Zone (Bierkraal Magnetite Gabbros) occur on the Vametco Mining Right Area (MRA). Underlying the northern regions of the Vametco MRA are the Bierkraal Magnetite Gabbros, whilst the southern part of the Vametco MRA is underlain by Pyramid Gabbro-Norites. The mafic layers are east-west striking and north dipping, with an average dip of 19°. The lithologies associated with the Main Zone (Pyramid GabbroNorite) are gabbro-norite, and locally anorthosite and pyroxenite bands. The lithologies in the Upper Zone (Bierkraal Magnetite Gabbro), that occurs on the northern part of the Property, include magnetite–bearing gabbro, olivine-diorite and some anorthosite and magnetite layers. The well-developed magnetite seams in the lower portion of the Upper Zone are currently being mined at Vametco for their vanadium content.
At Vametco, the magnetite bearing layers are grouped into three seams, namely the Upper, Intermediate and Lower seams, all of which dip to the north at approximately 19°. The seams occur just above the lower contact of the Upper Zone with the Main Zone and the Lower Seam rests on a prominent anorthosite layer.
The magnetite layers are mostly covered by a black organic soil and outcrops are not common in the pre-mining area. The weathering has destroyed the original structure of the mafic rocks for a couple of metres below the surface where after the weathering is seen as calcium and silica fill in fractures.
Structure and intrusions
At least five faults have been identified, one of which, towards the far east of the Vametco MRA, has a significant throw and forms the eastern limit of the open pit mine. The faults have been exposed by mining.
Linear intrusions in the form of dolerite dykes are present within the Vametco MRA. The dolerite dykes were intersected in drillholes VMB-11, VMB-13 and VMB-14. The dolerite is younger than and intruded into the lithologies of the RLS (JMA, 2015).
Slumps/potholes occur in the stratigraphy have been exposed during open-pit mining. These are of several tens of metres in extent and the magnetite layers are preserved within them.
Vanadium Mineralisation
Vanadium-rich magnetite bearing layers occur at the base of the Upper Zone and have a cumulative thickness of over 125 m. According to the magnetite content, the layers of magnetitebearing rocks have been classified into five major units, then further subdivided into 22 seams.
At Vametco the Seam sub-division was simplified to the Seam Zones for ease of reference and mine planning. All Mineral Resource estimates are based on the Seam Zones. The Upper Seam as determined for the Mineral Resource comprises US-1.
Geological Models
The long history of mining platinum group elements and chrome from the Bushveld Complex has led to thorough understanding of the geology. The origin of the concordant magnetite layers is a subject of debate with the currently most widely accepted theory being as follows:
• introduction of magma to the magma chamber resetting the crystallisation phase;
• decrease in the magma chamber pressure;
• settling and sorting of crystals through gravity; and
• change in oxygen content of the chamber.
Although their genesis is not fully understood, the occurrence of these magnetite layers in the same stratigraphic units is well documented throughout the Bushveld Complex.
Nature of Deposits on the Property
The magnetite layers are continuous over large distances. However, the Intermediate Seam pinches out in some parts of the property. The layers strike in an east-west direction for 3.3 km and dip northwards at 19° within the Project area. The lower layers have been intersected at a depth of 270 m below surface, which equates to 830 m down-dip from outcrop on the plane of mineralisation.