Tag Archives: Explorator Limitada

Longhau pact sets up hard-rock mining at Xtract’s Manica operation

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Xtract Resources’ wholly-owned Mozambique subsidiary, Explorator Limitada, has concluded a mining contractor agreement with Longhau Tianci Mining Co Ltd for the exploitation of the Guy Fawkes hard-rock gold deposit at its Manica mining concession in Mozambique.

The pact will see Longhau mine the Guy Fawkes deposit for six years or until the orebody is depleted or no longer viable, Xtract says.

Guy Fawkes was mined historically since 1893 and was one of the largest of a series of hard-rock gold mines in the district, with total production of almost 16,000 oz Au reported, Xtract said. A previously reported SAMREC-compliant indicated and inferred resource at Guy Fawkes came out at 1.13 Mt at 1.91 g/t Au with potential for additional upside in several dimensions.

Subject to a number of pre-conditions including the contract miner obtaining a gold trading licence and Explorator securing a mining licence and environmental licence, the agreement includes performance targets whereby Longhau will be required to commission a plant with a minimum throughput of 60 t/d within two months from the date of signing. The throughput tonnage will be increased to 120 t/d within three months of commencing operations, Xtract said.

Explorator will be responsible for recording the gold concentrate produced from the permitted area on a daily basis, while the contract miner will be responsible for the smelting of the gold concentrate and delivery of gold doré bars.

Longhau, as the contract miner, will retain 74% in gold for services provided, and Explorator will retain 26% of all gold production, amounting to 20% after payment by Explorator of the applicable Mining Production Tax of 6%.

After deduction of applicable expenses and costs and tax incurred by Explorator, Xtract has agreed with Mutapa Mining and Processing LDA (MMP), Explorator’s existing hard-rock collaboration partner, to split the net cash flow 65% in Explorator’s favour (with 35% due to MMP).

Xtract Resources, back in 2019, signed up to a collaboration agreement with MMP that could see the building of a carbon in leach plant and the subsequent processing of hard-rock ore from Manica.

Longhau is to commence adit mining and initial underground development during the processing build phase, Xtract said.

Colin Bird, Xtract Executive Chairman, said: “We are pleased to report the signing of this agreement, which should provide the opportunity for incremental cash flow during MMP’s Fair Bride construction and building phase.

“The Guy Fawkes deposit shows considerable variation both in mining width and grade, demonstrating propensity for selective higher-grade mining. Longhau intends to work a portion of the deposit by open-cast methods where drilling indicates that suitable grades locally can run close to surface. Underground mining will be selective.

“We are currently in discussions in respect of the Boa Esperanza deposit and look forward to updating shareholders shortly.”

Huafei Gold Resources wins mining contract bid at Xtract’s Manica concession in Mozambique

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Xtract Resources’ wholly-owned Mozambican subsidiary, Explorator Limitada, has concluded an additional mining contractor agreement with Huafei Gold Resources Co Limitada for the exploitation of alluvial gold deposits at its Manica mining concession in Mozambique.

The agreement with the formerly named Sino Minerals Investment will last for a period of 10 years or the depletion of alluvials, with the option to extend for a further period of five years, if the alluvials have not depleted.

It includes performance targets whereby the contract miner, from February 1, will be required to have two fully operational plants with a minimum throughput of 200 t/d on a consistent, 24 h/d basis.

Explorator will be responsible for recording the gold concentrate produced from the permitted area on a daily basis, while the contractor will be responsible for the smelting of the gold concentrate and delivery of gold bars.

Xtract says the agreement is subject to the condition precedent that the contractor pays a total entry fee of $350,000 to Explorator. An initial $150,000 is to be paid on or before the date signing of the agreement, with the remainder recovered through future alluvial gold production.

In consideration for the appointment of the mining contractor, Explorator will initially pay the contractor a net fee of 72% of gold it produces, and Explorator will therefore initially retain 28% of the sales value of all gold produced (equivalent to 22% after payment by Explorator of the applicable Mining Production Tax of 6%). This will continue until the fee has been settled in full.

Thereafter, Explorator will pay the contractor a fee of 74% of gold it produces.

Colin Bird, Xtract Executive Chairman, said: “A number of contractors have expressed interest in mining the other areas of the alluvials in the Manica concession. Huafei Gold Resources was chosen because of their willingness to pay an upfront payment and demonstrated consistency of operation with their existing contract. They provided extra equipment into the concession and we look forward to increased production over the coming months and on completion of the rainy season.”