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MINERAL RESOURCES OF
NOVEMBER 2010 / No. 1
MINERAL RESOURCES OF
INFORMATION ON THE MINING POTENTIAL OF ETHIOPIA
TANTALUM
KEY MINERAL FOR GADGETS
AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
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Tantalum is a strategic metal being
a key metal in one of the most used
gadgets in modern society, the
mobile phone. Tantalum is also
used in other types of electronic
equipments and is thus high in
demand. The trade name for the
most common tantalum-bearing
mineral is coltan whereas the mineralogical name is columbite.
Ethiopia presently supplies close to
ten percent of the World production of tantalum and has a good
potential for a considerable
expansion of the percentage.
R
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MINERAL RESOURCES OF
Tantalum in Ethiopia
Kismaayo
Garissa
Buur Gaabo
Kitui
Kajiado
Ethiopia is located on the horn of africa bordering
The Kenticha tantalum-
Sudan, Somalia, Kenya and Eritrea..
bearing pegmatites were
first discovered during a
1:250.000 scale geological
intruded by a number of pegmatites
mapping programme carried
among which the Kenticha pegmatite
out by Ethiopian geologists in
field stand out.
close cooperation with Soviet
geologists in 1980. A major mapping
The Kenticha pegmatite field
and evaluation programme financed by
Pegmatites are abundant throughout
the Soviet Union was carried out in 1981
ultramafic volcanic rocks and metasedi-
the southern part of neoproterozoic
to 1985. The project aimed at determin-
ments. After several phases of deforma-
rocks, but are especially abundant in the
ing the extent of the tantalum-bearing
tion and metamorphism the units were
Kenticha pegmatite field area where
rocks and to establish whether they
were of commercial interest.
The Kenticha pegmatite is situated in
the Adole area within the Precambrian
basement of southern Ethiopia, which is
the southern part of the Arabian-Nubian
Shield formed by accretion of ocean arc
terranes. The Neoproterozoic rocks can
be divided into two distinct lithologic
units:
1. Granite-gneiss complex and
2. Ophiolitic fold and thrust belts.
The latter are composed of mafic and
2
Table
they occur in an area of about 2,500 km2.
Lake
Tana
The pegmatites are emplaced at or near
a major NNE-SSW trending shear zone.
The pegmatites range from barren
feldspar-muscovite pegmatites to differ-
Addis Ababa
ent types of rare-element pegmatites.
Geology: Modified from Mengesha et al.(1996)
Geological map of Ethiopia, second edition, 1:2,000,000
pegmatite exposed for 2 km in length
and 400 to 700m in width. It was
emplaced in package of steeply dipping
serpentinites and talc-tremolite schists.
The thickness of the pegmatite varies. In
locations where both hanging and foot
wall contacts are exposed, thickness
ranges between 40 and 100m.
High-grade Precambrian
Undifferentiated gneisses and schists
The Kenticha pegmatites display
Low-grade Precambrian
complex zoning with up to nine mineral
Metaultramafic-mafics
paragenetic assemblages. Apart from
columbite a number of lithium minerals,
beryls and sulphides are found.
Precambrian
Phanerozoic Intrusives
Metavolcano-sediments
Gabbro
Diorite
Granite-tonalite
Paleozoic Rocks
Sandstone and tillites
Mesozoic Rocks
Undifferentiated sediments
Cenozoic Rocks
Early-Mid Tertiary basalt
Upper Tertiary-Quaternary basalt
Mid Tertiary-Quaternary felsic rocks
Early Tertiary sediment
Upper Tertiary-Quaternary
sediment
Fig. 1. Simplified geological map of Ethiopia
with localities of building stone in the central
and southern parts of the country.
Tantalum deposit
The Kenticha tantalum deposit is mined
coltan.
by Ethiopian Mineral Development
In the Kenticha pegmatite certain
Share Company (EMDSC). The produc-
parts of the coltan mineralization does
tion is around 70 tonnes of Ta metal per
carry low levels of uranium. Uranium in
year (120 tonnes of concentrate at 60
coltan can be a problem or an asset
percent Ta2O5. The probable reserve of
depending on the level of uranium. In
primary ore is 17,000 tonnes at Ta2O5 at
most parts of the Kenticha coltan the
a grade of 0.017 percent Ta2O5, whereas
uranium is below the critical level of
the reserve of Ta2O5 in the weathered
0.5%. Certain markets e.g. Europe does
zone was calculated to 2400 tonnes at
0.015 percent Ta2O5.
Additional commodities
The pegmatites in the Adola area display
a variety of minerals of which the lithium bearing phases such as spodumene
and Li-micas over time may be a valuable
additional by-product.
Coltan is known to host a number of
element such as rare earth elements
(REE) of which neodymium (used for
powerful magnets) europium used in TV
screens are the best known. Uranium is
also a frequent element hosted in
Kenticha mine
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MINERAL RESOURCES OF
The Kenticha pegmatite is a large
Ministry of Mines and Energy of Ethiopia
Dear Investor
MINERAL RESOURCES OF
We take this opportunity to welcome you
to Ethiopia
We promise to make every possible
effort to provide you all required information on the mineral sector in Ethiopia
If you require information on the mining law, licensing conditions and the
investment climate in Ethiopia
Please contact the Mineral Licensing and
Administration Core Processes:
Ministry of Mines and Energy
Outcrop of tantalum pegmatite
Mineral Licensing and Administration
Core Processes
P.O.Box 486
not allow import of coltan with uranium con-
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
tents above 0.5% whereas other markets e.g.
Tel. +251 11 6461214
China allows higher uranium contents.
Fax +251 11 6463454
Presently the Ethiopian Mineral Development Share Company seeks partners to devel-
Columbite crystals in pegmatite
op a plant to separate uranium from the tanta-
Email:
www.
lum.
zone hosting the Kenticha rare metal peg-
Further potential
No systematic exploration has been carried
matite can be followed for more that a hundred kilometres towards North containing a
number of columbite showings.
out for further rare metal pegmatites.
Reports of columbite minerals in placer
However, in the surrounding a large number of
deposits further north towards the border to
small showings of coltan have been found,
Somaliland, and the presence of several coltan
many of which are mined by small-scale min-
mineralizations across the border near
ers. These are only surface deposits.
Hergiesa substantiate the assumption that
However, information from the company
mining the pegmatite indicate that the shear
there is a vast potential for finding further
commercial tantalum deposits in Ethiopia.
If you require information on the geology
and mineral opportunities in Ethiopia
Please contact The Geological Survey of
Ethiopia (GSE):
Geological Survey of Ethiopia
P.O.Box 2303
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Tel. +251 6 464482
Fax +251 6 463326
Email: [email protected]
www.geology.gov.et
Weathered out columbite crystals
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We are looking forward to your mining
investment in Ethiopia