Savannah Resources Plc (LON:SAV) said its consortium with wholly-owned subsidiary AME East Africa and Rio Tinto PLC (LON:RIO) has completed the commissioning of a pilot processing plant at the Mutamba Mineral Sands project in Mozambique.
The 20 tonne per hour plant was officially opened on Thursday by the Governor of Inhambane, Daniel Chapo and will be used to produce concentrates as part of a pre-feasibility study for Mutamba that started earlier this year.
“The commissioning of the pilot plant is an important step forward for our studies on Mutamba, which our fully owned subsidiary AME is conducting on behalf of the Mutamba Consortium,” said David Archer, Savannah’s chief executive.
“The pilot plant will allow us to process samples and conduct tests on the extraction of minerals from the deposits. While things are still at a very early stage, a pilot plant is an important part of any project study and we look forward to the work ahead."
The Mutumba Consortium was formed late last year with AME as operator of the project through its subsidiary Matilda Minerals.