Friday, August 16, 2013

Tanzania Minerals Corp. update on 2013 exploration programme


Tanzania says China's CNOOC wants to join oil and gas search




DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) has applied for a licence to explore for oil and gas in Tanzania, the east African country's energy ministry said in a statement late on Wednesday.
Tanzania has already made big gas discoveries offshore and is hoping to become a regional energy hub.
"China's CNOOC has shown interest in investing in oil and gas exploration in the country," Tanzania's energy and minerals ministry said in a statement.
"If granted a licence, the company will increase the number of firms searching for oil and gas in the country to 17."
The ministry said CNOOC had already applied for an exploration licence from the state-run Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC).
British gas firm BG Group, Norway's Statoil, Brazil's Petrobras, Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil Corp are among the companies already operating in Tanzania, which estimates it has more than 40 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of recoverable gas reserves.


Tanzania Minerals Corp. update on 2013 exploration programme




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Photo_Asset_1Simplified geology map the location of the properties discussed in the text (CNW Group/Tanzania Minerals Corp)
VANCOUVER , Aug. 13, 2013 /CNW/ - Tanzania Minerals Corp. (the "Company"), (TZM.V) (TM0.F) is pleased to provide a summary of exploration activities on their extensive property portfolio in Tanzania .
Statement from the CEO
Kal Matharu, CEO of Tanzania Minerals Corp. said, "We have been conducting field work over the majority of our exploration portfolio and, encouraged by preliminary field results at the Nyamwaga project, we intend to commence a 3D induced polarization (IP) study to better delineate the outlined target structure at depth. Shallow soil sampling at Siga, within the Siga-Mabale Greenstone Belt, appears to have identified a broad copper anomaly that we hope exhibits coincident gold mineralization; the results of this survey are pending. Other licences within our portfolio appear promising and additional work is required to develop them further."
In 2013, the Company has conducted field exploration on eight of its gold licences. This work mainly consists of interpretation of airborne geophysics, geological mapping, lithogeochemistry and shallow soil geochemistry.
Mrangi
Situated in the Musoma-Mara Greenstone Belt, the 10.47 km2 a drill programme at the Mrangi property was carried out in 2011. Drilling highlights included long intercepts of weak copper mineralization (43 m @ 0.14 % Cu) within rhyolitic tuffs and also elevated gold concentrations (7 m @ 0.53 g/t Au) present at the contact between a felsic tuff package and mafic tuffs and lavas. Results of the deep overburden soil sampling programme, conducted over a 1.4 km long zone adjacent to elevated gold drilled intercepts, were obtained in April 2013 from the assay lab. Results were disappointing with the highest gold assay being only 120 ppb, and no clear trends identified from the 129 samples analysed. It appears that the thickness of the organic-rich soil (mbuga) in the area has profoundly affected the assay results, and rotary air blast (RAB) drilling is being considered to test this zone.
Nyamwaga
This licence is located 5 km along strike from Africa Barrick Gold's Gokona and Nyabigena pits in the Mara District, both of which are concealed beneath thin flows of recent lava. Extensive shallow soil sampling, including multi-element XRF analyses (1,637 samples) and gold assays (508 samples), in addition to 68 shallow test pits have identified three anomalous gold-rich zones, with gold concentrations up to 473 ppb. The strongest gold anomaly is coincident with an interpreted magnetic lineament (deduced from high resolution airborne geophysics) along the same trend as the Gokona and Nyabigena pits.
Analysis of the soil geochemistry and high-resolution airborne geophysics data has identified a 600 m wide and 2,000 m long northwest-trending structure that is the focus of ongoing exploration at Nyamwaga. The company has decided to perform a 3D induced polarization (IP) survey to test for conductors similar to mineralization currently being mined at Gogoma and Kibanda pits.
Tabora
The Tabora licence covers an area of 163.18 km2 and is underlain by late stage granites cut by mafic and alkali dykes. In April, reconnaissance mapping and shallow soil geochemistry (XRF) programmes were performed over targets identified from geophysical interpretation. The results were not encouraging and this licence will be relinquished.
Misungwi
The Misungwi licence covers an area of 25.38 km2 and is underlain by Archean mafic volcanic rocks of the Lake Nyanza subterrane. The licence is a dual gold-diamond target being located within the Mabuki Kimberlite Province, adjacent to the Shinyanga/Mwadui kimberlite province which hosts the Williamson (or Mwadui) diamond mine. Exploration carried out in April 2013 was restricted to geological mapping and XRF analysis of shallow soil samples. A total of 297 samples were collected from a grid with a 400 m line and 200 m sample spacing. Laterally extensive weak copper, lead and zinc anomalies were identified which mimicked the outlines of flood plains of the rivers in the area. Since these samples followed the course of the rivers and were not coincident with structures identified with geophysical features, it was decided not to submit the samples for gold analysis. Subsequent work planned for the licence will investigate the diamond potential by employing heavy mineral separation from pit-dug samples.
Fort Ikoma
Reconnaissance mapping, lithogeochemistry sampling (48 samples) and XRF multi-element shallow soil sampling (50 samples) was carried out on the Fort Ikoma licence in March 2012 . Results in this poorly exposed area were encouraging, and it was recommended that a licence-wide shallow soil programme be undertaken, with a higher density grid covering the Mugara prospect. The Mugara prospect is a historic gold occurrence, previously mined by artisanal miners, and appears from airborne geophysics and mapping to be at the contact of a hydrothermally altered mafic tuff and late granite. Field activities remain suspended on the licence until government permits are issued allowing work to be carried-out in the Ikorongo Game Reserve.
Siga
The Siga licence covers an area of approximately 51 km2 and is underlain by the Archean Siga Mabale Greenstone Belt and associated granites. Much of the licence is covered by alluvial deposits associated with Lake Nyanza, which obscures the surface geology. The licence is located approximately 5 km south of the colonial-period BIF-hosted Jubilee Reef or ' Augusta Victoria ' gold mine. Gold mineralization at the Jubilee Reef is recorded as being associated by shear-zone hosted quartz veins, and recent mineralization reported by Currie Rose Resources Inc. (CUI.V) at Masabi Hill includes 88 m @ 1.8 g/t Au from 114 m associated with a granitic intrusion. Masabi Hill is located 6 km NW of the Siga property. Masabi- and Jubilee Reef- style mineralization was investigated in July 2013 through a shallow soil geochemistry survey, which recorded 1,642 analyses through the use of portable XRF equipment. An initial grid of 400 m wide lines and 250 m sample spacing was employed that identified five areas containing anomalous concentrations of base metals (Cu, Pb and Zn). Follow-up detailed grids (100 x 100 m) sampled over the anomalous areas and statistical analysis resulted in the selection of 185 samples for gold assaying from two of the areas. The two areas are 2 km x 1.5 km and 1 km x 1 km, with the larger area present at the contact of a late granitic intrusion and mafic volcanic rocks. Gold assay results are pending.
Haidom
The Haidom licence covers an area of 30.6 km2 and is located on the eastern part of the Iramba Greenstone Belt. Lithologies which underlie the licence include Archean metasediments (micaeous phyllite), which have been intruded by synorogenic granite and diabase dykes. Geophysical interpretation and geological compilation was performed prior to the start of the field programme in May. Geological mapping, lithogeochemical sampling, extensive XRF soil geochemistry (1,095 samples) and follow-up gold soil geochemistry were all conducted. The XRF soil geochemistry identified two areas containing coincident copper, zinc and iron anomalies. A total of 155 soils samples from three areas were assayed for gold, with a maximum concentration of 11 ppb recorded. A total of 4 samples exceed the 90th percentile with gold concentrations greater than 70 ppb. These samples were collected from outcrops where the metasediments were cut by quartz veins. Limited trenching over the elevated rock outcrops is recommended.
Kiagata
Located within the Musoma-Mara Greenstone Belt, the 44 km2 Kiagata property is located approximately 5 km to the north of the past-producing Buhemba mine (~ 0.7 Moz Au). High-resolution airborne geophysics flown by the company in 2011 identified several exploration targets on the licence, based on faults and splay structures cutting the underlying granite and possible volcanic units. A wide spaced 200 m by 200 m shallow soil XRF sampling programme is currently being undertaken. Any base metal anomalies located during this initial phase of the survey will become the focus of a tighter (50 x 50 m) grid and gold soil samples will be sent to the lab for assaying.

Additional information on Tanzania Minerals Corp., including technical reports and other public documents are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com or on the Company's website at www.tanzaniaco.com.
Tanzania Minerals Corp. is an emerging junior exploration company trading on the TSX Venture Exchange. The company has an extensive portfolio of projects in Tanzania .
On behalf of the Board of Directors of Tanzania Minerals Corp.
"Kal Matharu" Kal Matharu, President & CEO

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Statements included in this announcement, including statements concerning our plans, intentions and expectations, which are not historical in nature are intended to be, and are hereby identified as, "forward looking statements". Forward looking statements may be identified by words including "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "expects" and similar expressions. The Company cautions readers that forward looking statements, including without limitation those relating to the Company's future operations and business prospects are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward looking statements.
Image with caption: "Simplified geology map the location of the properties discussed in the text (CNW Group/Tanzania Minerals Corp)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130813_C5541_PHOTO_EN_29795.jpg
SOURCE: Tanzania Minerals Corp




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