Australian exploration company Gippsland has embarked on a full bankable feasibility study for its Abu Dabbab tantalite project in Egypt's eastern desert. The project is estimated to cost $30 million to implement, but will produce a net revenue for Gippsland of $239 million over 15 years and has the potential to make Gippsland the world's second largest producer of tantalum pentoxide, according to IIR.
The Abu Dabbab deposit is located within an 18 square mile license area 770 kilometers south of Cairo on the western shore of the Red Sea. Initial output is estimated to be 420,000 lb of tantalum pentoxide annually, while it is hoped that output would eventually be doubled to 840,000 pounds per year.
Gippsland and the Egyptian government own the deposit with equal stakes and together have founded the Tantalum Egypt joint venture to develop the project. The Egyptian Geological Survey and Mining Authority is representing the Egyptian government in the venture.
Tantalum is a metal used in the production of miniature high-efficiency electronic capacitors and in a variety of specialty metal alloys used in the chemical and aerospace industries. Tantalum capacitors are presently in particularly high demand, accounting for 60 percent of the world tantalum market, because they are now an essential component of military systems, cellular phones, pagers, computers, and video games. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
