Botswana Project Update: Potassium at Elevated Levels Confirmed in Tailings
February 26 2014 - 9:00AM
Marketwired
Botswana Project Update: Potassium at Elevated Levels Confirmed in
Tailings
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Feb 26, 2014) -
Great Quest Metals Ltd. (the "Company" or "Great Quest")
(TSX-VENTURE:GQ)(FRANKFURT:GQM) is pleased to report that, further
to the recent management's visit to the Botswana Ash (Pty) Ltd.
(Botswana Ash) Sua Pan Potash project in Botswana, preliminary
investigations indicate the mine effluent (also called bitterns or
tailings), after it has passed through the existing Soda Ash and
Salt processing plant, carries an increased concentration of potash
(KCl) compared with native brine. This optimal situation allows
Great Quest to plan a potash recovery operation as a simple
expansion to the existing processing facility, getting full benefit
of the entire infrastructure already in place.
KCl concentrations in bitterns are reported to exceed 10.9 grams
per litre (g/L), which is more than a 100% improvement over the
native brine concentration of 4.3 g/L as measured by Botswana Ash.
This compares favorably with potash concentration in the brine from
the Dead Sea of 6.2 g/L, as indicated in various publicly available
publications, where active brine recovery plants operate.
Onsite analysis by the Great Quest team reported potassium ion
levels higher than the reported KCl concentrations in the bittern,
suggesting that KCl may not be the only potassium compound present.
The presence of potassium sulphate has been noted in historical
work and if such presence is confirmed, the tailings recovery
process would be optimized accordingly.
Botswana Ash has reported that brine resources for its plant at
Sua Pan extend to 2035 with consistent concentration of constituent
ions. Botswana Ash is currently updating its resource estimate and
is expected to confirm a longer life of the potash reserves, which
would be favorable for the Great Quest tailings project under
study.
With the presence of the potash confirmed and location in the
process known, the company will immediately move towards a
definitive agreement with Botswana Ash and work towards a
preliminary economic assessment of the new tailings project.
Commenting, Jed Richardson CEO, adds, "Great Quest is pleased
with the prospect of this addition to our portfolio. Botswana has
established itself as a business friendly jurisdiction and the
project is well located in the midst of a region with a mix of
established and new agricultural investment. This unique brownfield
opportunity complements our operations in Mali and extends our
strategy of developing African projects for African markets."
While the indications of this preliminary investigation are
positive readers are cautioned that there is no known National
Instrument 43-101 defined mineral resource of potash at the Sua
Pan. References to quantities are related here for background
information only. There is no assurance that any resource will be
located at the Sua Pan, or if located, that such resource might be
profitably extracted.
The technical information of this news release has been reviewed
and approved by Jed Diner (P. Geol), a qualified person for the
purposes of National Instrument 43-101.
About Great Quest
Great Quest Metals Ltd. is a Canadian mineral exploration
company focused on the development of African agricultural mineral
projects for local production of farm ready fertilizers. The
Company's flagship asset is the Tilemsi Phosphate Project,
encompassing 1,206 km² in northeastern Mali, containing high
quality phosphate resources amenable to use as direct application
fertilizer. Great Quest is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under
the symbol GQ, and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol
GQM.
About Botswana Ash (Pty) Ltd
Botswana Ash (Pty) Ltd began operating in April 1991. The mine
is located at Sua Pan, which is approximately 180 kilometers from
Francistown in northern Botswana. Botswana Ash produces soda ash
and Salt. The primary market for soda ash is South Africa, where
most of the product is used in the glass industry. The nameplate
production capacity of the soda ash plant is 300,000 tonnes per
annum. The plant also produces fine and coarse salt with a combined
production capacity of 650,000 tonnes per annum. The mine is
connected to South Africa by road and rail, the latter being
operated by Botswana Railways. Botswana Ash is 50/50 joint venture
between the Botswana Government and managing partner Chlor Alkali
Holdings (CAH) Group of South Africa.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF GREAT QUEST METALS
LTD.
Jed Richardson, President, Chief Executive Officer and
Director
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of
this release. The statements that are not historical facts and are
forward-looking statements involving known and unknown risks and
uncertainties could cause actual results to vary materially from
the targeted results. We seek safe harbor.
Great Quest Metals Ltd.Jed RichardsonPresident, Chief Executive
Officer and DirectorToll Free: 1 877-325-3838www.greatquest.com
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