MINERAL RESOURCES OF

they occur in an area of about 2,500 km 2 .The pegmatites are emplaced at or nearLakeTanaa major NNE-SSW trending shear zone.The pegmatites range from barrenfeldspar-muscovite pegmatites to differenttypes of rare-element pegmatites.Addis AbabaThe Kenticha pegmatite is a largepegmatite exposed for 2 km in lengthand 400 to 700m in width. It wasemplaced in package of steeply dippingserpentinites and talc-tremolite schists.The thickness of the pegmatite varies. Inlocations where both hanging and footwall contacts are exposed, thicknessranges between 40 and 100m.The Kenticha pegmatites displaycomplex zoning with up to nine mineralparagenetic assemblages. Apart fromcolumbite a number of lithium minerals,beryls and sulphides are found.High-grade PrecambrianUndifferentiated gneisses and schistsLow-grade PrecambrianMetavolcano-sedimentsMetaultramafic-maficsPrecambrianPhanerozoic IntrusivesGabbroDioriteGranite-tonaliteFig. 1. Simplified geological map of Ethiopiawith localities of building stone in the centraland southern parts of the country.Paleozoic RocksSandstone and tillitesMesozoic RocksUndifferentiated sedimentsCenozoic RocksEarly-Mid Tertiary basaltUpper Tertiary-Quaternary -basaltMid Tertiary-Quaternary -felsic rocksEarly Tertiary sedimentUpper Tertiary-QuaternarysedimentGeology: Modified from Mengesha et al.(1996)Geological map of Ethiopia, second edition, 1:2,000,000MINERAL RESOURCES OFTantalum depositThe Kenticha tantalum deposit is minedcoltan.by Ethiopian Mineral DevelopmentIn the Kenticha pegmatite certainShare Company (EMDSC). The produc-parts of the coltan mineralization doestion is around 70 tonnes of Ta metal percarry low levels of uranium. Uranium inyear (120 tonnes of concentrate at 60coltan can be a problem or an assetpercent Ta 2O 5. The probable reserve ofdepending on the level of uranium. Inprimary ore is 17,000 tonnes at Ta 2O 5atmost parts of the Kenticha coltan thea grade of 0.017 percent Ta 2O 5, whereasuranium is below the critical level ofthe reserve of Ta 2O 5in the weathered0.5%. Certain markets e.g. Europe doeszone was calculated to 2400 tonnes at0.015 percent Ta 2O 5.Additional commoditiesThe pegmatites in the Adola area displaya variety of minerals of which the lithiumbearing phases such as spodumeneand Li-micas over time may be a valuableadditional by-product.Coltan is known to host a number ofelement such as rare earth elements(REE) of which neodymium (used forpowerful magnets) europium used in TVscreens are the best known. Uranium isalso a frequent element hosted inKenticha mine3

Ministry of Mines and Energy of EthiopiaMINERAL RESOURCES OFOutcrop of tantalum pegmatitenot allow import of coltan with uranium contentsabove 0.5% whereas other markets e.g.China allows higher uranium contents.Presently the Ethiopian Mineral Develop -ment Share Company seeks partners to developa plant to separate uranium from the tantalum.Further potentialNo systematic exploration has been carriedout for further rare metal pegmatites.However, in the surrounding a large number ofsmall showings of coltan have been found,many of which are mined by small-scale miners.These are only surface deposits.However, information from the companymining the pegmatite indicate that the shearColumbite crystals in pegmatitezone hosting the Kenticha rare metal pegmatitecan be followed for more that a hundredkilometres towards North containing anumber of columbite showings.Reports of columbite minerals in placerdeposits further north towards the border toSomaliland, and the presence of several coltanmineralizations across the border nearHergiesa substantiate the assumption thatthere is a vast potential for finding furthercommercial tantalum deposits in Ethiopia.Dear InvestorWe take this opportunity to welcome youto EthiopiaWe promise to make every possibleeffort to provide you all required informationon the mineral sector in EthiopiaIf you require information on the mininglaw, licensing conditions and theinvestment climate in EthiopiaPlease contact the Mineral Licensing andAdministration Core Processes:Ministry of Mines and EnergyMineral Licensing and AdministrationCore ProcessesP.O.Box 486Addis Ababa, EthiopiaTel. +251 11 6461214Fax +251 11 6463454Email:www.If you require information on the geologyand mineral opportunities in EthiopiaPlease contact The Geological Survey ofEthiopia (GSE):Geological Survey of EthiopiaP.O.Box 2303Addis Ababa, EthiopiaTel. +251 6 464482Fax +251 6 463326Email: Survey@ethionet.gov.etwww.geology.gov.etWeathered out columbite crystalsWe are looking forward to your mininginvestment in Ethiopia4