Here’s Mount Burgess (ASX:MTB) update on gallium credits at Kihabe-Nxuu regional targets

Australian mineral exploration player Mount Burgess (ASX:MTB) recently updated on the reviewed assay results highlighting the gallium content of regional targets for the Kihabe – Nxuu Project. Produced via geochemical soil sampling for zinc, the regional targets at the deposit have only been subject to limited exploration drilling.

The regional targets as listed by the firm are Target 52, Wanchu West anomaly, Wanchu anomaly, Tswee Tswee anomaly – not yet assayed for gallium.

Also, significant lengths of up to 72m of continuous gallium mineralisation were intersected in T52RC013, when re-assayed for gallium.

Gallium: A Metal of the Future

A soft metallic element, gallium has its application in semi-conductors, light emitting diodes (LEDs), blue ray technology and mobile phones. It is also used as an additive for making low melting-point alloys.  

As per the Fraunhofer Institute System and Innovation Research, the global demand for gallium may grow six times higher than the current production of ~720 tonnes per annum, by the year 2030.

Mount Burgess update also highlights that in the future, Gallium Nitride (GaN) energy saving chips are expected to enable:

• Wireless charging of EVs (electric vehicles) with 96% energy efficiency levels, versus current levels of 93%. The 3% rise will lower down CO₂ emissions of ~1.7 megatonnes per annum by 2030, which is the value for the annual CO₂ emissions from 1 million vehicles with internal combustion engines.
• Reduced loss and better connection of solar energy to grid storage systems.
• Quick widespread of economical 5G (fifth generation) networks that need gallium computer chips, as they are more efficient at higher temperatures than usual silicon-based chips.

Led by Professor Konrosh-Zadeh at the University of NSW School of Chemical Engineering in Australia, an international team of scientists has recently built a reactor which employs Ga and nano-sized Ag rods to obtain constituent elements from CO₂.

Contribution of Gallium Credits for Kihabe – Nxuu Project

Image source: © Betka82 | Megapixl.com

Previously in January 2023, MTB had announced details of an in-depth review of gallium assays in the oxide and sulphide zones at the Kihabe Deposit. As per the review of the Kihabe drill hole sections, the company had reported consistency of gallium mineralisation – 1,038m of gallium mineralisation at an average grade of 12g/t can be added to the Zn/Pb/Ag/V₂O₅ mineralised zones, which includes 726m of gallium mineralisation, within or beyond the Zn/Pb/Ag/V₂O₅ mineralised zones, averaging 66m per hole.

Also, in December 2022, the company announced the expansion of mineralisation thickness at the Nxuu Deposit. MTB had revealed that the mineralised intersections of vanadium pentoxide, germanium and gallium average 13.9m per hole and add 88% to the average 15.8m mineralised intersections of zinc, lead and silver.

MTB shares traded at AU$0.004 on 16 February 2023.