Marine Diatomaceous Earth

Location

• 13km offshore of the Namibian West Coast
• At a depth of between -50 and -105 meters
• Located 24 km from the town of Swakopmund and 45 km from the Port of Walvis Bay
• GPS coordinates: 14.268, -22.472
  
  

Resource and Reserves

• Marine mud sediments
• Indicated reserve > 200 million tons of raw material ~ 60% SiO2 in situ
  
  

Production planned

• Dredging followed by continuous cyclone upgrade of the material using sea water
• Transport of upgraded material to shore using barges
• Drying followed by classification to different particle sizes
• Calcining of specific size ranges
• Target markets:
  • Filter-grade diatomaceous earth
    
  • Insulation material
  • Insecticide powder
    
    

Current Status

• EPL 4154 granted to Gecko Phosphates (Pty) Ltd
• Mineral exploration work completed
• Prospecting EIA conducted and Environmental Clearance for prospecting work received
• Bulk sample required for further processing work
• Basic processing design work concluded