Minerals Yearbook
The ''Minerals Yearbook'' is an annual publication from the United States Geological Survey. It reviews the mineral
In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-def ...
heavy minerals In geology, a heavy mineral is a mineral with a density that is greater than 2.9 g/cm3, most commonly referring to dense components of siliciclastic sediments. A heavy mineral suite is the relative percentages of heavy minerals in a stone. Heavy min ...
Phosphate deposits were identified about 40 years ago in the region of
Farim
Farim is a town of northern Guinea-Bissau. It sits on the north bank of the Farim/Cacheu River, about 215 km (135 miles) up the river from Cacheu. Population 8,661 (2009 census). The Farim phosphate rock deposit had estimated resources of more than 166 Mt at a grade of 29% P4O10.
Red Back Mining
Red Back Mining Inc. is an unhedged Vancouver based mineral resource company. Its focus is West Africa where it operates the Chirano Gold Project in Ghana and the Tasiast Gold Mine in Mauritania.
It has one division, Red Back Mining NL, based in ...
Inc. through its
subsidiary
A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...
Champion Industrial Minerals (CIM) held a mining lease and after completing a technical and market evaluation in 2003, the company concluded that the project had advanced to a stage where it required a level of developmental, operational, and marketing expertise that was beyond CIM's capacity; since that time, the company has attempted to either locate a suitable partner to develop the Farim deposit or to sell it. Over the past 10 years, licences changed hands between companies for reasons similar to those advanced by CIM, i.e. technical inability to perform required work. More recently, the licence has been held by GB Minerals which signed in 2009 a production agreement with the Guinea-Bissau government.
Bauxite
Bauxite deposits have been identified near the city of Boé since the 1950s. At the time they were never commercially viable due to low world prices. As the economic prospects have become more enticing in the past decaden a lease was granted to a firm named Bauxite Angola in 2007, which has recently made announcements of investments of up to US$500 million.