Northern Cape Project

Aquila’s Northern Cape project area is located in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa near the town of Kathu. Kathu is approximately 520 km south-west of Johannesburg. The project is comprised of the Kathu, Japies Rust, Blackridge and Orange River tenements. The tenements are currently held in a joint venture in which Aquila holds a 74% stake.

A government survey in 1937 resulted in the discovery of a massive deposit of iron ore. One of the farms surveyed was Sishen, meaning “the new place” and Iscor acquired mining options over this farm. Large-scale mining commenced in 1953. In 1973, a second mine was opened and a new settlement (Kathu) was required to house additional mine workers. Kathu is currently the largest mining town in the Kalahari Region. In 1990, the town of Sishen was renamed Dingleton.

The Iron Ore deposits of the Northern Cape are found within the structurally preserved Griqualand West basin of the Transvaal Supergroup. Iron Ore occurrences are found within the Ghaap Group, which is uncomfortably overlain by the Postmasburg Group which contains the Manganese-bearing Hotazel Formation.

Banded Iron Formations (BIF) of the Asbestos Hills Subgroup of the Ghaap Group are found outcropping in two large ranges of hills trending north-south. The iron content of these BIFs varies between 25% and 35% Fe, and only where significant supergene enrichment has taken place does the iron content exceed 60% (Astrup et al, 1998).

Access to the project area is very good, consisting of main bitumen covered roads and secondary gravel covered roads.  The Sishen-Saldanha Railway line is located near to Aquila's tenements and links the West Coast of South Africa with Sishen (a total distance of 861 km).  Power links are proximal to the tenements, however water resources are limited.

Mapping has only just commenced on the Orange River tenement, which has only recently been granted.