New Frontier

SA-based company partners with Chad to develop country’s nascent minerals sector.

- Ilan Solomons

​Gold mining, refining and resources development company Quaestec Gold Africa Resources has partnered with the government of Chad to develop the Central African country’s nascent mineral resources sector, says company CEO Charles Fourie.

Chad’s gold deposits occur over 1 200 km, from the south to the north-west, and are located on the border of the Central African shear zone, with the gold located in ultra-narrow sequences occurring in original volcanic intrusive, metamorphic and sedimentary gold forms within several hundred kilometres of one another, Fourie explains.

“This type of geology represents substantial opportunities for mining companies and for companies seeking to provide equipment and services to the mining industry.”

Quaestec is a South Africa-based company that is also registered in the United Arab Emirates emirate of Dubai. The company’s 60:40 joint venture (JV) with the Chadian government (in favour of Quaestec), Société Nationale de Développement de Minérale (Sonadem), aims to unlock Chad’s diversified mineral resources potential, such as gold, silver, uranium, tin and tungsten.

The JV’s mandate is to formalise Chad’s geological information systems and resource data, develop the country’s mineral resources and establish a national gold refinery in the capital city of N’Djamena.