The Geology of DRC and the Kibara Belt

Geological map of the Democratic Republic of Congo

The regional geology of the area where Shamika's mineral properties are located is that of the Great Lakes Region of Central Africa, on the western edge of the Kibara Metallogenic Belt. It is an intercontinental mobile belt formed between 1,400 and 900 Ma ago. It is bounded to the East by the Tanzania Craton and the Bangweulu Block and to the West by the Congo Craton. The belt is some 1,500 km long, trending North-Northeast-South-Southwest and is up to 400 km wide. Shamika's properties are located in the upper part of this belt.

Within the Kibaran Proterozoic schist, gneisses and, to a lesser extent, Archaean granitoids, granulites and greenstones are exposed in cores of antiforms and uplifted blocks. The relationship between these units and the basement is well exposed in the northern extension where a clear unconformity, often marked by conglomerates, exists.

The Kibara Belt does not appear to exhibit typical Middle Proterozoic features. The structural grain of the belt clearly cuts across the previously stable craton. The characteristics of known mineralization in the region are different in the Kibara belt from those of other Proterozoic belts, as it is composed of typical granophilic elements: tin, tungsten, lithium, beryllium, tantalum and some gold.

The Lomamian Orogeny followed around 950 Ma ago and was characterized by numerous G4 tin granite intrusions, as well as faulting and folding, crosscutting the structures formed in the Kibaran Orogeny. Those granitic intrusions form the last generation of Kibaran granites, which hold a stanniferous (tin-related) mineralization.

Tantalum deposits, and prospects in Central Africa

Shamika's Properties in the Heart of The Kibara Belt

Shamika Resources is holding 720 mining rights in the Stanniferous Zone of the Kibara Belt.

Prospecting permits which have already been granted to Shamika Resources under the New Mining Code of DRC are centralized around four main areas:

• The South Kivu Region, renowned for cassiterite, tantalite and wolframit,
• The North Kivu Region, renowned for cassiterite, tantalite, gold and diamond,
• The North Katanga Region, renowned for its cassiterite and tantalite deposits,
• The Province Orientale, renowned for its gold and diamond deposits..

Inventory of Permits as of December 1, 2007

Shamika's Properties
Shamika's strategy in DRC is to secure as many mining blocks containing tin, tantalum, niobium or tungsten ore as possible. As of December 2007, Shamika has fully secured 720 mining blocks and is claiming an additional 300 blocks. By June 2008, Shamika should be holding full mining rights on approximately 3,000 blocks for a total area of about 2688 km 2 , all of these concessions being located in the region of Africa known as the Kibara Belt.

The official CAMI documents in regard to the herein mentioned permits are available for reference.

Following are the detailed descriptions of the six properties already secured by Shamika Resources.

Nyabibwe Property - South Kivu : A Major Cassiterite Deposit

Property Details
The Nyabibwe property consists of four licences #7072 (57 blocks), #7648 (6 blocks), #7648 (96 blocks) and #7678 (37 blocks) and covers an area of 196 km 2 , in the territory of Kalehe, close to Lake Kivu. In the past, the property and the mine exploited on the property were known as Kalimbi.

Infrastructures
The Nyabibwe mining site is located at about 100 km south-east of the city of Goma, with direct access from the Goma-Bukavu National road, there is also an easy access to a waterway; and a 110 kV power line passes through the property.

General Description
In DRC, tin deposits are found, primarily in the form of cassiterite, along the southern side of the Lualaba River in Katanga and in South Kivu, east of Bukavu, exactly where the Nyabibwe mine is located. A survey of Zaire's (now DRC) mineral reserves conducted by the Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM), under a 1969 agreement with the Government, revealed tin reserves estimated at 600,000 metric tons. And much more has been identified since then. Major deposits are located at Manono, Kalimbi (Nyabibwe), and Katondo. The Nyabibwe sector is well known for its tin and tantalum ore.

Mining History
A French mining company, SMDG, acted as a sub-contractor for the Government in this area from 1980 to 1987. Since SMDG's departure, the site has almost continuously been mined by independent diggers, though most of the digging was done in the alluvium and the eluvium. More recently, the only work that was taking place on the site was done on the tailings, which have already been recycled a few times.

From 1984, artisanal mining has replaced SMDG's industrial mining at the Kalimbi site. The year 1984 ended a period of very low world market prices for tin, which work against any expansion of tin production in DRC; in fact, SOMINKI, which was the largest state-owned mining company in the Kivu region had laid off most of its workers in those years.

Shamika's Prospecting
In this area, Shamika's geologists have identified a tin deposit on a hill known under the name of Kalimbi. The name of Kalimbi comes from the Kalimbi River, an affluent of the Ndindi River, which flows down to Lake Kivu.

Optimal exploitation of the deposit requires working on veins. Our geologists have already specifically identified three veins at Kalimbi's Hill. Some sampling was performed and submitted to an independent laboratory for analysis. The percentage of tin oxide (SnO2) in three ore samples was 66.6%, 77.6% and 72.6% respectively, which leads to percentages of pure tin in the ore of 52.5%, 61.1% and 57.2%, as reported by SGS Lakefield Research Limited certified analysis report.

Shamika plans to develop the Kalimbi project and has conducted its own due diligence, in order to confirm that the deposits are there, that they are big, that they can be expanded and that the company has the capability of developing them.

Shamika's geologist, through our offices in Goma (DRC), estimated that one of the veins on that particular Kalimbi Hill contains 1 million tons of tin ore. The physical dimensions of the vein are 700 meters wide, 3,000 meters long and 200 meters deep. Based on its actual size, the total content of tin ore is calculated as follows:

• Volume in m 3 of the vein: 700 x 3 000 x 200 = 420,000,000 m 3
• Tonnage of ore: 420,000,000m 3 x 2,5 kg = 1,050,000,000 kg or 1,050,000 tonnes

(under the assumption that the average tin content in the vein is 2.5 kg/m 3 - a very conservative figure -, which is well below some of the samples that have been analysed and showed concentrations ranging from 30 kg to 100 kg per m 3 . Based on the current tin ore price of $6.00 per kg, this reserve is estimated to have a value of 6 billion dollars).

Punia-Lubutu Property - Maniema : Tin and Diamonds

Property Details
The Punia-Lubutu property consists of three licences #3632 (12 blocks), #3630 (15 blocks) and #3619 (15 blocks) and covers an area of 37.5 km 2 in the Province of Maniema, east of Goma. Shamika's property includes 1 licence in Punia and 2 licences in Lubutu.

Infrastructures
Four major roads cross the Province of Maniema; all of them are linked one way or another to the cities of Punia and Lubutu. There is also a power station in Punia (2,000 kW). Some projects with the World Bank are also in progress in the area.

General Description
Punia and Lubutu lie in the North of the Province of Maniema, in a mineral-rich area that contains tin, tantalum, niobium and tungsten ore, as well as gold and diamonds. Situated in the western part of Maniema, most of the area is covered by deep forest. Most of the mineral resources are probably still unknown. The cassiterite and tantalite deposits, which have been known for years, are hosted in alluvium placers. Recently, diamonds were found in both Punia and Lubutu regions.

Mining History
From 1976, mining activities in the Kivus (including present-day Maniema) were dominated by SOMINKI (Société Minière du Kivu), a State-owned company. But the fall of world cassiterite prices forced SOMINKI to close most of its industrial operations and allow individual diggers to engage in artisanal mining. In March 1997, SOMINKI was sold off to a US company, Cluff Mining, and a Canadian company, Banro, bought Cluff Mining's shares and opened up a Congolese subsidiary named Sakima. Sakima has remained dormant since 1998, and does not, to this day, operate any mine.

The Punia-Lubutu mining rights were acquired by Shamika from Geminaco, a Congolese company, which had secured a vast perimeter in the region. The original permits issued to Geminaco have been transferred by endorsement to Shamika in June 2007.

Idjwi Property - South Kivu : The Mineral Island

Property Details
Shamika's property in the Idjwi Territory consists of 150 mining blocks, covering a total area of 143.6 km 2 . It is situated on Lake Kivu, making up 4 licences #3637, #8188, #8189 and #8314. Shamika is in a position to start the operations on a wolframite (tungsten ore) mine on its Idjwi property in the near future.

Infrastructures
The main access to Idjwi Island is the Lake Kivu waterway. Though the main access over the lake is towards Bukavu, access to Goma and Kalehe are also very handy. The Goma-Bukavu national road is then running along the lakeshore by the city of Kalehe.

General Description
Idjwi is an island belonging to DRC and situated on Lake Kivu, in the Province of South Kivu. It is 40 km in length, covering an area of some 285 km². It is the second largest inland island in Africa, and the tenth largest in the world. Idjwi is roughly equidistant to both the DRC and Rwanda, with 10 to 15 kilometres separating its western shore from the DRC mainland and a similar distance between its eastern shore and the coastline of Rwanda. The island's southern tip, lies only 1 kilometre from the Rwandan coast. The Idjwi sector is known for its tin, iron and tungsten ore resources. Tungsten deposits for Idjwi Island show a content of very high percentage of tungsten oxide, and are structured to host open-pit mining.

Mining History
The island of Idjwi is known for its exceptional mineralization. In the past, cassiterite (tin ore), columbo-tantalite, wolframite (tungsten ore) and iron ore have been mined on the island, but always only on an artisanal scale. The geographical situation of the island and its proximity to Rwanda's zone of influence have always prevented the introduction of industrial mining techniques on the island. Mining has nevertheless always been a significant activity for the population of Idjwi, though official figures regarding the quantity of ore traded have probably always been understated.

Poko Property - Province Orientale : Gold and Diamond

Property Details
The Poko property is situated in the Province Orientale. It consists of 1 licence #8315 (120 blocks), which represent an area of about 107 km 2 .

Infrastructures
The city of Poko is crossed by one of the main road of the Great Lakes region. The Poko mining site is located at about 600 km north of the main city of Kisangani.

General Description
The Province Orientale is well known for its gold, diamond, clay, copper, iron, kaolin, niobium, ochre, phosphates, saline, bituminous schist and talc deposits.

The region of Poko is also known for its iron, manganese, gold and diamond deposits. The Forminière, a Belgian company, had a large concession there between the Uere River and the Poko River. The diamond stones are of good quality and large in size (with a record of 16 carats); they are quite similar to those of the Oubangui.

Walikale Property - North Kivu: The Place for Cassiterite

Property Details
Shamika's property at Walikale in the Province of North Kivu consists of 249 mining blocks, under 1 licence, which number is to be designated shortly, for a total area of 216 km 2 .

Infrastructures
Walikale is one of the most important crossroads of the eastern part of DRC. The region lies on the road to Kisangani, Goma and Bukavu. There are also a number of infrastructure projects underway in the area.

General Description
Walikale is situated in North Kivu, in the heart of the Kibara Belt, where there are many important deposits of cassiterite, tantalite, pyrochlore and other associated minerals. Most of the cassiterite production in North Kivu comes from the Walikale territory, the westernmost part of the province. The cassiterite found in the Walikale territory is very well known. In Goma, it is referred to as "Main Rouge", because of its high iron content - as much as 25% - that gives it a red colour. The tin oxide content is approximately 60%, that is to say a pure tin content of 45-55%. Walikale is also known to hold columbo-tantalite of the highest quality of all North Kivu. Generally, columbo-tantalite is most often found in the more remote areas, sometimes deep in the rainforest.

Mining History
In 2003-2004, the territory of Walikale was at the centre of the cassiterite boom, which followed the columbo-tantalite boom of 2000-2001. Today, the international market demand for tin has greatly increased. The price of tin has soared from $8,500 / ton to over $17,000 / per ton in just a few years. Walikale's mining activities, which used to be controlled by SOMINKI (Société Minière du Kivu), were interrupted in 1996, at the start of the war. However, as was the case in so many other mining areas of the cassiterite and columbo-tantalite belt of the DRC, mining operations were never totally stopped, since artisanal diggers took over the task very rapidly. The end of the war in 2003 has not yet brought any significant change in the way mining operations are conducted by individual diggers in this region.

Manono Property - North Katanga : An Historical Place for Tin

Property Details
Shamika's property in the Manono territory consists of 200 mining blocks, covered by 2 licences #8609 and #8610, which represent a total area of 194 km 2 .

Infrastructures
Manono is one of the most developed areas of DRC. Old mining activities created a vast road, railway and electric distribution network.

General Description
Manono is a territory and a locality in the Province of North Katanga. The region is situated in the lower group of the Kibara belt and it is well known for its great reserves of cassiterite (which were estimated at 200,000 tons of tin ore in 1996), tantalite, columbite and wolframite.

The ores are in the form of pegmatite-hosted veins, easily accessible for opencast mining. Reserves are reported as being large, and the tantalum content of previous tin mine waste is believed to be recoverable. Older operations also suggest that the Manono region hosts one of the largest reserves of lithium in the world (30 M tons of spodumene at 6% lithium oxide).

Mining History
Belgian companies have done mining activities for tin and tantalite as early as 1932. However, significant activity started in the 60's, when several local and international companies were involved in tin, tantalum and tungsten operations in this region. The largest tin producer in the DRC has been Congo-Etain (ex-Zairetain), which specialized in the mining of tin ore and other associated ores. Congo-Etain operations halted in 1995. Today, thousands of independent diggers are still working at the site