Being impressed with promising results at Bonke and Gerese woredas, South Nations Nationalities and People’s Region Mines and Energy Agency has again entrusted AMU’s University-Industry Linkage and Technology Transfer Directorate to prospect Konso woreda’s Kolme kebele in Segan Area People’s Zone for gemstones and minerals; a pact in this regard was signed recently, informed UIL-TTD Director, Dr Tolera Seda. Click here to see the pictures

Dr Tolera Seda, on new assignment, said, last year’s successful completion of seven-month long task of prospecting precious stones such as emerald, quartz or garnet stones and related resources helped us to bag new project to be carried out at aforesaid area. SNNPR-MEA has granted ETB 649,016.00 for the same for which AMU’s five experienced geologists would take up this new assignment.

The agreement was signed by Research and Community Service Vice President, Dr Simon Shibru, Dr Tolera Seda representing AMU followed by SNNPR-MEA’s Executive Director, Mrs Atsede Ayiza.

He said, the 2nd assignment at Gerese woreda has brought a kind of reputation because SNNPR-MEA has simultaneously entrusted tasks of exploring different areas for presence of minerals to Hawassa University, Dilla University and Geological Survey of Ethiopia where AMU has yielded amazing results on ground that has given strong traction to our professional commitment; it has further built our credibility in the professional circuit and that’s how we grabbed yet another project.

In the meanwhile, it’s important to state that the study conducted at Ketele area in Gerese confirms that the rock units of study area are amphibole, gneiss, granite gneiss, pegmatite, dolerites basalt and rhyolite and also has small-scale geological structure and metamorphic rock fabrics.

AMU’s five geologists had collected 49 stream samples from sets of 1st, 2nd and some 3rd order of active and dry streams and analysis of Gold base metal mineralization was conducted using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry; 7 rock samples were tested by XRF for geochemical analysis of the major, minor and trace elements to identify the quality of minerals and nature of formations of rock units.

The report states that all the analyzed precious and base metals are below the threshold value and they are insignificantly mineralized in the study area but copper shows high mineralization with a threshold value of 656.9 ppm which is higher than the expected standard. Gold and base metals show relatively good concentration in amphibole gneiss that is exposed at the North-Eastern part implying that amphibole gneiss is the host rock for the mineralization of base metal particularly copper.

It further adds that due to high grade metamorphic processes and pegmatite intrusion, the study area is enriched in minerals such as Aquamarine, Feldspar, Garnet and to a lesser extent Magnetite. It roughly estimated to have 101.343 million tons of Feldspar deposit. The study has also made few important recommendations for the extraction of many economically viable minerals.

(Corporate Communication Directorate)