Mkango Resources Limited has started diamond drilling at the Songwe Hill in Phalombe District.

The Dual-listed Canadian mining firm’s drilling programme is a key component of the feasibility study for Songwe, which is being fully funded by Talaxis Limited, a subsidiary of Noble Group Ltd.

Talaxis would invest a further £7 million in funding completion of the feasibility study..

In a statement issued this week, the firm says the drilling programme is for a minimum of 5,000 metres and will be focused on infill, step-out and geotechnical drilling.

Over 50 drill pads have been constructed along with new access roads and enlarged camp infrastructure, according to the statement.

In the statement, signed by Mkango Resources Limited Chief Executive Officer William Dawes, the mining company rated the process as the largest drill programme at Songwe to date.

“This is a culmination of extensive preparatory work completed over recent months and we are excited to kick off what will be the largest drill programme to date at Songwe.

“Mkango is fully funded to [work towards] completion of a feasibility study with a clearly defined pathway to production. We look forward to keeping the market updated as we progress through the drilling programme and other major milestones.” Dawes says in the statement.

Mkango is targeting completion of an updated Mineral Resource Estimate by the end of 2018.

Mkango’s primary business is the exploration of rare earth elements and associated minerals.

The main exploration target in the 80 percent held Phalombe licence is the Songwe Hill rare earths’ deposit, which features carbonatite-hosted rare earth mineralisation and was subject to exploration in the late 1980s.

The mining firm completed a pre-feasibility study for the project in November 2015 and a feasibility study is currently underway, the initial phases of which include the major drilling programme.