PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Ministry of Energy and Minerals in Tanzania has granted ASX-listed graphite developer Kibaran Resources a mining licence for its Epanko project.
The mining licence, which was the last remaining major milestone for the project in terms of government permitting, allowed for the extraction and processing of graphite over a 9.49 km2 area, and was valid for a period of ten years.
It would be renewable for a further ten-year period.
“Granting of the mining licence de-risks the Epanko graphite project and places Kibaran in a prime position to be both the first graphite producer in Tanzania since Samax’s Graphtan mine started production in 1995, and to be one of the first companies into production among its listed peer group,” said Kibaran executive director for projects Grant Pierce.
“Being first into production brings with it some unique, one-off opportunities which are extremely significant on a number of strategic and commercial fronts and Kibaran has been focusing on its preparedness to take advantage of them over recent months.”
The licence included all mineralised zones, including those where additional resources were expected, and supported the planned production growth from 40 000 t/y to 100 000 t/y.
The results of a bankable feasibility study into the Epanko project would likely be released later this month.