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PERTH (miningweekly.com) – An initial prefeasibility study (PFS) into the development of the Namangale graphite project, in Tanzania, has proven positive for Volt Resources, the company said on Tuesday.
The Stage 1 PFS considered various production scenarios ranging from 60 000 t/y to 240 000 t/y of graphite concentrate, over a 20-year mine life.
The junior explorer noted that pit optimisation across this range of production scenarios indicated favourable results, and showed that the existing resource was able to sustain these levels of production over the initial mine life.
Lower production scenarios allowed for low waste-to-ore ratios and higher average grades, while the higher production scenarios delivered higher proportions of fresh ore, as well as potential for economies of scale.
The Stage 1 PFS work also determined that the most cost-effective transport method would be through the deep-water Mtwara port, using existing sealed roads.
“The initial design parameters of the Namagale project are showing that the existing Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant resource is capable of supporting a large-scale, long-life mine that is close to existing infrastructure,” said Volt executive chairperson Stephen Hunt.
“The shallow nature of the deposit, coupled with the metallurgical testwork performed to date, provides great encouragement as to the quality of the project.”
The project currently hosts a mineral resource of 214.4-million tonnes, grading 5.1% graphitic carbon for 11-million tonnes of contained graphite.