PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed junior Walkabout Resources was hoping to start construction at its Lindi graphite project, in Tanzania, by 2017.
Speaking at the inaugural Paydirt Graphite conference on Tuesday, Walkabout MD Allan Mulligan noted that the company was considering a modular development approach at Lindi, in order to minimise the requirement for up-front development capital and to allow for early production.
“We plan to initially produce some 25 000 t/y of flake graphite, and that is a good size for the current market. It will also make finding potential upgrade and offtake partners that much easier,” Mulligan told delegates at the conference, in Perth.
Walkabout was in the process of conducting an environmental impact statement at the Lindi project, and was hoping to lodge a mining licence application in May or June.
In January, the company reported a maiden Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant resource of 15.3-million tonnes at the Lindi project. Grading 10.1% graphitic carbon, the resource was estimated to contain about 1.54-million tonnes of graphite.