Name of the Project
Chilalo graphite project.

Location
Ruangwa district of the Lindi region, in south-east Tanzania.

Project Owner/s
Evolution Energy Minerals.

Project Description
A front-end engineering design (FEED) and updated DFS have predominantly maintained the flowsheet used in the previous DFS published in 2020.

The FEED/updated DFS envisages an annual plant feed of 500 000 t over a 17-year mine life, with total plant feed estimated at 8.3-million tonnes.

Average graphite concentrate production is estimated at 52 000 t/y, 12 000 t/y of steady-state expandable graphite sales and 8 000 t/y of steady-state micronised graphite sales.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an after-tax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $338-million and an internal rate of return of 32%, with a payback of 3.3 years.

Capital Expenditure
Preproduction capital is estimated at $119.7-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Evolution has signed framework and shareholder agreements for its Chilalo graphite project.

“Completion of the agreements is a key milestone as we continue to progress towards the development of our Chilalo project. Financiers require certainty on the operation of the Tanzanian government’s free-carried interest and the completion of these agreements provides the certainty to support further investment from Evolution and debt and equity financiers,” Evolution MD Phil Hoskins has said.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
CPC Engineering (FEED); Resolve Mining Solutions (mining and ore reserve); ATC Williams (tailings disposal); AQ2 (hydrology and hydrogeology); Mine Earth (hydrology, hydrogeology and acid and metalliferous drainage and mine closure); Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, Fastmarkets, Wood Mackenzie, Lonestar Technical Minerals (graphite market and graphite pricing); and Auramet Trading (financial modelling).

Contact Details for Project Information
Evolution Energy Metals, tel +61 8 9200 3426 or email info@ev1minerals.com.au.