Name of the Project
Mahenge graphite project.

Location
The project is located within 324 km2 of the exploration tenements, in the Ulanga district of Tanzania.

Client
Black Rock Mining.

Project Description
The Mahenge project is the fourth-largest Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant contained graphite resource in the world. The project has a declared ore reserve of 69.6-million tonnes at an average grade of 8.5% total graphitic carbon (TGC). The project has total mineral resources of 211.9-million tonnes grading 7.8% TGC.

An optimised prefeasibility study has proposed a three-stage construction of the mine.

Mining will be done using conventional opencut techniques. Waste will primarily be used for tailings dam wall construction or stacked in waste dumps to form integrated landforms. 

Processing will be undertaken using well-proven crushing, grinding and flotation methods, comprising: 
• Stage 1, which will include a processing plant and infrastructure at a nominal design basis rate of one-million tonnes a year to produce up to 83 000 t/y of graphite concentrate in the first two years of production. The plant will be based at the Ulanzi pit. 
• Stage 2, which will include a second one-million-tonne-a-year plant and associated additional infrastructure, doubling throughput to two-million tonnes a year, and graphite concentrate production to 167 000 t/y from Year 3 of operation. The plant will be based at the Ulanzi pit. 
• Stage 3, which will include a third one-million-tonne-a-year plant and associated additional infrastructure increasing throughput to three-million tonnes a year, and graphite concentrate production of up to 250 000 t/y from Year 3 of operation. The plant will be based at Cascades pit and includes a dedicated tailings management system. 

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a post-tax unlevered net present value, at a 10% discount rate, of $1.11-million and an unlevered internal rate of return of 50.1%, with a payback of four years.

Value
Preproduction capex is estimated at $90.1-million, with total capital expenditure estimated at $244-million, including a 15% contingency.

Duration
Construction is expected to start in 2018, with initial production in 2019.

Latest Developments
Black Rock Mining has delivered the world’s first 99%+ purity graphite concentrate at its pilot plant in Canada, from ore mined at its Mahenge graphite project.

“We are not aware of any deposit that is capable of producing 99.3%-grade concentrate using standard flotation alone. Being able to generate ultrahigh-grade product using flotation is of significant value to downstream processors who are increasingly finding environmental constraints impacting on  their business,” Black Rock CEO John de Vries has said.

“The value proposition of producing high-specification concentrate has been validated by Syrah Resources’ recent announcement of planned increases of Balama concentrate grades to a targeted 97% to 98%.”

Black Rock Mining is particularly pleased with the minimal flake degradation during the additional polishing, with more than 55% of the ultra-high-grade concentrate reporting to the large and jumbo fractions, which underlines how remarkable the Mahenge flake is.

“. . . Mahenge is demonstrating itself as the best undeveloped graphite project available globally”, the company has said.

An estimated 90 t of Mahenge ore has been processed at the SGS Lakefield facility in Canada, comprising 50 t from Cascades and 40 t from Ulanzi.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Black Rock Mining, tel +61 8 9320 7550 or email info@blackrockmining.com.au.