Name of the Project
Manono lithium/tin project.

Location
Democratic Republic of Congo.

Project Owner/s
Mineral exploration company AVZ Minerals, in joint venture (JV) with Dathomir Mining.

Project Description
An independent assessment has shown that the Manono project could have one of the lowest carbon footprints of any global hard-rock lithium miner.

The project has total mineral resources of 400-million tonnes grading 1.65% lithium oxide, 715 parts per million tin, 0.96% iron oxide and 0.29% phosphorous pentoxide.

The definitive feasibility has shown the project to be robust and viable, and envisages conventional openpit mining producing about 700 000 t/y of high-grade lithium and 45 475 t/y of primary lithium sulphate over a 20-year mine life, based on a 4.5-million-tonne-a-year operation underpinned by the project’s ore reserves.

Primary lithium sulphate will be produced using 153 000 t/y of the spodumene concentrate product as feedstock.

The processing flowsheet allows for the recovery of tin and tantalum from hard-rock ore, as well as smaller amounts of alluvial tin and tantalum secured from local artisanal miners.

Potential Job Creation
Construction is expected to create 400 to 450 jobs, with 500 to 550 jobs expected to be created in the long term.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a pretax net present value on a 100% basis, at a 10% discount rate, of $2.35-billion and an internal rate of return of 53.15%, with a payback of 1.5 years.

Capital Expenditure
Initial construction capital is estimated at $545.5-million, including a 10% contingency.

Planned Start/End Date
Production is expected to start in the first quarter of 2022, subject to Covid-19 regulations.

Latest Developments
AVZ Minerals will raise A$40-million in a share placement to sophisticated, professional and institutional investors to fund work at its Manono lithium and tin project.

The placement will comprise more than 307.6-million shares, which will be issued at 13c each under the company’s existing capacity. It has been oversubscribed by A$10-million, which the AVZ board has accepted, with the company announcing that it will not proceed with a share purchase plan.

The capital raising provides AVZ with the required funds to increase the company’s stake in the project and secures the necessary working capital to start the early capital works programme.

AVZ will increase its stake in Manono from 60% to 75% by exercising the option to purchase a 15% interest in Dathcom Mining for $20-million.

Proceeds from the raising will also be used to negotiate project financing, and assist in establishing a working capital and contingency cost buffer during project development and to enhance AVZ’s limited early capital works programme before a final investment decision.

“Increasing AVZ’s equity stake to 75% of the Manono project adds significant value to AVZ’s shareholders, including the possible option to attract strategic cornerstone equity partners at the project level, which will assist in derisking and potentially accelerating Manono’s development.

“The placement also assists with our financing discussions, in providing capital for upfront debt finance establishment costs and in ensuring that the minimum liquidity requirements are met, while providing debt financiers with confidence from seeing a transaction to a larger, supportive, nonretail shareholder base, providing AVZ with a solid foundation from which to negotiate favourable terms, ” AVZ MD Nigel Ferguson has said.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
GR Engineering Services (process plant); PAIE (metallurgical testwork consultants); ALS (metallurgical testwork laboratories); Coppern (high-pressure grinding rolls original-equipment manufacturer); Steinhart (ore sorting original-equipment manufacturer); Middindi Consultants (geotechnical study); RD Consultants (hydrogeology and hydrology); CSA Global (resources-to-reserves study and mine development); ERM (mine closure plan); CONSI (operational readiness); L&MGSPL (tail­ings storage facility); Dynamic IT (information technology systems); Infraology (technical rail due diligence); Roskill (marketing survey); Graeme Campbell and Associates (geoscience); EmiAfrica (economic- and social-impact assess­ment); FTI Consulting (financial modelling); KCS Mining (mine contractor costing); Increva (project management consultants); Nexus Bonum (ore sorting consultants); iSpatial (geographic infor­mation system mapping); and Wisedesign (hydroelectric power plant DFS).

Contact Details for Project Information
AVZ Minerals, tel + 61 8 6117 9397 or email admin@avzminerals.com.au.