Name of the Project
Montepuez graphite project.

Location
Mozambique.

Client
Battery Minerals.

Project Description
Montepuez Stage 1 (M1) is a 50 000 t/y graphite flake project.  The current project life is 20 years, which Battery Minerals expects to expand to about 100 000 t/y in Stage 2. 

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a pretax net present value, at a 10% discount rate, of $146-million and an internal rate of return of 36.2%. Payback has been reduced from 4.75 years in the DFS to two years in the value engineering study (VES).

Value
Total capital expenditure in the VES is estimated at $42.33-million, compared with $126-million in the February 2017 DFS.

Duration
Steady-state production is expected in the final quarter of 2019.

Complete ramp-up of the first stage of the mine is expected in the third quarter of 2019.

Latest Developments
Battery Minerals is advancing its Montepuez graphite project, following the latest fundraising. The company has received financial commitments of A$20-million through a share placement at 6c a share, with a free one-for-two, exercisable at 10c with an expiry date of July 2023. The placement will be done in two tranches, with the second tranche of all shares and all options subject to shareholder approval at a meeting to be planned for June.

The company’s largest shareholder, Australian company Farjoy, has committed to subscribe for A$5-million in tranche two of the placement, while stockbroking and wealth management firm the Morgans and financial advisory Hartleys acted as joint lead managers to the placement.

The proceeds will be used to continue construction of the mine where commissioning for the equipment is set for the first quarter of 2019.First concentrate export is expected in the second quarter of 2019.


Meanwhile, the company has made progress ahead of its commissioning in November. A temporary construction camp has been installed, while construction water dams have been built and are full.

Contracts have also been awarded for the supply of ball mill flotation cells, regrind mills, the flash dryer and thickener.

In addition to the raising, Battery Minerals will undertake a securities purchase plan (SPP), which will enable all eligible Battery Minerals shareholders to apply for up to $15 000 of shares on the same terms as the placement, providing shareholders with an opportunity to participate in capital raising. “The funds raised through the placement and the SPP will primarily be applied towards advancing the development of the Montepuez graphite project,” according to Battery Minerals MD David Flanagan.

The Mozambique government granted Battery Minerals a mining licence for its Montepuez graphite project and accepted the company’s environmental-impact assessment for the graphite project in March.

The expenditure of the SPP and placement will include the Montepuez construction works being completed later this year, as will the performance guarantee and environmental licence fee related to Montepuez mining licence approvals, study work at the company’s other Mozambique project – the Balama Central graphite project – and general working capital.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Battery Minerals, tel +61 8 9322 7600, fax +61 8 9322 7602 or email info@batteryminerals.com.