Name of the Project
Epanko graphite project.

Location
Tanzania.

Client
Kibaran Resources.

Project Description
A bankable feasibility study on the Epanko project has confirmed the viability of a conventional opencut mine and conventional flotation processing plant.

The project has maiden proven and probable reserves of 10.9-million tonnes at 8.6% total graphitic carbon (TGC).

Mining will be conducted on a five-day, day-shift-only basis, with total movement of 57 000 billion cubic metres a month using an 80 t excavator and 40 t articulated trucks.

Mining will be from the Eastern and Western deposits, located within 1 km of the run-of-mine (RoM) pad. The Western deposit consists of mining a strike length of 850 m along the top of the hill to a depth of 180 m, with the Eastern deposit in a small valley and mined to a depth of 120 m.

The mine schedule has been formulated to target RoM feed within the limit of 440 000 t/y mill throughput, with a maximum of 40 000 t of concentrate output. From the ore reserve, only material over an 8% TGC cutoff will be fed to the plant for the first 16 years, after which stockpiled lower-grade material will be reclaimed and processed. There is 6.5-million tonnes at 9.9% TGC of high-grade feed sourced from 68% proved and 32% probable ore reserve over this period.

The prestrip will be limited to total movement of 180 000 bcm over four months to establish the Eastern deposit, RoM pad, haulage roads, and diversion bunds and drains. The Eastern deposit will be the main source for high-grade plant feed, with the Western deposit starting as a feed source after six months of processing.

The processing plant will include a two-stage crushing circuit that will deliver product to a storage bin. Ore will be reclaimed from the storage bin and delivered to a single-stage rod mill operating in closed circuit with a screen. The undersize ore from the mill product screen will be transported to a flotation circuit for recovery of the graphite using a circuit comprising rougher, scavenger, primary cleaner and secondary cleaner flotation stages. Graphite concentrate will be filtered and dried. Dry graphite concentrate will be screened into various product sizes and bagged for shipping. Flotation tailings will be transported to the tailings thickener and pumped to the tailings storage facility.

While the Epanko production rate has been set at 40 000 t/y of concentrate, the process plant has a nameplate throughput capacity of 480 000 t/y and can thus produce additional product.

Kibaran has developed an expansion strategy that can cater for expected future increases in demand for premium-quality large-flake graphite. The Epanko deposit can easily support a production rate of 100 000 t/y of concentrate, with the expansion capital being funded from cash flow. The additional footprint required for the expansion has been catered for in the design layout.

Jobs to be Created
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a pretax net present value, at a 10% discount rate, of $197.4-million and a pretax internal rate of return of 41.2%, with a payback of 2.7 years.

Value
Capital expenditure is estimated at $77.5-million.

Duration
First production from the project will start about 17 months after the completion of project financing.

Latest Developments
Commercial testwork on the Epanko project continues to confirm the high quality of graphite at the project, with results demonstrating the product’s suitability for use in a range of industries.

These results are important because they will not only help determine optimum processing routes but also assist in maximising sales prices. They will also help underpin studies to expand Epanko’s planned production capacity by 50% from 40 000 t/y to 60 000 t/y of graphite concentrate.

The results will be central to Kibaran’s feasibility study on downstream processing of its graphite concentrate to produce spherical graphite for use in lithium-ion batteries.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Kibaran Resources, tel +61 8 6380 1003 or email info@kibaranresources.com.