Name of the Project
Manono lithium/tin project.

Location
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Project Owner/s
AVZ Minerals raised $400-million in a transaction with Chinese investment firm CATH Energy Technologies, under which CATH would earn a 24% interest in a multifaceted joint venture (JV) to develop the project.

AVZ’s interest will fall to 51%, from 75%, with DRC-owned Cominiere retaining a 25% stake.

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 study (DFS) 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 mineworkers.

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
Australia's corporate regulator has sued AVZ Minerals and two of its directors, alleging the miner has failed to disclose an escalating legal dispute with the DRC over its stake in a lithium project.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has accused the Perth-based company of breaching disclosure obligations and engaging in "misleading and deceptive conduct" by withholding information about the dispute.

AVZ has been embroiled in a legal dispute with the DRC government since 2022 over ownership rights to the project, which comprises the world's largest deposits of hard-rock lithium.

The watchdog has also alleged that MD Nigel Ferguson and technical director Graeme Johnston breached their director duties by authorising exchange filings that were "false or misleading, or omitted matters" pertaining to the dispute.

The ASIC alleges that Ferguson and Johnston failed to inform investors of the ongoing issues in the matter for nearly 12 months.

"The pair allegedly failed to take reasonable steps to ensure AVZ complied with its continuous disclosure obligations and that statements to the ASX (Australian Securities Exchange) were not misleading or deceptive," ASIC deputy chairperson Sarah Court said in a statement on November 11.

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, or OEM); Steinhart (ore sorting OEM); 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 (tail¬ings 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 assess¬ment); FTI Consulting (financial modelling); KCS Mining (mine contractor costing); Increva (project management consultants); Nexus Bonum (ore sorting consultants); iSpatial (geographic infor¬mation 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.