Name of the Project
Epanko graphite project.

Location
Tanzania.

Project Owner/s
EcoGraf, formerly Kibaran Resources.

Project Description
An updated bankable feasibility study (BFS) has demonstrated a highly robust business case for a 60 000 t/y operation at Epanko and has also substantially enhanced and derisked the project’s development.

The project has an ore reserve of 11.7-million tonnes grading 8.32% total graphitic carbon (TGC) for 971 000 t graphite supporting an 18-year mine life.

The BFS is based on a mining contractor scenario.

Mining will be undertaken using the conventional drill-and-blast technique, with the fleet comprising an 80 t backhoe excavator and 40 t off-highway haul trucks.

Mining operations will start in the Eastern pit and progress to the Western pit in Year 6 to the scheduled reserve exhaustion in Year 16. The average life-of-mine strip ratio is expected to be 0.4:1 (waste to ore).

The Western deposit entails mining a strike length of 1 360 m along the top of the ridge to a depth of 210 m in the south. 

The Eastern deposit, located partially over a hill within a small valley, will be mined to a depth of 125 m and will have a strike extent of 350 m.

The process plant is designed with a throughput capacity of 720 000 t/y for an average TGC grade of 96% and average production of 60 000 t/y. The plant is based on a crush-and-grind comminution circuit (two-stage crushing circuit with single-stage rod mill), followed by rougher flotation.

The tailings are reground in a ball mill before entering the scavenger flotation. The rougher and scavenger concentrates will be combined and transferred into the primary cleaner section comprising polishing mills and cleaner flotation banks.

The concentrate will then be screened into fractions of two sizes, with subsequent polishing and four-stage cleaning, and no further milling required in the cleaning circuit.

The product will be dewatered, dried and screened into saleable size fractions. The flow sheet is optimised for a high yield of large flakes; however, it could be easily modified to get higher carbon content by flotation if required. There is potential to extend the forecast mine life beyond 18 years.

Potential Job Creation
The project is expected to employ about 300 Tanzanians and will create up to 4 500 indirect jobs through the local supply of goods and services.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a pretax net present value, at a 10% discount rate, of $211-million and an internal rate of return of 38.9%, with a 3.4-year payback.

Capital Expenditure
Capital costs have been estimated at $88.9-million.

Planned Start/End Date
The project will take about 19 months to complete.

Latest Developments
EcoGraf is considering low-emission mining methods for its Epanko graphite project.

The company has signed a nonbinding memorandum of understanding with Vermeer Equipment Supplies to evaluate the suitability of a new and alternative surface mining concept with one of Vermeer’s surface miners to economically mine, load and haul Epanko ore, with a resulting lower environmental impact and carbon footprint than conventional mining processes.

Under exclusivity arrangements, EcoGraf will provide Epanko’s extensive geotechnical, geological, structural and mining data for Vermeer to undertake an initial study to provide technical and economic data pertaining to surface miner performance. If the results of that study are sufficiently encouraging, EcoGraf and Vermeer will formulate a practical on-site test.

The agreement with Vemeer is part of EcoGraf’s enhancement studies under way for Epanko, following the encouraging steps being taken by the Tanzania government to attract increased foreign investment and positive progress with regard to the debt financing arrangements for the construction of the new Epanko mine.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Kibaran Resources, tel +61 8 6424 9000 or email info@ecograf.com.au.