Perth-based graphite developer Kibaran Resources’ updated production growth strategy has confirmed that the company’s Epanko and Merelani-Arusha graphite projects, in Tanzania, have the potential to produce a combined 150 000 t/y of concentrate by the sixth year of mining and processing.

These figures, released by the company in September, translate into a 50% increase over initial estimates this year of a headline rate of 100 000 t/y.

Kibaran elected to update its growth strategy modelling following the release of the respected ‘Roskill Natural & Synthetic Graphite: Market Outlook to 2020’ report, which includes details of expected future increases in global demand for premium-quality large-flake graphite.

The company has set its initial production targets on two stages over the first six to seven years.

Kibaran MD Andrew Spinks notes that the project enhancement also followed substantial corporate progress by the company in attracting German government backing.

The company in early September secured German government-backed and -guaranteed bank lending support for the Epanko project to provide lenders of project finance with insurance against commercial and political risk.

Spinks reinforced that this support was the first major milestone in the company’s debt funding process for Epanko.

Meanwhile, he states that, while the company appreciates the technical perspectives of the longer-term production targets, it will initially seek to meet current demand by planning to start production at a prudent rate of 40 000 t/y, after which Kibaran will aim to build output quickly in response to future increases in demand.

Kibaran recently signed a 20 000 t/y offtake agreement with German multinational conglomerate corporation ThyssenKrupp and a further 10 000 t/y binding offtake agreement with a European graphite market trader. Both agreements are valid for ten years.

The company notes that it is currently the only listed graphite entity globally with a binding offtake agreement with a partner outside China, adding that it is focused on developing Tanzania as a graphite hub to counter the Chinese domination of the global graphite market.

Meanwhile, Kibaran has a third graphite project in Tanzania, named Tanga, which it plans to include in its push to strategically position the company globally to obtain the largest market share and strategic partners outside China for the refectory, spherical battery market and high-end graphite markets.

Opencut Mine Viability Confirmed

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

The Epanko 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 bcm 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 entails 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 a 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 reserves over this period.

The prestrip will be limited to total movement of 180 000 bcm over four months to establish the Eastern deposit, the 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 from the mill product screen will report to a flotation circuit for recovery of the graphite using a circuit comprising rougher, scavenger, and 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 report to the tailings thickener and then be pumped to the tailings storage facility.

Meanwhile, 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.

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.

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. Capital expenditure is estimated at $77.5-million and first production from the project will start about 17 months after the completion of project financing.

German industrial group ThyssenKrupp has agreed to buy 50% of the planned output of Kibaran’s proposed Epanko graphite project for the next ten years. ThyssenKrupp will buy 20 000 t/y of graphite from the graphite miner for the European, Russian and Korean markets, with an option to extend the agreement for a five years. Kibaran was granted an initial ten-year mining licence for the project earlier this year, making it the first new graphite producer in Tanzania in 20 years.