Malingunde saprolite-hosted graphite project, Malawi
Name of the Project
Malingunde saprolite-hosted graphite project.
Location
The project is located about 20 km from Malawi’s capital Lilongwe.
Client
Sovereign Metals.
Project Description
A prefeasibility study (PFS) on Malingunde has shown that it offers a technically and economically robust, low-risk pathway to production of premium-quality, coarse flake graphite concentrates.
The PFS is based on total proven and probable reserves of 9.5-million tonnes grading 9.5% total graphitic carbon.
Mining will be undertaken using conventional truck-and-shovel methods.
An initial contract mining strategy has been selected for the first seven years, transitioning to an owner-operator model thereafter.
Average plant throughput is estimated at 600 000 t/y.
Concentrate production is estimated at 52 000 t/y over a 16-year mine life.
The project has huge scalability, with a significant opportunity to increase the mine’s life by processing lower-grade material from the large resource base or by discovering additional high-grade resources within reasonable trucking distance to the proposed processing plant.
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 $201-million and an internal rate of return of 56%, with a payback of three years from the start of production.
Value
Capital expenditure is estimated at $49-million.
Duration
Not stated.
Latest Developments
Based on the results of the PFS, Sovereign plans to progress to a definitive feasibility study, with the environmental-impact statement also being readied for submission by the first quarter of 2019.
Key Contracts and Suppliers
Minnovo (process plant design, process plant infrastructure and collation of study report); CSA Global (resource estimate); SGS Canada (metallurgical testwork); Orelogy Mining Consultants (mine design and scheduling); Peter O’Bryan & Associates (openpit geotechnical assessment); SLR Consulting (tailings storage facility and water studies); Dhamana Consulting (environmental studies management); AECOM (social studies and relocation action plan); and Grindrod Rail Consultancy Services (outbound logistics).
On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.
Contact Details for Project Information
Sovereign Metals, tel +61 8 9322 6322 or email info@sovereignmetals.com.au.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation