PERTH (miningweekly.com) – A strategic review into the Caula graphite and vanadium project, in Mozambique, has found that the project could produce its first product by mid-2019.
ASX-listed Mustang Resources told shareholders that the review also established that the Stage 1 Caula project would produce vanadium concentrate, which can be either sold or stockpiled for further processing to high purity vanadium products as part of Stage 2.
The Stage 1 operation is expected to produce some 100 000 t/y of ore, delivering between 10 000 t/y and 15 000 t/y of high-grade graphite concentrate, with the graphite plant being designed to allow future incorporation of all processing equipment into a larger Stage 2 graphite plant.
The Stage 2 operation will deliver between 300 000 t/y and 600 000 t/y of ore, with a large, full-scale processing plant delivering between 50 000 t/y to 75 000 t/y of high-grade graphite concentrate.
With a hypothetical ore grade of 0.4% vanadium pentoxide, a 600 000 t/y operation could produce about 2 000 t/y of vanadium pentoxide with a current market value of around $60-million a year.
The review was conducted alongside a concept study, which is set for completion by the second quarter of this year.