GRAPHITE DEVELOPMENTS
Refined graphene will be exported from Bulama Central to the US for final refinement
Photo by: Bloomberg
Australian graphite-focused company Metals of Africa plans to source feedstock for its $80-million US plant from its advanced Balama Central graphite project, in Mozambique.
The plant will be built in the US under plans to provide spherical graphite to major American conglomerates “evolving leading-edge” graphite and graphene products.
“Much of the global drive to develop leading-edge graphite derivatives, as well as a host of graphite-based new era green energy products, is being driven by globally focused conglomerates in the US,” says Metals of Africa MD Cherie Leeden.
Addressing the inaugural Paydirt 2016 Australian Graphite Conference in Perth, Australia, she said the company had already signed confidential agreements with a range of US corporates and had started commercial negotiations designed to secure a route to market.
However, conglomerates are driving hard the condition that access to their supply chain will only be granted if there is a high level of integrity and accountability in their providers’ own supply chain.
This requirement is part of an overall movement in regulatory and public expectation that product development is environmentally sustainable and fully accountable. Leeden notes that post offtake agreement, Metals of Africa is prepared to establish the processing plant in the US, as this is the preferred way in which it can secure such high-end supply contracts with the global markets and developers from African ore concentrates.
“These corporate entities will only sign a contract which is final and binding, so it is an opportunity for Metals of Africa to lock in a first-mover position in this vital American springboard into international graphite customer routes,” she explains.
The company will process its Balama Central graphite on site in Mozambique to a 96% total graphitic carbon concentrate, which will then be transported to the US plant for conversion to high-grade – 99.5% – spherical graphite for supply to the major conglomerates.
“Our initial costing puts the plant’s capital expenditure at $80-million and we are highly confident of securing construction funding for that as soon as we sign binding supply agreements,” Leeden adds.
The US proposal marks a strong year to date for Metals of Africa, which, in just four weeks, drilled out a maiden resource of 16.3-million tonnes, grading 10.4% graphitic carbon, at Balama Central.
The company has initiated prefeasibility studies, eyeing an initial ten-year mine life for the deposit. Metals of Africa has a second major graphite deposit in Mozambique at the larger Montepuez project and may examine dual development of both if the producing plant is successful.