PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Junior Prospect Resources is hoping to start lithium production from its Arcadia project, in Zimbabwe, by mid-2017.
The ASX-listed company told shareholders on Tuesday that the current mining plan for Arcadia consisted of a series of openpits, with production starting from the first high-grade pit in mid-2017, with the second larger pit coming into production soon thereafter.
The project is estimated to have a mine life of between 12 and 25 years, based on the current mineral resource of 23.4-million tonnes, at 1.42% lithium oxide. An additional exploration target of between 80-million and 100-million tonnes, grading at between 1.2% and 1.5% lithium oxide, also existed within the flat-lying pegmatites.
The Environmental Management Agency has granted Prospect an environmental impact assessment certificate, approving the planned work for the project area and covering all drilling, sampling and line clearing activities.
The company has also launched offtake discussions, telling shareholders on Tuesday that as the first ore delivery date became more certain, the offtake discussions could be completed.