Photo by: Bloombeg
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – A scoping study into the Duwi flake graphite project, in Malawi, has confirmed that the project could support the production of 110 000 t/y of graphite concentrate over an initial mine life of 20 years.
Owner Sovereign Metals on Tuesday said the scoping study estimated an initial capital investment of $112-million and life-of-mine operating costs of $498/t of concentrate.
Based on a mineral resource of 77.3-million tonnes, grading 7.2% graphitic carbon, the project would produce 1.5-million tonnes a year from a simple openpit mine.
A contract mining strategy was selected to mitigate project risk, Sovereign told shareholders, while operational management would be retained by Sovereign personnel.
Sovereign, meanwhile, pointed out that, since the project is located some 15 km from Lilongwe, the Duwi project would have access to services and infrastructure, including existing railway, power and water infrastructure.