PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed graphite developer Valence Industries has reported a 43% increase in the Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant reserve of its Uley Pit 2, in South Australia.
The ore reserve is now estimated at 2.91-million tonnes, containing 353 618 t of graphite.
Valence noted on Thursday that the increase in the ore reserve was based on about one-third of the results from a current drilling programme across the Uley Pit 2 extension, with the remaining two-thirds of the drilling and assays still to be received.
The increased ore reserve underpinned a 60% increase in the current life-of-mine for the Uley Pit 2, which was now estimated at eight years, based on the production of 64 000 t/y of graphite.
Valence recently secured $75-million in debt financing to fund the planned expansion of the Uley project, from 14 000 t/y to an ultimate 64 000 t/y by 2017/18.