Name of the Project
Mahenge Liandu graphite project.

Location
Tanzania.

Project Owner/s
Armadale Capital.

Project Description
The Mahenge Liandu deposit is one of the highest-grade, large-flake deposits globally after the recent upgrade to 51.1-million tonnes at 9.3% total graphitic carbon (TGC), including 38.7-million tonnes in the indicated category at 9.3% TGC and 12.4-million tonnes in the inferred category at 9.1% TGC.

The scoping study completed on the project is based on a throughput of 400 000 t/y, producing an average of 49 000 t/y of high-quality graphite products during a 32-year life-of-mine.

The deposit has a low average strip ratio of 1:1 for the life of the mine and a very low operating cost of $408/t. There remains significant scope to further improve returns using staged expansions, as the current mine plan is based on about 25% of the total resource.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a pretax net present value, at a 10% discount rate, of $348.7-million and an internal rate of return of 122%, with a payback of 1.2 years.

Capital Expenditure
The project has a low development capital expenditure of $34.9-million.

Planned Start /End Date
The company plans on starting production in 2021.

Latest Developments
Armadale Capital has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a proposed offtake agreement with CoolRU Information Technology, a China-based technology company, for high-quality graphite products produced at the company’s Mahenge Liandu project.

The MoU is for the proposed offtake of 5 000 t/y of graphite concentrate.

It is for an initial term of five years and at a price to be agreed, based on the Chinese benchmark for the quality of the graphite produced.

The MoU, in addition to an agreement with the Matrass Group, brings the total offtake at Mahenge under the MoU to 35 000 t/y, representing 71.4% of the 49 000 t/y average production target.

Further, discussions are advancing with a major organisation to secure a further offtake agreement in respect of the remaining production.

Work is also continuing in parallel to finalise a definitive feasibility study (DFS) and to convert MoUs into binding offtake agreements.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
BatteryLimits (scoping study).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Armadale Capital, tel +44 20 7236 1177 or email info@armadalecapitalplc.com.