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.

All-in Sustaining Costs/All-in Costs
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
An improved mine plan for the Mahenge Liandu graphite project, in Tanzania, has shown it is possible to produce one-million tonnes of ore after four years of ramping up production.

Armadale says BatteryLimits, which completed the mine plan, envisions an initial ramp-up to 500 000 t/y for the project after two years, and then to one-million tonnes after four years.

The production profile is more than the original throughput envisioned in the company’s scoping study, released in March 2018, which outlined a 49 000 t/y production capacity.

The increased production profile is expected to significantly transform the project’s definitive feasibility study (DFS) economics, which are being finalised. 

The staged ramp-up takes advantage of near-surface high-grade mineralisation for the first four years and then scales up throughput in later years.

BatteryLimits says the ore will be produced at a grade of between 12% and 14% TGC for the first four years before averaging a grade of 9.5%, with a low strip ratio as the project ramps up to processing one-million tonnes a year.

Armadale says the scoping study was limited to 25% of the project’s resource and the improved mine plan is based on less than 25% of the resource over a mine life of 17 years, which creates significant further upside potential.

The company will provide further details on the way forward in the forthcoming DFS.
 
Key Contracts and Suppliers
BatteryLimits (scoping study).

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