Name of the Project
Montepuez graphite project.

Location
Mozambique.

Client
Battery Minerals.

Project Description
A value engineering study (VES) has determined that the restructure of the Montepuez graphite project will result in the generation of outstanding financial returns.

The aim of the VES was to:
• significantly improve the financial returns highlighted in the February definitive feasibility study (DFS) by optimising the processing plant through modularisation;
• refine the mine plan to produce a higher head grade;
• adopt an owner-operator mining and accommodation model to remove the use of contractors; and
• reduce the size of the initial tailings dam and water supply facility.

Concentrate recoveries were also increased through a series of successful metallurgical and processing testwork.

Under the VES, the Montepuez process plant will initially process run-of-mine ore at an average of 500 000 t/y at 12% total graphitic carbon (TGC) to produce 45 000 t/y to 50 000 t/y of dry graphite concentrate with an average grade of 96.7% TGC.

Compared with the February DFS, the VES has also reduced the expected life-of-mine from 30 years to 10 years, with concentrate production decreasing from 100 000 t/y to between 45 000 t/y and 50 000 t/y.

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 $146-million and an internal rate of return of 36.2%.

Payback has been reduced from 4.75 years in the DFS to two years in the VES.

Value
Total capital expenditure in the VES is estimated at $42.33-million, compared with $126-million in the February DFS.

Duration
Construction is expected to start in the second quarter of 2018, with steady-state production expected in the final quarter of 2019.

Latest Developments
Battery Minerals is gearing up to start the development of its Montepuez graphite project, following its $20-million oversubscribed capital raising, the appointment of the lead design engineer and ordering of the primary crusher.

Battery Minerals is progressing its detailed grade control drilling to underpin daily mining plans ahead of obtaining the mining licence in this month, the final approvals in the March quarter and the scheduled construction start in April.

The appointment of lead design engineers DRA and Minnovo to complete the detailed design work on the process plant for Montepuez is a key milestone for the project, along with the order placed for a 1.3-million-tonne-a-year primary crusher, which is already under construction and expected to arrive on site in March.

“The primary crusher has a capacity of more than twice Montepuez’s requirements, giving it ample ability to meet the company’s needs for the planned expansion in 2020,” Battery Minerals executive chairperson David Flanagan has said, adding that the crusher will be delivered at a significant discount to quotes received as part of the value engineering study completed in November 2017.

The process to appoint key personnel is also under way.

To ensure the development of Montepuez can proceed quickly, Battery Minerals has initiated an extensive recruitment campaign. This will be aimed at identifying key development and technical personnel for roles in Perth and Mozambique.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
DRA and Minnovo (lead design engineers).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Battery Minerals, tel +61 8 9322 7600, fax +61 8 9322 7602 or email info@batteryminerals.com.