Name of the Project
Montepuez graphite project.

Location
Mozambique.

Client
Battery Minerals.

Project Description
Montepuez Stage 1 (M1) is a 50 000 t/y graphite flake project. 

The current project life is 20 years, which Battery Minerals expects to expand to about 100 000 t/y in Stage 2. 

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 definitive feasibility study (DFS) to two years in the value engineering study (VES).

Value
Total capital expenditure in the VES is estimated at $42.33-million, compared with $126-million in the February 2017 DFS.

Duration
Steady-state production is expected in the final quarter of 2019.

Complete ramp-up of the first stage of the mine is expected in the third quarter of 2019.

Latest Developments
The development of the Montepuez graphite project, in Mozambique, is progressing well and the funding strategy has also advanced, Battery Minerals has reported.

The company has said that key construction milestones at the project are being met. The construction of the permanent 100-person accommodation camp and the tailings storage facility is well advanced.

Battery Minerals has appointed Origin Capital as financial adviser to advance its funding efforts for the mine. Origin is seeking expressions of interest from potential debt providers.

As part of the funding process, independent technical consultant Behre Dolbear Australia has been appointed to conduct a technical due diligence review, which has included a recent site visit.

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence will provide an independent review of the graphite market and a specific analysis of Montepuez’s position on the industry cost curve.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

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.