PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Graphite developer Triton Minerals has conditionally secured offtake agreements over the full production from its planned Ancuabe project, in Mozambique.
The ASX-listed company on Monday reported that it had signed an offtake, marketing and technical collaboration memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Cina’s Haida Graphite.
Under the MoU, the two parties will now work together to complete an offtake agreement for up to 25% of the planned Ancuabe graphite concentrate production, over various flake sizes and purity, as well as sales agency services and a technical collaboration.
“This MoU with Haida is an exciting development for Triton and a significant endorsement of the Ancuabe project and our strategy of supplying the high value graphite market,” said Triton MD Peter Canterbury.
“Attracting the interest of Haida, one of the world’s largest graphite producers, highlights the need for Chinese producers to expand and diversify their supply chains and secure high quality graphite in response to strong demand and new environmental regulations which have impacted domestic supply.”
Along with conditional offtake agreeements secured with China’s Sinoma and Tianshengda, the Haida MoU accounted for 100% of the anticipated annual production from the Ancuabe project.
A recent scoping study into the project revealed that Ancuabe could produce about 60 000 t/y of graphite over a 17-year mine life. The project is likely to require a capital investment of $83-million, with capital costs estimated at $601/t over the life of the mine.
A definitive feasibility study for the project is due for completion in December this year.