The Albany graphite deposit is a unique example of an epigenetic graphite deposit in which a large volume of highly crystalline, fluid-deposited graphite occurs within an igneous host. The deposit is interpreted as a vent pipe breccia that formed from CO2-rich fluids that evolved due to pressure-related degassing of syenites of the Albany Alkalic Complex and is described in the following subsections (Conly, 2014a; Conly, 2014b; Conly and Moore, 2015).

Preliminary petrography indicates that the graphite-hosting breccias range in composition from diorite to granite, and are generally described as “syenite”. Graphite occurs both in the matrix, as disseminated crystals, clotted to radiating crystal aggregates and veins and along crystal boundaries, and as small veins within the breccia fragments. In addition to graphite, the matrix consists primarily of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase feldspar with minor phlogopite and amphibole and trace amounts of pyrite-pyrrhotite and magnetite. Alteration is minor, and is most pronounced as a paleo-weathering profile in the upper 20 m of the breccia pipes where bleaching and late, carbonate-filled fractures are common. The stockwork graphitic veins can be several centimetres wide while the veinlets and hairline fractures are millimetre and submillimetre scale. Breccia fragments are dominantly massive to weakly foliated AAC syenite (>95%) with minor to trace chlorite-biotite-rich schist fragments, and mafic to intermediate dyke fragments. Occasional solid graphite fragments and rare altered fragments of unknown origin were also observed. Breccia fragments are angular to subangular to subrounded and range in size from subcentimetre to approximately one metre, most being between three centimetres and 30 cm. Dyke and graphite fragments range from one centimetre to five centimetres.

The combination of owner-operated mining and contractor mining will be carried out using a conventional open pit method consisting of the following activities:
1. Drilling performed by conventional production drills.
2. Blasting using ANFO and a down-hole delay initiation system.
3. Loading and hauling operations performed with hydraulic shovel, front-end loader, and rigid frame haulage trucks.

The Mineral Resources for the Project will be mined and beneficiated to recover a flotation concentrate, which will be purified to a graphite product at an onsite processing facility. The primary steps in beneficiation include crushing, grinding, and concentration by flotation. The primary steps in purification include alkaline (NaOH) treatment (a caustic leaching stage on each side of a low temperature baking (350 C) stage) followed by mild HCl leaching to extract a purified graphite product. The graphite product will be filtered, dried, and bagged for sale and transportation to market.

The crushing, grinding, flotation, and purification processing facility is designed to operate for 350 days per year at a design throughput of 983,000 tpa for the first 22 years of the mine life. Testwork was performed during the course of the PEA study and the results were used to form the basis of the process design criteria and to identify major process equipment required. The equipment selected is strictly preliminary and is based on testwork references, information from other studies, and RPA’s previous experience on similar projects.