Overview
Stage | Permitting |
Mine Type | Open Pit |
Commodities |
|
Mining Method |
|
Processing |
|
Mine Life | 8.5 years (as of Jan 1, 2018) |
Source:
p. 22
The Chilalo Tenements are held by Graphex through its Tanzanian subsidiary Ngwena Tanzania Limited.
Summary:
Graphite mineralisation at Chilalo occurs as disseminated flakes in a series of intercalated graphitic gneisses horizons within a package of felsic gneiss (metamorphosed siliceous and aluminous sediments), amphibolites (metamorphosed mafic sourced material) and rare high purity marble horizons of the late Proterozoic Mozambique Belt.
High-grade graphitic gneiss horizons have been interpreted based on a lower cut-off grade of 5% TGC, within a lower grade halo of graphitic gneiss interpreted above a lower cut-off grade of 2% TGC. Two weathering profile surfaces representing the base of complete oxidation and top of fresh rock were modelled, based on drill hole lithological logging information, drill core photography, petrography and total sulphur assay results. The overburden surface of transported and reworked materials with an interpreted thickness of 2.5 m is depleted from the model.
In the Chilalo Main deposit the core high grade mineralisation (>5% TGC) interpretation consists of two lenses. The main footwall lens strikes towards 250°, dipping roughly 50° towards 160°, with a strike length of roughly 1.1 km from the north east towards the south west, and a further strike length of roughly 500m, after a strike change to 250° at about 471280mE with a dip roughly 40° towards 180°. The average interpreted depth is approximately 200 m below surface and the true thickness is approximately 25 m for the eastern half and 10 m for the western half. The secondary high-grade lens is interpreted to be approximately 1.1 km long in the hanging wall of the western two thirds of the main lens from roughly 471800mE extending to the west. It is interpreted to be between 40 m in depth in the east, and 160 m in depth in the west, and between 2 m and 15 m in true thickness with a similar strike and dip to the main lens. The low-grade mineralisation (>2% TGC) lenses enclose the high- grade lenses and are in the hanging wall above them and have similar strike and depth extents over the classified portions of the model. Some of the low-grade lenses are interpreted to continue along strike to the west for approximately 800 m, but these portions of the model are not classified due to insufficient data and therefore lower confidence. These lenses are generally about 5 m to 15 m in true thickness.
At the Chilalo North deposit the core high grade mineralisation (>5% TGC) interpretation consists of two lenses. The hanging wall lens strikes towards 240°, dipping roughly 45° towards 150°, with a strike length of roughly 500 m from the north east towards the south west. The average interpreted depth is approximately 150 m below surface, ranging between roughly 110 m on the eastern and western ends to a maximum roughly 180 m near the centre. True thickness ranges betw1een roughly 6 m on the eastern and western extremities through a maximum of roughly 30 m near the centre. The footwall lens has a very similar strike and dip geometry to the footwall lens, but extends about 90 m below surface in the east and 120 m below surface in the west and up to about 230 m near the centre. The average true thickness of this lens is roughly 7 m in the east and 6 m in the west. The interpreted low-grade mineralisation (>2% TGC) lenses enclose the high-grade lenses or are between or in the hanging wall above them. They have similar strike and depth extents to the highgrade lenses. The average true thickness of the two larger low-grade lenses that enclose the high-grade lenses is roughly 40 m in the centre to 10 m in the east and west for the hanging wall lens, and the footwall lens is on average about 12 m.
Summary:
The Chilalo open pit mine is planned as a conventional truck and shovel operation, using 40-tonne articulated trucks and matching excavators. Early stages of the open pit are expected to be free-dig, with the remainder to be mined using standard drill and blast techniques. Contractor mining has been assumed for the life of mine. Investigation of owner operator mining, supported by a fleet of ancillary equipment, will be undertaken as part of the BFS.
The open pit has been designed on geotechnical parameters determined by specialist logging and testing of drill core and on dimensions that match the planned equipment capability. The open pit mining activities have been sequenced and scheduled in stages to manage cashflow and to provide a continuous feed of ore to the processing plant.
Initial waste generated from mining is to be used for construction of the Tailings Storage Facility (‘TSF’) and thereafter to be dumped in a designed location outside of the pit.
Source:
Summary:
The processing plant is designed to recover graphite by froth flotation. Ore from the mine will be primary and secondary stage crushed, followed by grinding and graphite flotation. The final graphite concentrate will be filtered, dried, sized and bagged for transport. A key objective of the plant design is to produce a highgrade graphite product at the coarsest possible graphite flake size to maximise value of the products.
The proposed flow sheet has been developed based on the metallurgical testwork undertaken to date. The design for the processing plant is based on a metallurgical flowsheet with unit operations that are conventional and well proven in the industry and aligned with current graphite industry practice.
The Project processing plant is designed to treat 0.5 Mt per year of ore in Stage 1. The ore will be two-stage crushed, followed by grinding in a rod mill, with graphite recovered by flotation. The process includes screening off a coarse fraction at ........

Recoveries & Grades:
Commodity | Parameter | Avg. LOM |
Graphite
|
Recovery Rate, %
| ......  |
Graphite
|
Head Grade, %
| 10.6 |
Graphite
|
Concentrate Grade, %
| ......  |
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Projected Production:
Commodity | Units | LOM |
Graphite
|
t
| 93,000 |
All production numbers are expressed as concentrate.
Operational Metrics:
Metrics | |
Ore tonnes mined, LOM
| ......  |
Annual processing rate
| ......  |
Annual mining rate
| ......  |
* According to 2018 study.
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Reserves at August 28, 2019:
Category | Tonnage | Commodity | Grade | Contained Graphite |
Indicated
|
10.3 Mt
|
Graphite
|
10.5 %
|
1,082 kt
|
Inferred
|
57.1 Mt
|
Graphite
|
4.5 %
|
2,585 kt
|
Total Resource
|
67.3 Mt
|
Graphite
|
5.4 %
|
3,667 kt
|
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Corporate Filings & Presentations:
Document | Year |
...................................
|
2019
|
...................................
|
2018
|
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- Subscription is required.