Chilalo resource increases by 80%

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Graphex Mining has reported an 80% increase in the mineral resource of its Chilalo graphite project, in Tanzania.

The Chilalo resource now stands at 16.9-million tonnes, grading 10.2% total graphitic carbon, with some 5.2-million tonnes of the resource classified as indicated, and a further 11.7-million tonnes as inferred.

The increase in the resource followed a recently completed 13-hole, 1 365 m reverse circulation drilling programme.

Graphex MD Phil Hoskins says the increase in the Chilalo resource further confirms the outstanding prospectivity of the tenement area.

“The increase in the mineral resource is expected to extend the mine life and improve the project economics. This is an outstanding result, which, combined with our markets-first approach to Chilalo’s development, is expected to yield an excellent outcome for shareholders," he says.

Hoskins explains that the company’s Chinese project partners have placed significant value in the exploration potential at Chilalo, and the news will be welcomed as financing and offtake negotiations are finalised.

A prefeasibility study on the Chilalo project estimated that a capital injection of $74-million would be required to support average production of 69 000 t/y of graphite concentrate over a ten-year mine life.